While Mark McConnaughey might not have been some famous actor or director, or anything in the movie business other than a fan, for a lot of us though, he made just as much of an impact as any movie ever did. At least I know he did with me. Monster Mark, as we always referred to him as, recently passed away, after battling multiple sclerosis for many, many years. It is a hard loss for me, even though I had only really seen Mark in person a half a dozen times over the last two decades, but we somehow connected through movies that gave us a strong bond.

I first met Mark back in 1995. I had sold him some movies around that time and was planning on going to the Chiller Theatre show in New Jersey. Mark wrote me and said he would be attending too and we should hook up in the evening, which is just what we did. Hanging out in the bar with him, along with my friend Jon Stone, we talked for hours about all sorts of movies. In fact, Mark and Stone were throwing back title after title, each one more outrageous than the last, interrupted with bouts of laughter.

The next time we met was when Stone and I came out for a Fanex convention, this time to Baltimore, which happened to be Mark’s hometown. While making at stop by Mark’s house, so he could show off his collection, it was then he handed me a copy of Fangoria issue # 9, which was one of the rarest of issues. He knew it was the only issue I didn’t own in my own collection and said it would mean more to me in my collection than to him in his. That is the kind of person Mark was. His generosity, friendship, and all-around craziness showed no bounds. In fact, Mark had more energy than most kids I knew!

I am so thankful that I was able to visit Mark last year while in the Baltimore area, loving the look on his face when I showed up, because he couldn’t believe I was crazy enough to come all that way to visit him. Granted, we were taking a little mini-vacation too, but seeing him was one of the reasons we chose that area.

In a final note, one that feels like it is out of a movie, when Mark’s son Daemon contacted me to tell me of his dad’s passing, he told me that he had gotten the copy of my book that I sent him, which has more than a couple of stories about Mark in there. He told me that his mom had taken the book to show Mark, who at that point had lost the ability to even talk. When she showed him the book, including the picture of him with me and Stone in there, she said a huge smile came over his face. A few days later, he was gone.

Mark, thanks to you, I became a die-hard fan of Mexican horror films. Because of you, I have been immortalized (for better or for worse) in comic book form with your entries in our little fanzine Visions of Darkness we did back in the ’90s. Because of you, I still have that issue # 9 of Fangoria which has more sentimental value to me right now than you could put a price on. Mark, I know you’re in a better place now and can finally go back to running around as fast as you ran your mouth, so while I can’t see you or talk with you at the moment, maybe we’ll meet up once again, probably in the Outer Limits.

Rest in peace, my friend. Gone, but definitely never forgotten.