“It looks like the world is ending, again!”
After its downfall the last few years, Heavy Metal magazine returns following a successful Kickstarter with a brand new number one.
Digging into the nitty gritty of comic book magazines is nearly impossible, as the modern version we know today originated as short-form anthologies. The earliest example I have is New Fun: The Big Comics Magazine #1 by Wheeler-Nicholson, an early evolution of DC. Heavy Metal, however, has a more controversial history than its peers with concepts such as Captain Sternn, a parody of pulp sci-fi characters created by horror artist Bernie Wrightson. Characters like Captain Sterrn reflect the real purpose of Heavy Metal: to bring underground comix to the regular consumer audience. For some, this was met with mixed feelings amongst the underground scene, but this has become the home of many underground comix ever since.
So, how did Heavy Metal crash and burn?
Great question. It fell victim to the complications of the online comic market.
Despite the magazine’s history, nothing was ever safe from falling into the same traps that any other comic book could find itself. In a way, that reflects how unusual the modern comic world is. However, thanks to the folks at Heavy Metal International, the magazine returns with a promise to set things right, and honestly? I’d say they stuck the landing.
The Mercenary, drawn by Vicente Segrelles
Heavy Metal definitely doesn’t shy away from its original formatting, instead, it applies the design genius of Tom Muller to redesign the magazine for the modern audience. Every page is met with the same level of chaos as the previous installments, unfortunately, it is impossible to look over every single piece of art in Heavy Metal #1, so I’ve opted to focus on a certain handful of short stories while giving love to those I missed.
“BUG, Part One”
Enki Bilal, Ian Irvine, and Tom Williams
BUG presents itself under a more muted cyberpunk style as we’re introduced to the Neo World Wide Web, the evolution of the digital sphere you’re reading this review on right now. With severe system errors happening, a mother and daughter anxiously await the return of the man of the house. Immediately going into things, Bilal’s art is gorgeous – there is a dreary atmosphere throughout the entire short story with his usage of darker coloring and his emphasis on character design. His art and writing here reflects the best of his work.
The only downsides with “BUG” has to do with the lettering. Tom Williams is a strong letterer and has had some fantastic work in the past, however his lettering here doesn’t suit the art style that strongly. It comes across somewhat awkwardly in scenes and with how the digital version of the magazine is edited, it often looks higher quality than the art itself.
“The Mercenary: Journey to DEATH”
Vicente Segrelles, R.G Llarena, and Frank Forte
“The Mercenary” is, by far, the most charming out of the short stories. Segrelles opts to take a classic Heavy Metal approach to his short story as readers follow an unnamed warrior called The Mercenary, and it’s as goofy as any classic fantasy story. Segrelles’ best quality with this story has to do with his art – he takes a classical approach with his character design and backdrops that feels ripped out of an old Alan Lee illustration.
Additionally, his dialogue is charming as it emphasizes the more comedic atmosphere of traditional fantasy. What makes the dialogue especially pop is Frank Forte’s stellar lettering as the dialogue perfectly blends in with art.
“Taarna, The Last Taarnakian: Rebirth Part 1”
Leah Moore, John Reppion, Anna Morozova, Ellie Wright, and Tom Napolitano
Taarna is, without any doubt, the flagship character of Heavy Metal, being able to tackle the character in any capacity is essentially a milestone for any indie creator and that feeling is felt throughout the beginning of this new ongoing story. Something that struck me throughout reading the story was how Morozova’s art was aesthetically influenced by the character work of Michael and Laura Allred.
Taarna, drawn by Anna Morozova
In terms of writing, Moore and Reppion treat the comic as a way to dive into Taarna’s emotions and motivations a good deal as she finds herself rushing into yet another adventure. There isn’t too much to say about this story, unfortunately – it somewhat feels like a standard Taarna story within Heavy Metal standards.
“Alien Disclosures”
The many wonderful and memorable short stories aside, Heavy Metal #1 also has a great deal of artist-focused segments called “Alien Disclosures”. They serve as ways to uplift artists with many unusual but beautiful art pieces throughout. Notable artists in these small one shots include Katie Houghton-ward, Axel Medellin and Carlos Cabrera, and ELGO.
These segments are admirable as many of them take inspiration from the many works of Moebius, Jack Kirby, and Philippe Druillet. They remind new audiences of what Heavy Metal strives to uplift and its artist freedom whether underground or mainstream. It shows that despite the beatings the magazine has taken over the last few years, their original vision of unfiltered art still continues strong to this day and without these decisions the Western market wouldn’t have known names like Peach Momoko and Chantal Montellier.
As this review comes to an end, there is a reminder that not everything that this magazine has to offer was covered in here as it would be complete torture for our comics editor and many of these stories need to be read for themselves. The new generation of comic book fans needs to engross themselves into the rebellious side of comics so they begin to truly appreciate the many different sides of the comic book industry.
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