Valley Entertainment Monthly

</noinclude>
Valley Entertainment Monthly (VEM) was an American newspaper published in Turlock, California which featured articles and reviews on topics such as music, movies, and comic books as well as other forms of popular entertainment. The first issue was released in 1993.
History
VEM was distributed free of charge and supported by advertising revenue from local and nationally recognized merchants. Profit margins were small, with a circulation of 1,200, but the paper was self supporting, with each issue's advertising covering all costs, including staff, printing and distribution. VEM ceased publication in September, 1994.
With offices in Turlock, California, the paper used P.O. Box 1000 in Hughson, California for all mailing. The paper was printed by John M. Derby on an offset press at Mid Valley Publications in Winton, California.
It was available at restaurants, music and comic book stores, retail outlets and nightclubs in California's Central Valley. It covered the valley from Modesto to Merced and was available in Denair, Hughson, Ceres, Hilmar, Delhi, Winton, Atwater, Turlock and other local communities along California State Route 99.
Content
VEM employed a team of reviewers using aliases such as Whisky Will (Live Music), Mr. Morbid (B-grade horror movies) and Stan(ley) (Comic Books). Each writer maintained contacts with professionals in their respective fields and consequently people such as Marvel Comic's Stan Lee and Green Lantern creator Mart Nodell would occasionally contribute, usually in the form of an exclusive interview. Nodell's 1994 interview ran 48 column inches and included breaking news of his newly contracted work with Dark Horse Comics.
Staff
* William Nemoede - Publisher and Managing Editor
* Larry Stanley - Associate Editor / Comic Book review
* Kevin Malone - Movie review
* Paige Kascade - Movie review
* Chris Larson - Book review
* Eric Silveira - RPG review
* Ray Keller - Columnist, "UFO Update"
* Bill Pease - Technical Advisor
Valley Entertainment Monthly was comprised of a core staff along with several volunteers: Dr. Aleuti Francesca, James Newberry, Andrew Barrera, Craig Holley, Steven Funderberg, comic artist and Wraith creator Matt Lew and Andy Reiss, "Top Psychic" with Weekly World News, were all contributors.
Eda Nemoede Casterton, a listed American artist from the late 19th and early 20th century, was the great, great aunt of publisher William Nemoede.
Larry Stanley
Stanley joined the Valley Entertainment Monthly with its first issue, having just shuttered his own publication, The Pacific Comics Update (PCU). Stanley wrote a column entitled "Stan(ley)'s Soapbox", a nod to Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee, with whom he was professionally acquainted. Stanley produced two interviews with Lee over the time he was working with VEM and reviewed comics from companies such as Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Valiant Comics, Defiant Comics and Image Comics. Stanley died on August 24, 2007.
Whiskey Will
Will interviewed musical acts including Quiet Riot, Rick Wakeman of Yes, Ronnie Montrose, singer-songwriter Steve Hartsoe and Texas bluesman Ian Moore, generally with a Gonzo journalism approach similar in fashion to the work of Hunter S. Thompson. Will's Nov. 14, 1993 interview with The Beat Farmers' Country Dick Montana was one of the singer's last. A notorious drinker and rebel, Montana rarely granted interviews. He died during an onstage performance in British Columbia in 1995.
Many of the musical performances reviewed by the paper occurred at Gilligan's Beach House, a Modesto, California nightclub that had previously been used as a warehouse.
Mr. Morbid's Midnight Review
One of the more popular features of the publication was a horror movie review column written by Kevin Malone, otherwise known as Mr. Morbid. Malone's reviews were focused primarily on B-grade horror films such as Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Cannibal Holocaust and Redneck Zombies.
Mr. Morbid would often end his columns with catch phrases such as "'Til we next meet little droogs, keep the gore alive!"
Ray Keller and the UFO phenomenon
The paper's standard 8-page format was increased to 12 pages only one time for a special UFO issue in June 1994 which was produced by Ray Keller, Director of the international Outer Space Research and Investigations Society (OSIRIS), based in Hilmar, California. This section, which comprised the issue's double truck, was also the Society's 149th issue of The New Millennial Star, its publication arm, and was considered a special supplementary edition.
Keller's UFO column was prominently featured in a review of VEM in Flipside Magazine.. The reviewer noted many aspects of the newspaper, but singled out Keller's column as an important centerpiece.
Other writers contributed articles about UFOs, including VEM book reviewer Chris Larson. Larson argued against government involvement in hiding the possible existence of UFOs in the July, 1994 issue. This article would stand as the only criticism of the phenomenon in the paper's history.
Contests
The paper hosted contests in which winners would receive prizes. In one instance, a rare Valiant Comics Ninjak #1 gold edition was given to reader Steven Wagley of Ceres, California, after his winning response.
Herb and Geronimo
Herb and Geronimo were the paper's mascots, two aging cartoon hippies with waist-length hair. They appeared together in the masthead of every issue, just under the paper's name.
A Top Ten list was attributed to Herb in each issue and Geronimo ostensibly wrote a column on the second page titled "Geronimo's Breath". Geronimo's column was general information on a variety of topics, but contained bits of information too small for article status. "Herb's Top Ten" was a tongue-in-cheek nod to David Letterman's famous list. One example offered ten ways to "prevent your kids from watching Beavis and Butthead." The list included "Slip them sleeping pills with their dinner" and "Give them an ample supply of matches, lighter fluid and dry newspaper."
Managing Editor William Nemoede prepared the "Geronimo" column while freelance writer Joshua Driscoll of San Francisco penned "Herb's Top Ten" list.
Peer review
Don Chaddock, editor of Magus News, a Gaming publication, reviewed VEM stating it was "well written," and the lay outs "clean and attention getting."

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu