Just a heads-up: Fangoria web site back up, but now Starlog.com's fallen and can't get up

This blog post's title pretty much says it all. Fango's web site, which has been down for weeks, is up as of this morning.

However, sister title Starlog's web site, which had resumed operation before Fango's, is down once again, this time with the error message shown below.

So this gives some impetus to the view that Fango's going to be sticking around. At least for a while. Additional updates from Jadedviewer blog.

UPDATE: As of 4:34 pm Pacific time, Fango's web site is down again. And Starlog.com is still down, though with a new error message. I'm sure President Obama will be making a statement soon on this serious issue of national import.

If You're Searching for News about Fangoria and Fangoria.com ...

There's a new blog calling itself the Fangoria Magazine Newsblog, and it appears to be written by longtime Fangoria magazine managing editor Michael Gingold. It seems to be the only place with new Fango news; the main web site (Fangoria.com, as well as its science-fiction sister site Starlog.com) have been unavailable online for more than a week. What's going on?

Until we hear some news, the newsblog seems the only place to get updates. So off you go ...

Starlog and Fangoria Web Sites Go MIA: Is the Trade Federation to Blame?

For the past couple days, when you visit the web sites for science fiction source Starlog or horror source Fangoria, you receive this error message:

Now, I don't know what the reason is. Maybe they forgot to pay their bills, or their web host is having major problems, or the Great Recession has struck another victim. I have no inside info. But am I the only one who saw those error messages and thought, A communications disruption could mean only one thing: invasion.

I hope some nice Jedi knights can help 'em out.

Magazines Online: Starlog Spins a New Web

After several months of absence from the World Wide Web, Starlog magazine has returned with a new site, and a welcome sight it is.

It's clearly built on the template used for the new site of its sister publication, Fangoria. But what it lacks in originality it makes up for with some smart content, such as weekly lists of comics available at comics shops (keeping alive its claim to the Comics Scene name and brand), or reports on the Academy Awards. As they build up the site -- I hope, adding blogs, podcasts, and much more -- it will definitely bear watching.

Starlog as a brand has to rebuild its online presence, having slipped way off the first page of Google search results (instead, you may learn that there's a phone system called Starlog). But every journey begins with one step, and I think they've made a good one.

One question: With the recent change in its logo, why does the new site use its old, classic logo? A mistake? A place-holder? Or are they switching back?