Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor and his business partner, Mad Monster owner Eben McGarr, have taken over the Famous Monsters brand. The two plan to relaunch the famed horror magazine Famous Monsters, plus produce festivals, create toys, produce movies and more.
Taylor broke the news last Friday (Oct. 14) at the Son of Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank, California. “Our job is to build a foundation to bring Famous Monsters into the modern age, while also honoring the legacy that came before,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “It’s the whole reason that we were fans to begin with.”
Taylor says he first got into the Famous Monsters of Filmland fanzine when he started collecting horror zines as a child. Famous Monsters was a pioneer in the horror publication field and influenced many horror magazines that popped up years later.
On top of acquiring the Famous Monsters brand, Taylor and McGarr also snagged the rights to Captain Company. Captain Company was the Famous Monsters “store.” They also got the rights to the life story of Famous Monsters founding editor Forrest Ackerman.
Taylor and McGarr plan to digitize every issue of Famous Monsters, launch a traveling festival and horror convention, make movies and start a horror cruise. “I would perform,” Taylor said. “I would get some of my friends who lean into that side of it. And really put something cool together.”
He continued, “There’s something cool about a scary movie; there’s something cool about a monster. There’s something cool about the underlying metaphor of, ‘It doesn’t matter sometimes if you aren’t the strongest one, you can win and conquer your fears.’”