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Kirk Hammett: "My first major purchase was probably a back issue of `Famous Monsters,' because monsters were an obsession when I was younger, but when I started playing guitar I just stopped buying the magazine and started becoming obsessed with music. But when I got a little bit of responsible income, I slowly started buying the old back issues I once had. The cover art I got mostly though word of mouth, which is how collectors get a lot of things. You get a random phone call that so-and-so has this piece and do you want it right now? The first time I bought `Famous Monsters' cover art, I found out there was more out there from artists like Basil Gogos, Ron Cobb; I moved quickly. Most were bought within a five-year period, and they are all one-of-a-kind pieces. They are also much more vivid in person than magazine reproduction could ever do justice to. The funny thing is, the back of the old issues of `Famous Monsters,' where they sold merchandise, it still informs me on some of the stuff that I have never tracked down."

Cover art, "Famous Monsters of Filmland"

( November 25, 2012 )

Kirk Hammett: "My first major purchase was probably a back issue of `Famous Monsters,' because monsters were an obsession when I was younger, but when I started playing guitar I just stopped buying the magazine and started becoming obsessed with music. But when I got a little bit of responsible income, I slowly started buying the old back issues I once had. The cover art I got mostly though word of mouth, which is how collectors get a lot of things. You get a random phone call that so-and-so has this piece and do you want it right now? The first time I bought `Famous Monsters' cover art, I found out there was more out there from artists like Basil Gogos, Ron Cobb; I moved quickly. Most were bought within a five-year period, and they are all one-of-a-kind pieces. They are also much more vivid in person than magazine reproduction could ever do justice to. The funny thing is, the back of the old issues of `Famous Monsters,' where they sold merchandise, it still informs me on some of the stuff that I have never tracked down."