Heavy Metal #300 is noted as the All Star Special. It has 160 pages and a cover price of USD$9.99. I got it in Sept 2020 from someone on ebay, I didn't see it where I usually look. This was the third issue I got in 2020. Right around the time I got it, HM announced they were going to monthly issues again. A bold move with the rest of the other stuff they were pushing, and as we saw, the pandemic hit the fan again late 2020, and made a bad year even worse. And while the issues are still not coming out every month, I did manage to get six issues that year, which was better than only getting five a year for the past couple years. Here's hoping they can pick up the pace, and that 2021 is a better year for everyone.
I got the Cover A "Taarna" by Claudia Ianniciello of Magnus Arts, it's a pretty nice rendition of the brand's primary character. Image lifted from the HM shop):
The Contents pages start out with editorials, "Insights from Heavy Metal's Big Three", Matthew Medney, Tim Seeley, and David Erwin. This appears to be descriptive of the new direction of the mag. At this point I will say they provide varying perspectives on the approach, with varying combinations of sincerity and pomposity. With these editorials, and the continued developments in the staff listings, we have some interesting prospects coming for the mag, which I hope remains the focus of the operation.
Some informational photos:
"Lucy: Hope - Chapter One", by Patrick Norbert, Tanino Liberatore, J.S. Berger, Dan Berger. - 7.5 - With Frank Forte & David Erwin noted as Editors. A story of pre-humans in the struggle to survive. I found Liberatore's art terrrific, with excellent use of his ability to render detail and action. I liked the story just fine, and the storytelling is done quite well. I was mostly able to suspend my disbelief of the characters having very human emotions and perceptions, expressed with narrated complex sentences. The better for our "developed" human brains to apprehend, I suppose. Looking forward to more.
Jean-Pierre Dionnet Interview - 8.5 - Interview by Joshua Sky. A fantastic score for Heavy Metal to get this interview with a seminal character of the mag's origins, for issue #300. Not overlong, 4 pages including 2 of mostly photos, but with a bit of history and a story or two. Seeing that Mr Dionnet is around 75, he's looking great, and getting his insight at this time is a real plus for the operation. One point I had, is that Mr Dionnet refers to the relatively short lifespans of Metal Hurlant, and other HM knockoffs like Epic or 1984, but states that since HM changed over the years, it could continue, but this glosses over the major reason HM continued to exist. That is Kevin Eastman's ownership. Without Mr Eastman, and his making the mag his own plaything, HM would likely have faded away by the early 90s. I think it's important to remember that.
"Savage Circus" by Brendan Columbus, Al Barrionuevo, Candice Han, Dave Sharpe - 6.5 - The story starts with a flashback of monster hunting in Southeast Asia, leading to the "Savage Circus", then lands in a small town at Xmas time, where hoodlums steal the fundraiser pig. The setup is complex but formulaic, and we'll see where the story goes. Some pretty good execution going on here, and at over 20 pages we get a lot of it, but it's not grabbing me at the start.
"Mœbius: The Last Interview" by Geoff Boucher - 9.5 - A stunning opportunity for Heavy Metal, to be able to publish this interview from 2010 by Geoff Boucher, on this issue #300, in addition to the previous interview with Jean-Pierre Dionnet. Rather than a simple question-and-answer format, the interviewer gets to write a paean to the great creator, who was at the center of the creation of Heavy Metal magazine, seasoned with lengthy quotes by the subject. Lovely pictures of words are told.
"Memories" by Mœbius, Albert Patin De La Fizeliére - 9 - With translations by Michael Du Plessis and Josh Robertson and with edits and letters by Frank Forte noted. Noted as unpublished in Mr Erwin's editorial, this is certainly a delight to see. Apparently from '95, this has lovely Mœbius drawing, diverse and evocative, and delightfully unhinged and lewd dialog, making this something I quite enjoyed, not the least of which for old times' sake. A blessing to us to be able to have this late work from an acknowledged master of Heavy Metal magazine history.
"cradle" by Kent Williams and John Ney Rieber - 7 - A perhaps metaphorical look at life and relationship. I liked the art style and how much was shown on two pages, and I liked the obtuse but clearly stated text, and I liked what I thought it was saying, even with the slight whiff of a guy pouting about not getting enough attention. Figure it out.
"The Dawn of The Rise" by George C. Romero - 7 - Mr Romero gets to geek out about being in HM, and briefly discuss growing up as the son of George A. Romero, famous for the "Night of the Living Dead" movies. While I don't recall just what or when "The Rise" will be from what little I have heard, I did enjoy this essay from Mr Romero, for the enthusiasm he has for having a famous father, and how he saw the opportunities it brought him, while making his claim to being his own creator.
"Cold Dead War" by Justin Jordan, Kelley Jones, Brennan Wagner, Jaime Martínez - 5 - Zombies on a Pacific island in WWII. I wasn't excited by how this one looked or read.
"Mad Moby" by Tater7 - 6.5 - With Frank Forte on the Letters and Edits. A Moby Dick telling in a Mad-Max-looking desert wasteland. An interesting approach with some payoff, and it's "Not the End..." so maybe there's more even better fun coming.
"Taarna" by David Erwin, Matthew Medney, Butch Guice, Chris Sotomayor, Marshall Dillon - 6 - Taarna again responds to the call. A few bright spots, like a rendition of the temple from the first movie, and a guy with sun and planets for a head, but I found myself wanting more engagement with the art and story than I got. Hoping I find more in the "to be continued".
"Taarna: A Woman" by Stephanie Phillips, Jim Terry - 6 - Credit where it's due for a prose piece to develop the brand, by a woman (apparently, with the man doing the couple artworks). Like the previous story, I wish I got more out of it. And maybe like the previous story, there may be more.
"Dark Wing - Chapter One" by Matthew Medney, German Ponce, Protobunker Studios, Bruce Edwards, Pete "Voodoo Bownz" Russo - 6 - A space story of a nomadic space people, seeking the perfect planet home, and surviving for the hundred generations it's taken so far in their quest. Fast paced and colorful, this starts out looking like a screenplay treatment to me, with witty banter and explosions with life in the balance. And with a dumb sexist joke to start. There is more coming so we'll see if it expands its appeal.
"Murky World" by Richard Corben - 8.5 - I'm enjoying this greatly. The story (!), the humor, the dynamic perspectives, sequences, shading, the weird fish-eye view when he meets Old Mag again, the Corben-itude. What fun. Tugat continues to a familiar place. Such good fortune for this to be here for us. And next, "the Thrilling Conclusion!"
"Not Today" by Mark McCann, Paul Fry, Adam Brown - 8 - With edits and letters by Frank Forte. A black shadow dragon overruns the countryside, threatening the city. A crew of comic stereotypes band together to thwart the scourge, futilely, until the 5th wall shatters. Ok premise and execution, extra points for an apparently sincere metaphor for depression.
"Prism Pastures" by David Erwin - 7 - Part of the WonderWerk podcast series. This struck me as a nice inclusion into the prose work that has been in HM over the years. An android servant contemplates the passing of his aged master. Android existentialism may not be a completely original idea, but I thought this was well expressed.
"Synapse" by Blake Northcott, Giuseppe Cafaro, Bryan Alvarez, Northworld - 6 - With edits by Matt Medney and Frank Forte. In a dystopic future Toronto, ravaged by chemical pollution, the finish of a story of revenge and closure, with small hints of the story's beginning. A timely quarantine analogy, with some bright spots in the art.
"Sun Eater" by Dylan Sprouse and Diego Yapur - 5 - Apparently a prose story preview for a comic series. There have been social media mentions about it. This was not interesting to me. I didn't engage the story, and there were little things about the presentation that bugged me, incongruous use of language that didn't evoke a different time or place for me, and the ragged-paper edges with the modern fonts.
"Sunpot" by Mark Bodē - 8 - With an introductory page lauding the contributions of Vaughn Bodē to comic art and Heavy Metal, and a reminiscence by his son Mark, who extends the legacy with his own contribution (which he has apparently been doing since 1980 with "Zooks" in some early 80s Heavy Metals). Sunpot was a feature in the very first issues of Heavy Metal Magazine, and this Sunpot reprise, subtitled " Dr. Electric Meets the Repo Man", is as close to generating the feel of reading the mag at the earliest days, as I've experienced.
Comparison samples:
April 1977:
#300:
The art and hand lettering have the look, and the story and writing have the gleeful sexism and creative insults, that so titillated me and countless other het-male barely-adults back in the day. What fun, and it's "continued next issue."
"At the End of the Day..." by Duke Mighten - 7.5 - with edits by Frank Forte and Josh Robertson. A Godling of the Sentinels of the New World Order, cracks up trying to reconcile the consequences of his actions. The terrific art paints a finely detailed futuristic picture, and comes with a fantastic shocker panel. The story itself is small but imaginative, with much more hinted at. Though this ends with a "Fin", there could easily be more to this story, if the creator wanted.
So I found that most of what I really liked in this issue had strong links to the magazine's past, and I was a bit less excited by the newer stuff. But it's starting to seem like the mag is picking a direction and building on it, and it'll be up to me to decide what I like about it. If they really pick up the pace to publish monthly, I'll need to pick up my review game to keep up. If you're still there, thanks for reading.
