Friday, December 05, 2008

Forrest Ackerman Transcends This Dimension

I was saddened to read in the L.A. Times today of Forrest "Forry" J. Ackerman's death .
The world of science fiction and popular culture has lost one its truest and dearest friends. Forry was one the earliest science fiction fans, became editor of fanzines, and then the "Famous Monster of Filmland." He was also a science fiction writer in his own right and creator of Vampirella. I read that he had also been an author of lesbian romance stories for the magazine "Vice Versa": my respect for him is now near boundless. One of my regrets is that I never toured his mansion to see his collection of horror and science fiction memorabilia. The tour was free, and part of his collection is now now displayed, not for free, in Paul Allen's Science Fiction Museum within the Experience Museum Project. (I hold no regrets for never visiting Allen's Science Fiction Museum.) Forry is the prototype for every fanboy today, and what we all remember about him is that in his magazine, it was always about the monsters.

No comments: