"Fangoria is an internationally acclaimed American horror media magazine in on and off publication since 1979. It was originally released in an era when horror fandom was still a burgeoning subculture. Fangoria rose to prominence by running exclusive interviews with horror filmmakers and offering behind the scenes photos and stories that were otherwise unavailable to fans at that time. It eventually rose to become a major influencer in the horror world itself. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs first conceived of Fangoria under the name 'Fantastica' in 1978, intending it to be a companion publication to their science fiction themed 'Starlog'. Just as Starlog covered science fiction media for a mostly teenage audience, Fantastica was intended to cover fantasy in a similar fashion. The first issue was assembled under the editorship of 'Joe Bonham', a pseudonym taken from the quadriplegic hero of Dalton Trumbo's novel 'Johnny Got His Gun'. This was a cover for Rolling Stone contributor and screenwriter Ed Naha, and writer Ric Meyers. Shortly after the announcement of Fantastica's coming debut, the magazine was delayed by several months when the publishers of Starlog's competitor, Fantastic Films, threatened a lawsuit because of the similarity in titles. Emergency brainstorming sessions resulted in the name Fangoria (fan/fantasy + fantasmagoria), with the first issue finally going to print on July 31st 1979. That first issue still retained focus on fantasy media but proved to be a financial failure. Because of unexpected reader enthusiasm for an illustrated article on Tom Savini's makeup effects for Dawn Of The Dead, the magazine shifted its attention to the macabre, monsters, and gore. By issue 7 Fangoria became profitable, and only continued to grow in success alongside the horror genre's burgeoning golden age: the 1980s."
