Measures 8-13/32" X 10-15/16", 68 pp including covers, b&w photos and illustrations, Volume 1, Number 3 (April 1962), published by Spacemen Inc. (PA).
Group 8-3114
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!! Both front & rear covers are BARELY hanging together from the lower spine staple, & are other unconnected from each other -- plus the front lower right corner has been torn away, along with the lower corner on pp 3/4 -- plus a coupon on page 55 has been torn out, which only interferes with an ad on page 56 -- otherwise typical "well-read" condition for a movie "fan" magazine of over 60 years, with wear & chipping to edges & corners, plus creases, scratches, folds, indentations, tears, rub-wear, browning pages, soiling, foxing, etc -- inked rubber stamping at lower front right corner -- overall condition Poor to Fair
After The resounding success of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, publisher JAMES WARREN was anxious to create another movie magazine of equal popularity; and, together with FMOF mainstay FORREST J. ACKERMAN, the two of them decided upon a magazine devoted to science fiction films. And the logic for that decision was foolproof: the United States government was concentrating heavily upon winning the "space race" against Soviet Russia; shortly before the first issue of SPACEMEN had hit the newsstands, Project Mercury astronaut ALAN B. SHEPARD had become the first American to be launched into space, following Russian cosmonaut YURI GAGARIN by less than one month. In addition, "baby boomers" had discovered science fiction, and it had become a widely accepted genre in hardcover and paperback books, as well as comic books, movies, and television. But, surprisingly, SPACEMEN only lasted 8 regular quarterly issues, plus one annual. The "why" is only speculation; but it is entirely possible that the light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek form of writing that made FAMOUS MONSTERS so successful may have led potential readers of SPACEMEN to suspect that SPACEMEN would simply be more of the same -- and science fiction readers simply weren't interested in the puns and simplistic writing of FMOM. So SPACEMEN withered away; and, not so many years later, other science fiction movie magazines would rise to take its place, such as STARLOG and FILMFAX and OUTRE and others. But SPACEMEN holds the position of being probably the first serious continuous publication, devoted specifically to science fiction films -- and for that reason it's worth collecting.
Contents:
Cover Art -- illustrated by BASIL GOGOS
Inside Front Cover -- full page photo from "QUATERMASS AND THE PIT" (aka "THE CREEPING UNKNOWN" & "ENEMY FROM SPACE")
The Editors Space -- by FORREST J. ACKERMAN
Spacial Delivery (Letters from readers) -- With masthead illustration by JACK DAVIS
Ship Of Things To Come -- with photos from "KING OF THE ROCKETMEN" ; "THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE" ; "FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON" ; "WORLD WITHOUT END" ; "PHANTOM FROM SPACE" ; "QUATERMASS AND THE PIT" (aka "THE CREEPING UNKNOWN" & "ENEMY FROM SPACE") ; "PROJECT M-7" ; and "PROJECT MOONBASE"
Training For Space -- with photos from "PHANTOM PLANET" ; and "DREAM OF THE STARS" ; plus illustrations by "D. K" & NICK G. STASINOS ; plus models designed by JACQUE FRESCO & ALLEN ESSMAN
O'Henry's Comet: Tales With A Twist In Their Tale: Old Spacemen -- by ROBERT SILVERBERG
Orbituary Department -- with photos from "20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH" ; "THE INVISIBLE BOY" ; "1984" ; "APRIL 1, 2000" ; "FLASH GORDON" ; "KILLERS FROM SPACE" ; "EARTH Vs. THE FLYING SAUCERS" ; and "FORBIDDEN PLANET"
We Found "THE LOST PLANET -- with photos from the movie "THE LOST PLANET"
"GIRL IN THE MOON" -- with photos from the movie "GIRL IN THE MOON" (aka "FRAU IM MOND")
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