The world was on fire and I wanted to go out making monster movies with creatives.

Tara Ansley

FANGORIA & STARLOG, Co Owner | Wanderwell Entertainment, CEO

Published Feb 15, 2022

“Why you" ? Who are you" ? was asked of me in August 2020 when we closed the acquisition deal on several brands that I grew up with as a teen - STARLOG, FANGORIA, & GOREZONE. It was peak pandemic earlier in the year when I heard the brands were up for sale. I reached out to a friend and former Executive Producer Abhi Goel - I asked him - Hey you've been acquired before and you've scaled companies - You want to buy a publishing company together ? The world was on fire and I wanted to go out making monster movies with creatives.

FANGORIA was a huge inspiration to me as a kid - a place where I could discover new voices, cinematography, and see behind the scenes. This was pre being able to "google" bts on my favorite movies. This was peak Blockbuster weekends. Its one of the reasons I ended up in the film business - entertainment as a career. I've never wanted a personal brand... Just spent years chugging away behind the scenes in production offices and as an independent producer. I had no experience with magazine printing or publishing in general. Grew up in Georgia with no LA or NYC entertainment ties. Here I was trying to defend my right and worth in a space that helped create me.

The deal closed and we basically crawled inside of a cannon, lit the fuse, and shot ourselves out into the universe. Universe here we are !

What I do have is passion and thick skin - I have a deep deep rooted passion and fight to see more females with ownership in the scifi & horror space. More women owning gaming, publishing, entertainment, and comic companies. I grew up idolizing Gale Anne Hurd, Barbara Broccoli, Diane Nelson, and many others including all the original women who created and fostered Nickelodeon.

I am the fourth owner of FANGORIA & STARLOG - Abhi and I look quite different from the former folks. For the first time in 42+ years we're minority and female owned. That's what lights my soul on fire - to continue to grow the company in a more inclusive direction. When we launched FANGORIA Studios in January 2021 our studio tagline became "Everyone Screams In The Same Language". We aim to create around the world. Our first announced feature film is SITORA about a Malaysian Were-Tiger ... The movie is a bit of Parasite, Jungle Book, and American Werewolf in London. It thrilled me as a horror fan. Its so fresh - the same type of story I love but told in a way I could have never imagined. Next we announced MEDUSA which we will film in Greece helmed by Anna Chazelle. What a story - what a woman !

Over the past year and some change I have learned about the publishing world, paper quality, different kinds of ink, and the postal systems around the world....We've expanded the company with new hires and reach. Everyday we learn something new about what makes FANGORIA great ! The market is telling us our gut is spot on. We continue to champion incredible talent and cheer projects on as horror, sci-fi, and comics dominate the box office & streaming.

We've collaborated with major studios, brands, and small businesses. We've led our teams with our experience, gut, strategic partnerships, open mindedness, and what we would like to see as fans. Everyday we get messages from people around the world - stories of where they read their first FANGO, how they still have their collections, their favorite memories with the brand. Its incredible to see people post their new issues - to see the rush of photos on social media with each new issue published.

It seems the passion is contagious - its nice to hear that people are rooting for us. That they want us to succeed. They've reached out wanting to work together. Its been 42+ years and its nice to be a part of this and to leave our mark on these legacy brands.

We can't wait to share with you what we're building.