Basil Gogos , genius Famous Monsters of Filmland cover artist , died in September at 88. His wife told the press she believes he had a coronary. His somewhat unlikely color combinations and often aggressive brush strokes made his work edgy and vibrant , like it might jump right off the page.   When I met Gogos in '99 (?) , he explained to me that he'd found unusually bright acrylic paints that he had been using exclusively. It seemed a bit slick at first , but , now , I realize , he was on the verge of doing some of his finest work. While best known for his remarkable work for FM , he freelanced for Cracked , the American "Infra Man" movie poster , and even album sleeves for The (Later) Misfits and Rob Zombie....


Born in Egypt of Greek parents , Gogos did his first FM cover almost 50 years ago ( A portrait of Karloff that the master , unfortunately , did'nt live to see.), and really never looked back . Basil Gogos was an immediately likeable , kind and pleasant individual.  He honored his subjects, be they Karloff , Lugosi , Price , Lorre , Chaneys Sr. and Jr. , or lesser known Horror stars who also made their mark with a rare combination of raw energy and painstaking care. He truly loved his work , and could'nt care less if it was'nt anal retentive enough for subsequent generations.