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News
EXCL: Meet the New Editor of Fangoria Magazine
Source: Ryan Rotten, Managing Editor
February 5, 2010
Before you go any further, this is a follow-up to this editorial. Go ahead, read that first then jump on back to this spot.Since posting the latest edition of "The Rotten Truth" this week, I've fielded phone calls and e-mails from those fanning the flames of speculation as to where Fangoria magazine has gone and where it's heading. But this morning, I got an e-mail from a respected colleague: Chris Alexander. His news?
He's the new editor of Fangoria.
"Tony [Timpone]'s moving out and on to bigger and better things. He'll still be within the company, when he's doing that, I can't say," Alexander told me this afternoon. "Tony has been nothing but professional, he's been doing this a long time. I'm driving the boat now and I hope I don't Titanic it. I don't think I will. I've got a different point of view, much different than what Fango has had for a while and there's going to be a lot of changes."
This April, devoted readers will find Timpone passing the torch in a Survival of the Dead cover issue. Alexander, a Toronto-based former writer of Rue Morgue Magazine, cut his teeth in the pages of Fangoria some time ago and made his presence known on the magazine's site via the Blood-Splattered Blog which allowed him to wax poetic about some of his favorite films and industry professionals.
"The bottom line is, like you, we were born with a copy of this in our hands," Alexander said. "We're in this game because we love this genre. Horror is fun. Sex, death and all of the juicy stuff. Breaking all of the taboos. It should be that way, ever since I've been reading Chas. Balun as a kid. What you'll see with me is a return to that way out there Chas. Balun point of view, to some degree. I want this to be an adventure. I want people to wear the Fangoria t-shirt and wear it with pride."
Alexander added managing editor Michael Gingold will still be on board the Fangoria banner and once the "internal struggles" occurring in the magazine's New York City office lift, the Fangoria.com site will be back up in some capacity.
So there you have it. The magazine lives on under, for the first time in decades, the set of new eyes.
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Comments
Posted by: Damon on February 5, 2010 at 16:54:58
This is crazy, but I do like Chris Alexander. Here's to the new era of Fangoria!
Posted by: djblack1313 on February 5, 2010 at 17:11:17
it's interesting that almost immediately after Ryan's spot on article on FANGO, that we get this news. Chris i wish you total success and great luck! even though Fango has been MUCH less on my radar or "must buy" list, i will ALWAYS love the mag and will always want it to do well and be respected amongst the horror fans! best wishes Chris!
Posted by: John Zipperer on February 5, 2010 at 17:33:31
In the headline, Alexander's called the new editor; in the text, he's called the new managing editor. Does that mean Timpone's staying on in an editorial director or EIC capacity, or was it just a slip of the pen?
Posted by: DarrenSuds on February 5, 2010 at 17:37:42
glad to see this mag isn't dying...although I haven't regularly bought it in many years, it's always been a favorite. Good luck in the future!
Posted by: Jeff Allard on February 5, 2010 at 17:47:10
This is big, big news. I still remember buying the first Timpone-edited issue of Fango way back when and wondering how the magazine would fare without Uncle Bob and Dave Everitt at the helm. As it turned out, Tony steered Fango through decades of good and bad times for the genre and although not everyone may agree with his editorial choices, his long tenure will be a hard one to match. Best of luck to him as he moves on and to Chris' new era as Fango's editor. I'm about the same age as Chris and it's exciting to see what a fellow 'Fango kid' will do in shaping the magazine's future.
Posted by: Ryan Rotten, Managing Editor on February 5, 2010 at 17:54:59
John, thanks for the catch. I've revised the article.
Alexander is indeed the "editor." Michael Gingold managing editor.
Posted by: BoomingEchoes on February 5, 2010 at 18:38:44
Good to hear. This makes me happy.
Posted by: Steven Millan on February 5, 2010 at 19:15:22
This is extremely surprising news to learn,for I alwayst hought that Tony Timpone was going to remain editor until a very elderly age,but then again I guess that changes always eventually do happen,for I wish Chris Alexander the very best of luck with taking Fangoria in a new direction and helping stay afloat(as long as Timpone always has managed to).
Posted by: Phillip on February 5, 2010 at 20:06:35
I love Fangoria and am so happy it's not going away. In fact, I'm glad there is a change and couldn't be more excited to see the improvements. Just remember that the cover is VERY important. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but most do for a magazine. DO more retrospectives! The internet age has magazine readers not looking for "up-to-date" (that is by then a month old) info on films, which is why magazines that do retrospectives on classics and fun articles on random stuff like horror boardgames and whatnot mixed into its content do so well. And NO MORE horrible headshots on the cover! The last three Fangoria's are just faces with bloody eyes. In fact, don't even do "photos" on the cover. Drawn artwork like Rue Morgue's An American Werewolf in London cover and the Basil Gogos covers of Famous Monsters make/made fans get the magazine just for the cover.
But I can't wait for the new Fangoria. Good luck with the future. I'll be reading :)
Posted by: MrAmerica on February 5, 2010 at 21:36:24
Good point Phillip, Fango should look to give readers something they can't get quicker online, retrospectives are a good thing. A mix of old and new would be nice.
Posted by: venvariants on February 6, 2010 at 15:02:21
Main thing is is for Fango to look at the horror genre as a whole, and not limit the mag to current releases. DVDs and books and video games are all fine - but there is so much in horror's rich history to write and read about!! Rue Morgue and the great Horror Hound are light years ahead of Fangoria at this point...it will be tough for them to catch up after trotting off the sidelines to flirt with all those Saw films and direct-to-video people. Honestly, they should maybe go and try to emulate the Uncle Bob days...pre-wrestling fanatacism, of course. I think this guy sounds like a big enough genre fan to know what HE would like to see in a horror rag. Break a leg, heh heh, as they say...
Posted by: SexyLex on February 6, 2010 at 19:14:07
Rule #1: No more of these watered down PG13 teenybopper movies making the cover. Fango is for HORROR fans who like their meat served red. I refuse to support the magazine as long as movies like "Twilight" get featured on the cover instead of films that revolutionize the horror industry like "Martyrs". Don't forget who your core audience is. Speaking for myself, I've hated the new format since it first debuted. I would gladly re-instate my subscription if Fango brought back the old layout. The classic cover is what I grew up with and want to see again.
Posted by: The Creature from Uranus on February 6, 2010 at 19:32:05
Maybe Fango will have a last chance. Chris Alxender was always my favorite writer over at the Morgue.
Posted by: Christopher on February 6, 2010 at 21:49:42
Sexy Lex.. how many covers of Fangoria should Martyrs have made?
It made the cover of issue # 281.
Congrats to Chris Alexander and here's to a new age of welcoming, well informed, educated and classy horror cinema journalism.
Nobody desires a smug, immature gossip column for their horror inlet. Horror fans want to hear about the good news, the process of movie making, and previews of anticipated films.
I'm sure Chris Alexander will help set a new version of a long gone standard that should have never left us in the first place.
Show them how it's done Chris and the followers will all change their tunes quickly.
Cheers!
Posted by: SexyLex on February 7, 2010 at 12:59:18
Sorry Christopher, must've had a brain fart when I was writing that cause I forgot that Martyr's did in fact get featured on the cover.
I'm just hopeful we won't see movies such as "Twilight:Eclipse" on the cover of a Fango going forward.
Posted by: fubarinpittsburg on February 8, 2010 at 13:04:42
I just want to apologize to my fans at Fangoria.com forums. I tried to moderate the forums to the best of my ability but there was just too much trolling. Hopefully once they get things figured out they will ask me to assist again. I didn't take my "firing" well at all. All I wanted weer some answers.
Posted by: joey OBrien on February 8, 2010 at 14:25:45
Ive been a (off/on) subscriber since issue 1, currently on for two more years. I N E E D my Fango!!!!
Posted by: Me on February 9, 2010 at 10:03:18
Looking forward to the reboot. I wonder what this will mean for future conventions, too?
Just please don't bring any of the proofreaders or fact checkers from Rue Morgue over to Fango. I have never seen a magazine so riddled with typos, misspellings, and incorrect facts than RM. :/
Posted by: Santos on February 14, 2010 at 18:13:42
Tony e-mailed me a few weeks ago with this information. We have been friends for close to 15 yrs. & I consider him something of a brother. Although I was aghast at the news I did know of Alexander's work at Rue Morgue & liked his columns a lot. Tony claimed he would be working on making fangoria tv better than it is now & still write occasional articles, & stay in charge of scheduling screenings. He said he will still be at the office everyday behind his desk doing something different but doing it for Fangoria. I have every issue of Fangoria & it means a lot to me to see the magazine continue. I believe it will, I pray it will.....
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