New and Old at Heavy Metal

A number of breathless announcements on the HM website, timed to the SD Comic Con, inform us that Grant Morrison will be Heavy Metal's new Editor in Chief.  Mr Morrison is apparently well known as a successful writer of successful movies and stuff.  None of his success penetrated the rock I live under, so I had not heard of him before. 


I was amused by an article headline indicating HM is getting a punk rock facelift, since punk was big in HM's early years, so long ago that punk can qualify as oldies.  I can be more charitable by seeing some of the punk rock aesthetic living in today's DIY/maker/hacker attitudes.  Punk was almost as much about taking charge of your own destiny, as about wailing about the hopelessness of it and the rage that feeling generates.  But I disdained punk back in the day since it was co-opted into another disposable fashion trend, so my opinions can be worthless.


In any case, it's another sign of the new owners working to generate some energy into their new property.  Other articles describe some of the creators Mr Morrison is trying to bring in, and also some of the new owners' projects for tv and movies, as well as the other HM branded comics.


Included in the hubbub, is an effort to elevate Mr Eastman into some kind of Publisher Emeritus/Village Elder.  Articles are careful to credit Mr Eastman for keeping HM alive and kicking (I share in this gratitude) when it perhaps should have expired.  There was often plenty to dislike in Mr Eastman's tenure, but there was often much to enjoy as well, and the fact that the mag still exists is a pleasant surprise to fans like me.


Mr Eastman is also provided space to credit Jack Kirby with his success with TMNT.  I found this article to be pretty interesting, in the specific details of Mr Kirby's influence and support for Mr Eastman and Mr Laird.  Of course this article is directly related to the "Lords of Light" promotion of Jack Kirby art with new "black light" coloring (for me the story of the art is more interesting than the art itself), but I enjoyed learning some about the personal connections that were there.  I'm not a fan of TMNT either, but I can appreciate how their success allowed Mr Eastman the means to keep HM alive long past its expiration date.