Arthouse/porny (delete as appropriate) mainstay Heavy Metal is back with a brand new #1 issue.
Heavy Metal is back, baby! That’s the magazine, not the genre. First founded in 1977 to republish mature-themed European comics for the American market, Heavy Metal has struggled in recent years, but a successful Kickstarter campaign in late 2024 breathed new life into the old warhorse. With over a million raised, now a whole new generation of curious youth can look forward to reassuring their parents that it’s just a comic as Heavy Metal #1 hits newsstands on May 13.
Yes, newsstands – the mag will be available in mainstream stores, even in Australia. Under new editor in chief Frank Forte, Heavy Metal will be following a quarterly release schedule, with the first issue featuring variant covers from such luminaries as Greg Hildebrandt, Frank Frazetta, Tula Lotay, Keron Grant, Janevsky, David Palumbo, Tehani Farr, and Tony Moore.
The aim here is to restore Heavy Metal to its former glory as the premiere adult comics magazine. To that end, the first issue includes Burton & Cyb by Antonio Segura and Jose Ortiz, Vicente Segrelles’ classic The Mercenary, and the first English translation of Janevsky’s cult sci-fi series, Sixella. Plus, writers Leah Moore (Alan Moore’s her dad) and John Reppion and artist Anna Morozova are reviving HM’s flagship character, Taarna who featured heavily in the Heavy Metal animated anthology film back in ’81. Remember that one?
…it was a different time. On top of that, expect new and reprinted work that includes BUG by Enki Bilal, Millstone by Michael Conrad and Ilias Kyriazis, Cold Dead War (B-17) by Craig Wilson, and Grimaldi by Keron Grant.
Heavy Metal has certainly had an erratic life since it began as an anglicized reprint of the French comics album Métal Hurlant back in the day. At one point Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman bought the entire thing for half a mil, serving as EiC from 1993 to 2016, when he was replaced by acclaimed comics writer Grant Morrison. Morrison ran the show for two years before switching to an advisory role, but frequent editorial sales and changes in the market saw the mag founder, finally being cancelled in 2023.
Will this current incarnation make the grade? Hard to say. It certainly looks the business, but is there still an audience for sex and violence-heavy Euro comics? Look, probably, but more importantly: is that audience willing to shell out for a glossy quarterly publication? Especially since it seems to be a physical-only offering – no digital edition in sight.
If you’re in that audience, head on to the official Heavy Metal site for more info.
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