The Heavy Metal Magazine Fan Page has been down for more than a week now. Lostboy was kind enough to respond to my pestering about it. Since the same hiccup often happens at renewal, he decided to change hosts, and it's taking even longer than usual to get back up, though he expects the new host will be an improvement. I hope so.
Even though he stopped updating the site years ago (except for updates til last year on the War of the Worlds - Goliath movie, which maybe I should review someday), and the search function broke when the provider expired, I still visit it frequently for research or to satisfy some curiosity. The 10+ years he put into building the site makes it the most comprehensive HM magazine resource out there.
Nothing lasts forever in this world, and I'm grateful for some things we have while we have them, and this fan page is one of them. Hope it's back soon, I'll often check via my Links page.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Hoax Hunters sample
Your lazy reviewer just noticed there's a free .pdf Hoax Hunters sample over at the Heavy Metal website shop. It looks ... ok. Hard to tell with just 10 pages including the cover and a blank, and not knowing where this is in the story.
getting a lot of russian and ukrainian bot traffic these days, hope they don't wreck anything.
getting a lot of russian and ukrainian bot traffic these days, hope they don't wreck anything.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Heavy Metal #273
Cover by Marco Turini - 7 - Titled "Homage to Frazetta" in the credits. A change in direction from the chick in some getup. It's subdued and evocative and maybe ambiguous in its intentions.
An ad for a "Mechanism" comic. If it was going to be in the mag, I would be interested enough in seeing it, but it appears it will be a separate comic, so I'm not so sure.
Julia and Roem by Enki Bilal - 7 - I'm immediately thrown by the guy with no hair, but I recover enough to see some exposition and development. And coincidence. The art style with hazy greys and browns is perfect for the post-apocalyptic wasteland we are shown.
The 49th Key by Erika Lewis, J.K. Woodward, and Deron Bennett - 6 - The art style was less than precise, but the panel framing and composition briskly tell the story. I was put off by the look of the "letter" from 1556, but it set up the story nicely. People communicating by sound without words? How do you get nuanced sound with tuning forks? To be continued? I'll look forward to how it develops.
Gallery by Abrar Ajmal - 7 - You might think that once you've seen one demon warhorse festooned with skulls trampling the undead, you've seen them all, but this hardworking artist has more to offer. Some of the other work doesn't even have skulls. But many of them do.
Women's War by Fabio Celoni and Adriana Coppe and Marco Turini - 7 - A perfectly ridiculous premise is complemented by a nutty story with an exploration of a real depth of emotion, and Turini's terrific art. Separating men and women in a bid to save the human race in the face of alien invasion? Well, at least the womens' wasteland excursion outfits have bare midriffs. I still enjoyed reading and looking at this again and again. Turini produces scenes that always have something new to see.
Ymir by Joseph Kelly - 7 - It's just a joke, but it's a little funny, and it looks cool. The art simultaneously reminds me of the "Pyloon" stories from 1979, and "Rock Opera" from nearer the end of its run (from 1980 to 1985, it started as a half page black and white and grew dramatically to a multipage color extravaganza, spewing invective and satire, and was one of my favorites, can you tell?), drawings from photos with some fuzzy focus. Unrequited love, or something.
The Aftermath: The Big Clean by the Molen Brothers - 8 - Boy, this was fun. Murky but detailed art that rewards scrutiny? Scathing commentary on corporatism and consumer apathy? That's the stuff for me. Continued next issue? Sounds great.
Exile by Mislav Tomasinjak - 7 - It starts with an inventive approach to setting the story, ends in a more conventional manner, and has a circular path to its story. The art has some nice stylistic effects and the story is textured and almost subtle. And it has a seahorse starship.
The Lost Girl Preview by Michael Mongillo and Rob Ten Pas - 6 - Appears to be a handful of disconnected scenes from a new graphic novel. Nice enough art and hints of a story of a girl and monsters she encounters. Doesn't make me want to go buy it.
The Souvenir by Daniel Hugo and Jayson Geland - 8 - Nicely done art with terrific scenes, and an interesting, almost unique story, told with fancy fonts and not-too-pretentious dialog. Trailing a fugitive to retrieve a souvenir. It tells its story with subtle details as well as a bit of exposition.
Temptation by Made In Ona and Christian Krank -7 - I'm glad we're seeing more of Mr Krank's work, I like the art style and his ability to tell a story in a single page, here almost without words.
Artist's Studio by Myka Jelina - 5 - I'm pretty uninterested in Bratz-doll fashion pinups, but I will say the artist shows some pretty nice technique. Interesting that the artist's favorite medium is stated as acrylic on wood panel.
MI9: Secret Agent Susan Coby by JD and JMB - 6 - This entry shows a small bit of wit along with the unclothed secret agent. These are kind of fun though insubstantial.
An ad for a "Mechanism" comic. If it was going to be in the mag, I would be interested enough in seeing it, but it appears it will be a separate comic, so I'm not so sure.
Julia and Roem by Enki Bilal - 7 - I'm immediately thrown by the guy with no hair, but I recover enough to see some exposition and development. And coincidence. The art style with hazy greys and browns is perfect for the post-apocalyptic wasteland we are shown.
The 49th Key by Erika Lewis, J.K. Woodward, and Deron Bennett - 6 - The art style was less than precise, but the panel framing and composition briskly tell the story. I was put off by the look of the "letter" from 1556, but it set up the story nicely. People communicating by sound without words? How do you get nuanced sound with tuning forks? To be continued? I'll look forward to how it develops.
Gallery by Abrar Ajmal - 7 - You might think that once you've seen one demon warhorse festooned with skulls trampling the undead, you've seen them all, but this hardworking artist has more to offer. Some of the other work doesn't even have skulls. But many of them do.
Women's War by Fabio Celoni and Adriana Coppe and Marco Turini - 7 - A perfectly ridiculous premise is complemented by a nutty story with an exploration of a real depth of emotion, and Turini's terrific art. Separating men and women in a bid to save the human race in the face of alien invasion? Well, at least the womens' wasteland excursion outfits have bare midriffs. I still enjoyed reading and looking at this again and again. Turini produces scenes that always have something new to see.
Ymir by Joseph Kelly - 7 - It's just a joke, but it's a little funny, and it looks cool. The art simultaneously reminds me of the "Pyloon" stories from 1979, and "Rock Opera" from nearer the end of its run (from 1980 to 1985, it started as a half page black and white and grew dramatically to a multipage color extravaganza, spewing invective and satire, and was one of my favorites, can you tell?), drawings from photos with some fuzzy focus. Unrequited love, or something.
The Aftermath: The Big Clean by the Molen Brothers - 8 - Boy, this was fun. Murky but detailed art that rewards scrutiny? Scathing commentary on corporatism and consumer apathy? That's the stuff for me. Continued next issue? Sounds great.
Exile by Mislav Tomasinjak - 7 - It starts with an inventive approach to setting the story, ends in a more conventional manner, and has a circular path to its story. The art has some nice stylistic effects and the story is textured and almost subtle. And it has a seahorse starship.
The Lost Girl Preview by Michael Mongillo and Rob Ten Pas - 6 - Appears to be a handful of disconnected scenes from a new graphic novel. Nice enough art and hints of a story of a girl and monsters she encounters. Doesn't make me want to go buy it.
The Souvenir by Daniel Hugo and Jayson Geland - 8 - Nicely done art with terrific scenes, and an interesting, almost unique story, told with fancy fonts and not-too-pretentious dialog. Trailing a fugitive to retrieve a souvenir. It tells its story with subtle details as well as a bit of exposition.
Temptation by Made In Ona and Christian Krank -7 - I'm glad we're seeing more of Mr Krank's work, I like the art style and his ability to tell a story in a single page, here almost without words.
Artist's Studio by Myka Jelina - 5 - I'm pretty uninterested in Bratz-doll fashion pinups, but I will say the artist shows some pretty nice technique. Interesting that the artist's favorite medium is stated as acrylic on wood panel.
MI9: Secret Agent Susan Coby by JD and JMB - 6 - This entry shows a small bit of wit along with the unclothed secret agent. These are kind of fun though insubstantial.
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