Heavy Metal #303

Heavy Metal #303 has a cover price of USD$13.99, 144 pages, it's the first issue I got in 2021.  Again editorials from the three big shots. They all talk about science fiction, and two of them end on dumb notes.  At least there is actually some sci-fi stuff in the mag.  I got the Cover A by Pascal Blanche, spaceships in orbit, cool and blue, from mycomicshop.com again.  They usually have them available earlier, and I'm not about to order from HM, not only because of the people complaining about not getting their stuff, but I don't want to be on their mailing list more than I already am (I only gave my email a couple times to comment on articles several years ago, now I'm getting their newsletter, twice each.  hmph).  Here's the image from mycomicshop.com, I think it's pretty cool so I'll call it a 7:

There's almost no change on the masthead, and they're still crediting Peter Kleinman for the logo.  Good:

"Lucy:  Hope - Chapter Four" by Patrick Norbert, Tanino Liberatore - 8.5 - With Frank Forte & David Erwin noted again as Editors.  Pain and loss, struggle and hope and perhaps redemption, the pre-human characters survive, in this final chapter.  Wonderful imagery and presentation, with the story bridging the gap in time and humanity.  Certainly one of the better HM stories of the post-Morrison era.

"Savage Circus" Chapter Four by Brendan Columbus, Al Barrionuevo, Candice Han, Dave Sharpe, Joseph Illidge - 5 - With killer cassowarys, a flashback, a yeti and a bejeweled panther.  The art may be getting slightly better, the story maybe not so much.

Interview with Brendan Columbus, by Matthew Medney - 6 - This also includes Chris Columbus, Brendan's father and famous film guy.  Indeed, Chris has most of the story, including the obligatory HM reference.  Maybe not exciting to me, but I liked the enthusiasm.

"The Last Detective:  Redemption" by Claudio Alvarez, Geraldo Borges, Arthur Hesli, Maycols Alfaro, Guillermo "Kobayashi" Nuñéz - 6 - A failed but legendary detective is commandeered back into service, and partnered with an insufferable robot, to find the source of a killer drug.  Okay art and writing good enough to not be too superficial.  Twenty pages and it ends with "End of Chapter One" so presumably there will be more.

"The Rise - Part Two" by George C. Romero, Diego Yapur, Dc Alonso, Saida Temofonte, Joseph Illidge - 7 - The broken professor goes in search of the missing component for his work.  The developing story is interesting, the telling is nice, and I'm liking the art even more, cool black and white and red style, and it does well to advance the story.

Interview with Liam Sharp by Geoff Boucher - 5 - Evan Copp gets an Editing credit.  Again a transcription of a Mindspace podcast.  Most remarkable to me is the transcription "band destiny" of what was so obviously supposed to be "bandes dessinée", that even a lunkhead like me who only has the slightest idea of what that is, could notice.  They were even talking about Heavy Metal!  Sheesh.

"Dark Wing - Chapter Four" by Matthew Medney, German Ponce, Protobunker Studios, Bruce Edwards, Pete "Voodoo Bownz" Russo, Saida Temofonte - 6 - Most interesting to me is the parts where Cell is showing the kids some history, with some convenient story background and nicely put together pages.  Much of the rest is either hard for me to follow or so obvious as to be flat.

"Sides" by Marko Stojanovic, Tudor Popa - 7.5 - I liked the art in style and subject, quite reminiscent of HM's best years, and it tells a nice story, almost a parable.  Not overly long, and my impression is that it has a very good translation.

Interview with Dylan Sprouse by Joshua Sky - 7 - I have not been impressed by the various entries in HM on Mr Sprouse's Sun Eater, but I admire that he is strong enough to discuss the personal side to the "cautionary tale about drug addiction and how it affects families" that he describes this work as.

"Neoma:  The Bride - Chapter Two:  The Wedding" by Michelle Sears, Bart Sears, Periya Pillai - 6 - The Bride is presented to the groom.  A heavy feudal Japan motif, a couple modern-ish bits.  I find it difficult to track characters, and who is talking.  The word/thought balloons are different, apparently to discern different characters, but the speaker is not always in the panel.  We'll see where this goes.

"Dominion" by Dwayne Harris - 7 - Future space archaeologists determine mankind's fate from the evidence.  Perhaps not a new story, but it makes its point well in its two pages, and I like the art, shiny and chrome.  I seem to like Mr Dwayne's HM entries.

"Funeral - Chapter Two" by Emilio Balcarce. H.C. López, Jok, JAME, Alberto Calvo - 7 - "They desecrated the casket!"  The art and text are dense, nicely displaying human stupidity and otherworldly horror.  With sex and explosions too.  I'm enjoying the broad scope and quick telling.

"String Theory" by Steve Orlando, Marcelo Borstelmann, Micah Myers, Morgan Rosenblum - 6.5 - A Soloist warrior fights the ruler of silence.  The art is technically very good in execution and composition, though it's riddled with posing, but the sword turning into a guitar was pretty creative.  And while the story comes across in a familiar manner, I quite enjoyed its ambition.

"Last Planet Other Side of the Sun" by Chris Anderson - 7.5 - Giant-robot driving humans fight a losing battle with an alien invasion, ending with the salvation of both sides.  With giant-robot-extraterrestrial-virtual-sex, wheeee!  Fantastic storytelling, and the psychedelic mind-meld flashback is really cool too.

The back cover is an ad for the "Green Slime" movie from Warner.  A space babe in the clutches (?) of a tentacled one-eyed space monster sure gets one's attention.  This is the first non-HM ad in the mag for a while.