The triumphant return of an iconic British comic book.
Well, I never – Monster Fun, one of your Reprobate editor’s favourite weeklies of yesteryear is about to make a triumphant comeback. The comic book, which ran for a mere 73 issues between 1975 and 1976 (making it an integral part of the long, hot summer of ’76) is being revived by Rebellion, owners of 2000AD and very much the custodians of classic British comic history.
Monster Fun – ‘edited’ by Frankie Stein, the classic character who had already appeared in Shiver and Shake, Whoopee and Wham! – was a lightweight horror-themed humour comic, with recurring strips like Kid Kong, Draculass, Martha’s Monster Make-Up, Terror TV and Gums. In the British weekly tradition, these would usually run for one or two pages per issue. The new version brings most of these classic strips back alongside fellow IPC comics classics like Sweeney Toddler and teenage superhero The Leopard of Lime Street.
Of course, much has changed since 1976 and the British comics world is a very different place today. The new Monster Fun is bi-monthly rather than weekly and while there are plans for newsagent distribution, it is primarily being sold by subscription for £19.99 a year. On the plus side, it will now be in full colour and on glossy paper. It’s likely that the readership will mostly be nostalgic old farts like me, but thankfully the comic seems determined to remain something child-friendly rather than becoming a self-aware adult parody of itself – and will continue to offer the free gifts that the original was famous for. They’ll have to go some way to better the legendary Spider Ring that came with issue 2, though.
Monster Fun (re)launches in April 2022, but it is being given a Halloween sneak preview with a 48-page Spooktacular. How exciting! You can pre-order and subscribe here.
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