Heavy Metal #294

It says "Industrial Special", I can't say for sure why, maybe it's because many of the stories have some technology.  I got this year's 2nd issue of the mag in the 8th month of the year.  It's a hefty issue at over 150 pages, and I enjoyed reading it.  But it's hard to understand why they can still sell subscriptions for 6 issues a year, when they haven't produced more than 5 for a couple years, maybe since the Eastman era?  I'm finding myself annoyed that they took the trouble to publish "Soft Wood", which seemed to start as an April Fool's joke (which I did finally find, maybe I'll make a review, dunno), when they can't publish a full year of bimonthly issues.  It doesn't seem like lack of material is the problem.


As always, my whining gets me nowhere, and I'm better off finding the place where I can be grateful for what we do have.  Working on it.


I got the Cover A, "Sorrow" by Donato Giancola - 6 - Two robots appear to comfort or caress a limp naked human form.  Perhaps evocative but obtuse.  This artist has a gallery in the issue.


Inside at the contents page, the art is from the Cover C, "Poursuit" by Tom Hisbergue, which I liked with its mashup vibe of Thelma and Louise meets Bladerunner.


"If/Then" by Genevieve Valentine, Agustín Alessio, Adam Wollet - 6 - A woman with a spear seems to be warily moving through a forest that appears patrolled by robots, when she encounters a robot dog trapped by a rock.  She frees the robot dog, which then appears to bond with her.  It's hard to say if this is simply a girl meets robot search dog story, or if we should find more to it.  The title as program logic statement, makes me think the robot dog made the logical decision to protect the woman, based on her kindness in freeing it.  But that makes me wonder if that would be a bug or a feature in the robot dog's programming.


"1NF3RNO" by Thom London, Curt Pires, Antonio Fuso, Stefano Simeone, Micah Myers - 7 - This seems to start as a future-religion morality play, then has the deaths and afterlifes of two people apparently mixed up.  It mostly follows the deceased young woman's path through Hell and representations of the seven deadly sins, to try to find her way out.  She was maybe successful?  It's not surprising I could be a little confused, but I found enough intriguing questions in this to interest me.


"Smile of the Absent Cat" by Grant Morrison and Gerhard - 7 - Subtitled "chapter four: the whole of creation", and referred to on the contents page as "The Smile Absent Cat".  Mr Catkins is convinced to join the "cult of science" that has been manipulating the world around him.  Glad this chapter appears after "only a few" months (two issues) after chapter three, instead of a year and a half like the last time.  And also glad for the conspiratorial plot exposition, though it seems our poor protagonist is being taken advantage of in his mentally unstable state.


Gallery by Nick Pyle - 7 - With an interview by Hannah Means-Shannon.  From comics consuming youth to noise-rock musician to self-taught artist, Mr Pyle has a unique and recognizable style, heavy on armored and/or robot humanoids, with lots of colored lights and squggly wiring.  I can imagine the lights blinking, though I can hardly imagine this style animating well.  My untrained eye seemed to see the untrained means to the artistic ends, and I was more amused than annoyed by inconsistencies in perspective or anatomy.  I think it's because I get the feeling he's having fun with it.  I also enjoyed the imagination displayed, where the style doesn't get in the way of the story the images seem to convey.


"Caretaker" by Matt Emmons - 6 - A robot, apparently the "Caretaker", makes its way through what appears to be the decrepit remains of some sort of human space colony settlement.  I liked the art style and execution, and the storytelling was good, but I got lost in the details, like who designs a robot with a fragile glass skullplate?  And it had a fruit stolen by a raccoon-looking critter, but it had another one stashed to give away later?  Just another day apparently.


"(Inspired by the Song...) Thieves by Ministry" by Aubrey Sitterson, Andrea Mutti, Vladimir Popov, Taylor Esposito - 6 - A complicated title, noted more simply as 'Ministry's "Thieves"' on the Contents page.  I don't know the song, so I start disadvantaged.  I liked the art style, ragged yet colorful and energetic, and the storytelling builds nicely.  The story itself doesn't grab me, maybe I'll look up the song to see if that fills me in.


Gallery by Donato Giancola - 7 - With Hannah Means-Shannon with the interview.  The HM website recently produced a News article with Giancola's work, many of which appear in this Gallery.  The article calls this the "Empathetic Robots" series, oddly not mentioned in the interview here.  I liked the realistic-ish classical-y art style, which helps display the Empathy the images are apparently meant to convey.


"Into the Black" by Keith Grassmick, Nick Philpott, Dennis Calero - 6 - A dark near-future cop thriller with several broken-down-cops tropes.  It does have a knack for presenting contrivances as intriguing perspectives.


"Glitch" by Dwayne Harris - 6 - A simple future society-VR joke, this tells its joke well in just a couple pages.


"Murky World" Chapter 8 by Richard Corben - 7.5 - A search party seeks the kidnapped daughter of Lod Phatuus, finding instead the escaped slave Moja with Tugat waiting in ambush.  Still terrificly Corben, and with some fine gratuitous nudity, I'm a bit miffed this one doesn't follow up on the old prophet's proposition to Tugat.  I'll get over it, especially if this continues like this.


"Machine Age Voodoo" by Frank Forte, Michael Duplessis, Moramike, Carlos Cabrera - 6 - A disaffected mad scientist, as a musician, seethes at society's inability to recognize his genius.  Energetic writing and furious art sustain the storytelling, despite flat characterizations and a disconcerting misalignment of the color register in some of the images.  It seems intentional, and adds to the frenzy, but it made it a challenge to process some of the scenes.


"I am Your God" by Homero Rios, Davi Augusto, David Ocampo, JAME- 7 - A society where humankind is extinct, replaced by the "Synthetics" who "emulate their behavior for a better life experience".  Until one starts questioning their existence, just like those flawed humans.  The art has a nice style and the story unfolds apace.  I thought this did a good job with the telling of this old modern story.


Gallery by xsullo - 7 - Hannah Means-Shannon interviews the artist, AKA Nick Sullo.  Portaits of techno-fear, with strong colors and disturbing imagery, which I enjoy despite the visceral fright.  The HM website also has a News article with more of this artist's work.


"Dance, Death, Dance" by Kevin Eastman, Esau Escorza, Tato Caballero, JAME - 6 - A robot has life, love, loss, and death.  Starting with a lightining strike through a future-modern city, to the waste dump at its base, a Terminator-looking robot is animated into a Bisley-looking character, to experience his ghost-lover, to lose her in a zombie attack, and to die to give her "life".  The art is vibrant and enjoyable, and gives the story its all, but I found annoyance that Mr Eastman's writing consisted of Hamlet's "To be or not to be..." soliloquy.  I'm sure the writing of this story also included telling the artist what scenes to draw, and this is the most Eastman content in several issues.  I guess I was hoping for more.


"The Second Rider" by Jesse Lonergan - 6 - A motorcycle riding assassin, the "second rider", fulfills his mission, and then some, replacing his target to rule in their place.  Oh and he's a "shape shifter" and is last seen impersonating the ruler in the ruler's bed with a concubine.  I liked the art and styling, the storytelling was effective, even if unexciting to me.


"Planet Carnivore" by Philippe Caza - 8 - Rating may be inflated for sentimental reasons.  I greatly enjoyed Caza's work in the earlier years of the mag.  The art was a delight, colorful and intriguing, finely executed, plenty sexy, and he could tell a story with wit, humor, and grace.  The most recent instance of Caza's work in the mag as far as I can tell, was on an inside cover in #281, and that was apparently from 1983.  Besides that I believe his last appearances were in 2001 (the January and Summer issues).  Having newer work in the mag is a delight.  For a long time, a link on Lostboy's HM fan page went to a Caza site, in French, but there were some items for sale, digital work and some printed.  The link is long gone, and I regretted not acting on procuring some of this stuff, but I actually looked and found a link.  Maybe I'll actually do something.  Oh, and the story?  A marooned space traveler, describing the native fauna trying to eat them as annoying downstairs neighbors (a perspective often used in Caza's HM stories), is plucked from the peril, but not to be saved.