First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium

FANGORIA Comics Anthology Confirmed, Featuring an Original Story by Tony Fleecs (STRAY DOGS, FERAL) and Other Horror Icons
2 months ago – Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 10:30:49 AM

Final Stretch Goal Unlocked! Physical Backers to receive special Kickstarter exclusive variant of FANGORIA Comics Issue 0!

Thanks to all 10,000+ absolutely sensational backers that have supported the campaign for First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium, we have reached the ONE MILLION DOLLAR stretch goal. Just between us, if we're being totally candid here... this is bonkers?! We're overwhelmed, we're ecstatic, we're pretty much levitating, y'all. The FANGORIA readership is made up of the most first-rate fans in the entire world, and we will never stop counting our lucky stars to have your support. We'll never stop endeavoring to earn it, either.

We're laying out the book as we speak and we'll have some really fun spreads to show you soon. Everything is moving along right on schedule, and we think you're going to truly love the Compendium. We already love it ourselves. And we have so many more updates in store as we wrap up the campaign – be on the lookout for another newsy missive next week!

But today we want to talk about the first issue of the FANGORIA horror anthology comic that ALL backers will receive (physical or digital copy, depending on your tier level) now that we've reached this massive stretch goal. For the anthology, we're thrilled and honored to partner with PANICK Entertainment, one of the biggest names in genre comics! This Kickstarter exclusive issue will showcase five tales of terror by five giants in the industry. And for the very first artist we wanted to announce, we just knew it had to be Tony Fleecs, of Stray Dogs and Feral (which he calls “The Crazies with cats.”). I mean, one look at this brilliant Feral Fango riff, and the collaboration was a no-brainer. 

Tony will be joined by four other horror comic icons that we'll be announcing in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for that, and for plenty more information and exciting details about First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium. We're bubbling over here – lots more very, very soon.

A Sneak Peek Inside the FANGORIA Vault
4 months ago – Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 05:13:39 PM

As the team continues to work towards the launch of the FANGORIA Compendium in July, we wanted to give backers a sneak peek at some of the work that's already underway. The following update comes with some behind-the-scenes treasures that the Fango team found during a recent dip into the Vault, including content that will be featured in the Compendium project when it drops later this year...

I imagine more of you would like a glimpse behind the scenes of the FANGORIA Compendium project. Assembling the book has far more moving parts than it might appear on the surface, and part of that is because Meredith Borders makes it looks so effortless, and the rest is because we’ve been too busy figuring out how to cover 47 years of the world’s greatest horror magazine in one book. It’s a daunting task that comes with lofty standards we are all committed to upholding, because we love the history of this beloved entity and we know you do, too.

I’m Kimberly Leszak, by the way. Many of our subscribers will recognize me as the brand’s community and content manager who moderates our private Discord and Facebook groups, but I also oversee our socials, serve as an assistant to our marketing director Sabrina Sieck, partner with Angel Melanson on our website strategy, and sometimes they even let me out on good behavior to write for the magazine. Our Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr. called me “the high priestess of horror” on my birthday post last year, and while Nobile is generous with a compliment to his friends (I mean, I just like saying it), I take it very seriously that my nerdy obsession with the genre is given any recognition at all.

That’s why I’m here to tell you about the Fango Vault – that legendary place where nearly 50 years of press kits, studio correspondences, and various candid set photos are tucked away for safe-keeping. Last month, our publishers let Phil, our Creative Director Jason Kauzlarich, and me loose inside the walls to find our readers the best of what the vault has to offer. I don’t think any of us anticipated the labor ahead of us, but we made the best of it – and we’re bringing it to you, not just for the Compendium, but for our socials, our newsletter The Terror Teletype, and for future magazine issues to come.

The vault currently resides in Atlanta, GA, but it’s gotten around. It once lived in Jersey City, meandered its way southwest to Dallas, TX, and now finally rests in Atlanta. It doesn’t just house FANGORIA history – STARLOG and GOREZONE live there, too. While the majority of the space is taken up by the massive back catalog of STARLOG and its extensive archives, FANGORIA’s relics are filed and indexed through 65 separate containers of press kits and other memorabilia. (Did you know boxes of media are extremely heavy? I do! Ask me how I know.) Jason, Phil, our publisher Abhi Goel, and I set out organizing, processing, and digitally archiving over 1000 titles across 65 boxes – after we safely set aside STARLOG in an accessible manner.

The one thing you know as a fan of the genre is that the lore will entice you. You’d get me into an unmarked van with a box that said “behind the scenes of Jack Hill’s Spider Baby” on it in Sharpie. The files of my favorite films called to me while I was hustling through the projects at hand. The Gate. Popcorn. Return of the Living Dead III. Near Dark. I didn’t have to suffer long as part of my job that week was to bring these things back to you as much as I could. You know that casino game where you stand in a booth full of fans and try to grab as many dollars as you can? That’s how it felt trying to figure out what to look at first. I wanted to give our Compendium backers a first look at the loot and give you a taste of where we’re going with the visual side of things.

Jason, Phil, and I spent nine days curating key spreads of the book as well as pulling some rare, and possibly never-before-seen images that just never made it to the pages of the mag. It feels like discovering a new dinosaur to say “I found this photo of Angus Scrimm and a dog from the set of Phantasm III,” but the coolest thing is having a whole crowd of people to be excited about my Caninus Angusscrimmosaurus and that, dear readers, makes all the difference.

A Toast to Our Backers (and Other Updates)...
5 months ago – Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 12:05:36 PM

As we move into the new year we’re back with a quick update on First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium and the latest rewards that our community has successfully backed into existence (as well as future goals). 

Before we get to those items, we once again wanted to toast everyone who has helped us make First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium the second most funded non-fiction book in Kickstarter history. Your support during the primary campaign, and now the Late Pledges phase, continues to mean so much to us, and we’re thankful and excited that, because of you, we will not only be able to bring all of you the best and most thorough hardcover book chronicling the history of horror and the legacy of FANGORIA, but also a host of other items including the digital archive, an exclusive FANGORIA calendar, some swell collectible pins, exclusive trading cards, and The Music of FANGORIA album as part of this project.

Another Stretch Goal Unlocked: We will now be adding more pages to shine a spotlight on the icons and artists to be enshrined in FANGORIA’s Horror Hall of Fame. This special section within First In Fright comes courtesy of our last stretch goal (reached earlier this month) and will include input from all of our backers and bulks up the book by another 16 pages. This hardcover history of horror now clocks in at nearly 350 pages, and our plans to use that space to chronicle the definitive story of the genre as seen through the pages of FANGORIA are coming together nicely. Expect some sneak peeks of what we have in store for all of you very soon!

Next Stop…FANGORIA Comics: Unlocking 11 of our 12 Stretch Goals has been nothing short of a nightmare come true (complimentary), but we’re not resting yet. Our final Stretch Goal was previously announced and now all of our attention is turning towards making a new line of FANGORIA horror anthology comics a reality. We’re going to work hard to make this final goal happen and anything you can do to spread the word about this campaign would be incredibly helpful to our collective cause. Remember, if we hit this Stretch Goal you’ll receive a copy of Issue 0, created exclusively for this Kickstarter project, as either a physical comic book or a digital download depending on the tier you backed (physical or digital).

Another De-Composer Joins: We’re also excited to announce the latest addition to our roster contributing to The Music of FANGORIA album. Joseph LoDuca, the composer behind the iconic scores for the original Evil Dead trilogy, and more recently the television incarnation of Chucky, will also be lending his talents to this special project alongside the music of Harry Manfredini (Friday the 13th) and John Harrison (Creepshow). Stay tuned for additional names being added to this exciting LP soon.

You Can Still Give the Gift of FANGORIA: Even though the holiday season is behind us, you can still give the gift of FANGORIA by backing this project for that special horror fan in your life! As a reminder, you will be able to set the mailing address and even pass along some of the other rewards available in certain tiers (such as the “name in the book” reward) when we send out the surveys that backers receive after the Late Pledges campaign ends. 

That’s it for this update! Once again, thank you to all who have been so helpful in making this project so successful. Wishing you a Happy New Year from everyone at FANGORIA!

FANGORIA Is Thankful For YOU
6 months ago – Thu, Nov 27, 2025 at 05:50:18 AM

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has backed First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium and made this project so successful to date. You’ve shown up for us in a huge way, and this feels like a fitting day to tell you how thankful we all are.  

Now that the primary campaign has ended, we wanted to give everyone who is a part of the FANGORIA community here on Kickstarter a quick update about where we’ve been and what comes next.

What our community has accomplished:

The response to First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium has been nothing short of astounding! Currently, thanks to your support, the project now ranks as the 4th most funded non-fiction book of all time on Kickstarter (out of more than 12,000!), and has made it all the way up into the top 25 books of all kinds (out of 70,000+) on the platform. Absolutely amazing!

In the first 30 days of the campaign your support has not only funded the project (in just over an hour, mind you), but you’ve also made it possible for us to unlock nearly all of the Stretch Goals that we set for ourselves. In addition to your selected rewards, you’ll also receive the following items based on whether you backed a digital or physical tier.  

All backers will now also receive:

• Digital access to rare images and other content from the FANGORIA Vault curated specifically for this project
• Digital access to 27 issues of FANGORIA’s companion publication GOREZONE
• Access to a digital download of The Music of FANGORIA album filled with original music from leading horror composers

Physical backers will now also receive:

• A bigger version of the physical book now measuring 9” x 12”
• A set of exclusive FANGORIA cover bookmarks
• Red metallic gilded page edges
• An exclusive 15-month printed calendar highlighting special dates in horror history

Additionally, backers who are receiving a printed or digital version of First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium will be getting (at least) two additional special features spotlighting the top horror films of all time as well as our favorite killers, creatures, and creepy spirits – increasing the overall page count to over 330 pages!

So what happens next?

With the conclusion of the primary campaign, you’ll see the pledge you made charged to the credit card used. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at [email protected] if you encounter any issues or have any questions regarding the billing process.  

Also, to make First In Fright available to as many horror fans as possible, and to provide additional time to realize our last two Stretch Goals for all backers, we’ve decided to open up Late Pledges for this project. For those who have already pledged and been charged, you don’t have to do anything! 

For those finding the project after the primary campaign has ended, you’ll be able to back most of the same rewards, but some will have a slightly higher price point in respect to those who got in early and showed support during the initial 30 days of the campaign. 

The Kickstarter page will continue to track pledges and offer future updates and, if we’re able to reach the final two Stretch Goals during the Late Pledges phase, those will unlock in the same way our other Stretch Goals did. Late Pledges will give us additional time to unlock those final goals for you and, if enough of our community spreads the word about First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium, we’re confident we can reach both of these remaining Goals.

The Final Stretch Goal Reveal:

Although we’re closing in on the next Stretch Goal, which will add 16 more pages to the book to accommodate a special feature highlighting FANGORIA’s Horror Hall of Fame, we also wanted to reveal the final Stretch Goal and how you can play a part in making it a reality! If we’re able to reach $1 million during the Late Pledges phase of the campaign, we’ll reward all physical backers of First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium with a very special companion project: a printed copy of Issue 0 of a new FANGORIA Comic Book Anthology series that will be exclusive to Kickstarter. All backers will also receive a digital copy of the comic. If unlocked, this will be the first in a planned ongoing series that will feature original stories by some of horror’s most notable authors and illustrated by top comic book artists. 

Turning towards the book and archive:

Work has already begun on realizing the vision for First In Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium thanks to your phenomenal support. Fango Senior Editor Meredith Borders has assembled a brilliant team of horror historians and FANGORIA contributors to make the book the best it can be, and you can read more about their progress and see a sneak peek HERE. In addition to a special foreword by horror icon John Carpenter, we’ll tell the comprehensive history of the genre through the pages of FANGORIA while sharing memories from dozens of directors, writers, actors, and effects wizards who have spent decades bringing your nightmares to life! We’ll be sharing updates regularly with you, our backers, throughout the editorial process to give you an insider’s look at the book as it comes together. We can’t wait to show you what more we’ve got planned!

For the archive, we’ve already started work on a web-based viewer that will allow you to search the entire library of original FANGORIA back issues and read specific articles or entire issues in their original print layout on both desktop and mobile. Or, if you prefer, you’ll be able to read each article in a special text reader in a more traditional web-based environment. Scanning these past issues in high-resolution with meticulous cleanup on each page has begun and we’ll include additional content from the FANGORIA Vault as well as the 27 bonus issues of GOREZONE that you already unlocked as Stretch Goals. 

Giving the gift of horror:

Many backers have asked us if it is possible to gift some or all of their rewards to friends and family, and the answer is an enthusiastic YES! To make giving the gift of horror to the biggest fans in your life a little easier, we’ve created a special gift certificate that you can share or print out to let the recipient know that, thanks to your gift, they’re not only supporting an important project in horror history conservation, but they’ll also receive some amazing rewards in their name. You can download and save the certificate by right-clicking on the image below.

In closing, we’d like to thank, once more, everyone who has shown their support of FANGORIA and embraced the First In Fright project, and we look forward to continuing this journey with all of you as we head towards the publishing of the book and digital archive next year.

Another Goal Unlocked and A Bonus for Original De-Composer Backers
6 months ago – Wed, Nov 26, 2025 at 02:14:12 PM

We’re back with some important updates for all backers of First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium. 

Another Stretch Goal is Reached: Thanks to your incredible support, the latest stretch goal has been unlocked! This means that all backers of First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium will receive a digital download of The Music of FANGORIA Album being produced exclusively for the campaign. Everyone who has pledged to this project will receive the digital download featuring original music inspired by FANGORIA magazine, created by notable horror film composers.

Speaking of The Music of FANGORIA Album: We have a special update for everyone who is backing one of the original reward tiers that included the soundtrack to your favorite horror magazine (this group includes all 250 backers of the primary De-Composer reward tier as well as everyone in the Leather Edition and VIP Launch Party tiers). Thanks to iconic composer Harry Manfredini, known to FANGORIA readers for his many classic horror film scores including the original Friday the 13th, people in these tiers will be getting their vinyl album cover signed by Harry himself! These signed versions will include the special blood-red colored LP created exclusively for this Kickstarter project and will be randomly numbered from the total quantity that are produced.

And the Next Stretch Goal is Announced: With the support of our fans, we’re thrilled to share that the next project goal will be expanding the page count of the book once more, with another 16-page addition (bringing the book up to 352 pages overflowing with gory goodness) that highlights FANGORIA’s Horror Hall of Fame, as selected by the editors of the magazine and including categories that you’ll get to vote on to help shape this special section. Help us honor the artists who have made extraordinary contributions to the genre and celebrate the legacy of these icons while giving them the due they deserve. 

Finally, a request: As the First in Fright campaign ticks down we wanted to once again thank everyone who has already lent their support to this worthy endeavor and to also humbly ask that you spread the word to anyone and everyone you know who is a fan of horror and FANGORIA. We want to keep pushing until the very end so we can make this project the very best it can be – and with your support we know that we’ll reach that goal.