Julie Strain, go in peace.
https://www.heavymetal.com/news/julie-strain-heavy-metal-obituary/
I gotta admit, it wouldn't have been Heavy Metal without you. I may not have been the biggest fan, but her babe-i-tude, and the impact she had on the mag in the Eastman years, is undeniable.
thanks
Heavy Metal #299 is called "Mythical Worlds Special". I got the Cover C version, and the below image, from mycomicshop.com again, in July of 2020.
This cover is called "Fiddler Crab on the Roof" by Sean Andrew Murray, and I liked the scene, reminding me somewhat of "Sacred Geometry" by Michael E. Bennett, which was subtitled "The Re-Education of Baron Edwin G. Krambiss", with the Baron on his tortoise-mounted villa, in #298, as well as the attention to detail, and the translucent treatment of the logo.
Peter Kleinman is again credited for the logo, this time in the contents. There's a bit more churn in the chain of command: No Chris Chiang, a Joseph Illidge noted as a Managing Editor, R.G. Llarena now a Managing Editor too, Hannah Means-Shannon now a Contributing Editor (hmm), and it's now Joshua Sky for the Digital Editor. Are they ever going to stabilize to coalesce into something?
There's something at the bottom of the contents page, in white on a gray background, written backwards and fading to nothingness. Hard to see but I've decided to think it says "welcome to the roaring void." Odd. Opposite the contents page is a nice illustration of someone on a tall ladder peering from an open portal, looking like it's for a book, called "Lumen 6" by Michael Whelan.
A couple photos are in order here:
"A Faerie Tale Wedding" by Robert Randle, Enrique Alcatena, Arthur Hesli, Jame, R.G. Llarena - 6.5 - A bride on her wedding day, as she prepares to enter the church, is approached by a mysterious intruder into her chamber. Spirited away into a world of the fae, she tarries too long, returning far too late for her wedding. Pretty and engaging, also ponderous and nonsensical, in a fun way.
"Les Fleurs de Mort" by Steve Mannion, Jose Ladrönn, Frank Forte - 7 - Our pretty young woman superheroine-outfitted protagonist, communes with nature, and vanquishes the fascist-lookin' demon, with a flower. Lovely. I like how Mr Mannion's drawing looks like it could be from HM from years back.
"Wedding" by Philippe Caza - 7 - with translation by Michael Du Plessis and letters by Frank Forte. The guy certainly has reason to remember his wedding day. Not dated, but this looks somewhat recent to me, can't really say just why, yet it appears clearly as Caza's work. Which is certainly a good thing. Besides a somewhat recent appearance in #294 in 2019, Caza had last been in HM in #281 in 2016, with something from 1983. Before that was in the 80s, so it was very nice HM could have more Caza here now. Too bad his name is misspelled in the Contents, in a way I have done so more than once.
Gallery with Sean Andrew Murray - 7.5 - with an other insightful interview by Hannah Means-Shannon. It's good, (it's really too bad HM failed to keep Ms Means-Shannon, their and our loss), and many of the images are so small that the delightful details are less apparent, helping the text stand out even more. The art had imagination that I enjoyed.
"Confess" by Peach Momoko, Frank Forte - 7 - A tattoo artist offers absolution for the remorseful, though it is not limitless. Beautifully stylized, arcane, simply written.
"Dogma Resistance" by Herø Projects, Matthew Medney, Morgan Rosenblum, Santa Fung, Bryan Valenza, Voodoo Bownz, RIOT (DJ Group) - 5 - An evil ancient mecha-demon is awakened, somehow. Not liking this, the premise (?), art, storytelling, they're just not coming together for me. Will it redeem itself as it's "to be continued"? I hate to guess.
"The Highwayman" by Cliff Dorfman, David Arquette, Armitano, John Rauch, Adam Wollet - 6 - An armed robbery at a diner goes wrong. There's a lot to like here, the art, story, and writing, all have bright moments of energy and insight, but I ended up disappointed that the whole seemed lesser than the sum of its parts.
Gallery with Michael Whelan - 7 - with another fine interview by Hannah Means-Shannon. There's much good in the art, apparent skill and imagination, though not all of it excited me. Frankly I enjoyed the interview even more, Mr Whelan tells some good stories.
"Murky World" by Richard Corben - 8 - In this, the 13th chapter of this lovely gift of Corben to our modern brains, our hapless hero Tugat is once again relieved of his horse Frix, as he is seduced by promises of wealth, demonstrating again that he's really not all that sharp. He is then trapped in a cyclopian beast's lair, and I don't even care that I don't know why. A wonderful story that can go anywhere it wants, and it does, as long as I get to follow along.
"Vices Lead: Lust" by John Bivens - 6 - This appears to be a continuation of "Where Vices Lead" from #288 (2 years ago now), where Lust is the topic this time, but I struggled to make any sense out of this. It took a few looks to figure out the pages that were set up as two page spreads, which are rare in the mag these days, and that helped me follow along better, a little bit anyway, and the more I looked the more I wanted to like it. But the storytelling isn't very cohesive, and the art is sketchy to the point of distraction. Maybe if we saw more of these "Vices Lead" stories, it would help. My opinion is that reviewing some early Druillet would have helped with some of the background sex action. (from "Urm" March 1978):
"Redemption and the Cicatrix" by Conor Boyle, David Baillie - 6 - With Hannah Means-Shannon getting an editing credit. I feel I'm barely scratching the surface of what this story is trying to tell, going from comics to news to defeating and dethroning god. The art and framing are more impressive, but on repeated readings I hardly improved my opinion, compared to how the previous story affected me. And it's really too bad about the misspelling on the contents page.
"See What Thou Wilt" by Kyle Strahm, Matthew Mitchell, Jake Smith, Crank! - 6 - A disaffected punk kid seeks arcane tattoos to give him the power he lacks, but he only too late sees the price he pays, and that satisfaction eludes him. I wasn't too excited by this, it's a little funny sometimes, but at least some dick appears. I usually think some equal time cheap sexual exploitation is appropriate.
"Americon Dreamin'" by Scott Duvall, Ralf Singh, Cristian Docolomansky, Ilaria Fella - 6 - With Hannah Means-Shannon getting an "Edits" credit, and some thanks to Taylor Esposito. With a reference to a more contemporary tyrant, and some nice T-Rex drawing, and lots of 'splosions, the end of civilization as we know it. Did Einstein really say that World War IV would be fought with sticks and stones?
"Familiaris" by John Reppion, David Hitchcock, Matt Soffe, Simon Bowland - 7 - The King's Witchfinder General in mid 17th Century England, gets found by the witches. Some pretty good storytelling and art tell a harrowing tale with horrifying imagery, showing glimpses of what it implies in the mind.
