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Castle of Frankenstein is an Americanhorror,science fiction andfantasyfilm magazine first published between 1962[1] and 1975 by Calvin Thomas Beck's Gothic Castle Publishing Company, distributed by Kable News.Larry Ivie—who also was cover artist for several early issues—and Ken Beale edited the first three issues. Writer-artistBhob Stewart edited the magazine from 1963 into the early 1970s. Although promoted and sold as a "monster magazine," readers were aware thatCastle of Frankenstein, at the time, was the only nationally distributed magazine devoted to a legitimate and serious coverage ofB movies. In addition to its central focus on classic and current horror films,Castle of Frankenstein also devoted pages to amateur filmmakers andfanzines. Its advertising pages sold full-length silent feature films such asThe Lost World andThe Golem: How He Came into the World.
Following employment as an editor for publisherJoe Weider, Calvin Beck (1929–1989) entered the monster magazine arena in 1959 with his one-shot issueJournal of Frankenstein, which featuredJohn Zacherle on the cover and had a small circulation. As an experiment, Beck printed part of the run on slick paper. After a hiatus and a title change, Beck returned withCastle of Frankenstein #1 in 1962.
Beck claimed[where?] that since his magazine carried no outside advertising, a standardized schedule was unneeded. Issues were published whenever they were completed, leading to an erratic, irregular schedule. Distribution also varied; while many well-stocked periodical outlets did not carry the magazine, some less-likely outlets (such as grocery stores) did.[citation needed]
The magazine ran 25 issues, plus one annual (the 1967Fearbook); the final issue of this initial run was published in 1975.
In 1999, publisher Dennis Druktenis revived bothCastle of Frankenstein (releasing 10 more issues) and the original titleJournal of Frankenstein (releasing five more issues).
In 2021, publishers Don and Vicki Smeraldi once again revived "Castle of Frankenstein," issuing #36 in October, with plans to release new issues twice a year every spring and fall. In 2024, the Smeraldis were inducted into theRondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.[2]
In addition to book reviews by Charles Collins andLin Carter, contributors includedBarry Brown,Richard A. Lupoff andWilliam K. Everson.
Inspired by the ratings and reviews of films inCahiers du Cinéma, Stewart introduced a similar system with the "Comic Book Council". Commentary and ratings of underground comics were juxtaposed with reviews of mainstream comics. Another feature was the "Frankenstein Movieguide", an attempt to document all fantastic films seen on television with capsule reviews written byJoe Dante and Stewart. Included were experimental and foreign art films.
With new art and reprints of vintage fantasy art, the magazine published such artists asAubrey Beardsley,Hannes Bok,Harry Clarke,Virgil Finlay,Jim Steranko,Wally Wood andWeird Tales illustratorMatt Fox. Color photos rather than paintings were used on the covers of issues 6-14. With issue 11's cover photo ofLeonard Nimoy,Castle of Frankenstein was the first magazine to featureStar Trek as a major cover story.[citation needed] Other issues displayed cover paintings by Robert Adragna, Marcus Boas, Bok,Frank Brunner, Maelo Cintron, Larry Ivie,Russ Jones,Ken Kelly, Los Angeles painter Tom Maher and Lee Wanagiel.
Interior art included graphic stories by Ivie, Brunner,Bernie Wrightson and the team ofMarv Wolfman andLen Wein, plus the first[citation needed] published comics page by Marvel artist-writer-editorLarry Hama.Castle of Frankenstein also carried an original comic strip,Baron von Bungle by Richard Bojarski, which gave a humorous twist to the world depicted inUniversal horror films.
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Beck, with an editorial assist by fantasy fiction scholar Haywood P. Norton, assembled the paperback anthologyThe Frankenstein Reader (Ballantine Books, 1962). The book republished vintage horror-fantasy tales byE. F. Benson,Ambrose Bierce, Robert W. Chambers,Ralph Adams Cram,Charles Dickens, Amelia B. Edwards,Katharine Fullerton Gerould, Richard Middleton,Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch,Robert Louis Stevenson andH. G. Wells.
InHeroes of the Horrors (Macmillan, 1975), Beck wrote illustrated biographies of six leading horror film stars (Lon Chaney Sr.,Lon Chaney Jr.,Boris Karloff,Peter Lorre,Bela Lugosi,Vincent Price) and writers such asRobert Bloch andRichard Matheson. The book reworked information previously published inCastle of Frankenstein articles.
Bhob Stewart and Beck then collaborated onScream Queens: Heroines of the Horrors (Macmillan, 1978), containing illustrated biographical profiles of 29 fantasy film actresses and directors. The book included an article by actorBarry Brown, research by Drew Simels, and articles onAlice Guy-Blaché,Joan Crawford,Bette Davis,Veronica Lake,Elsa Lanchester,Agnes Moorehead,Mary Philbin,Barbara Steele,Vampira,Fay Wray and others.Scream Queens also incorporated material from theCastle of Frankenstein files of manuscripts and still photographs.