Variety reports that longtime "Heavy Metal" owner and publisher Kevin Eastman has sold the magazine to digital and music veteran David Boxenbaum and film producer Jeff Krelitz, who have already set up new projects under the "Heavy Metal" Hollywood banner -- including the adaptation of Image's "Peter Panzerfaust," the long-awaited animated adaptation of "Chew" and a project called "Red Brick Road," described as "a 'Game of Thrones'-style take on 'The Wizard of Oz.'"

Boxenbaum and Krelitz will serve as co-CEOs of the company while Eastman will remain publisher of the magazine and a minority investor. Boxenbaum will take over the music, online, branding and digital projects while Krelitz will head up film, television, IP and global publishing initiatives. The eventual goal is to help shape "Heavy Metal" into a brand for high-concept genre projects similar to the way Legendary Entertainment has taken shape.

"We see the magazine as a way to test new concepts, new ideas before turning them into something else," Krelitz told Variety. "There are so many opportunities out there now to tell a good story."

"Heavy Metal" magazine has been around since the '70s, and is no stranger to Hollywood, inspiring multiple animated films. Eastman acquired the magazine in 1991, serving as both publisher and editor. Following Boxenbuam and Krelitz's acquisition of "Heavy Metal" the magazine will be restructured as an online quarterly publication, though no details were given as to when printed copies will stop being circulated.