Decades

I've noticed that I've been at this for over 10 years.  My first post was in October 2011.  By then I had been back into Heavy Metal Magazine for a few years, my collection was just about complete, and I'd been on the HM website forum for a couple years.  When the forum was shut down when they could not control the spam onslaught, I was annoyed enough to start this little blog (I accused them of destroying the village in order to save it, a throwback to a Vietnam War statement).  

Much has happened to the mag, and to my life, in this past decade.  Well into my seventh decade, with the mag into its fifth, it's been eventful, both good and bad, for us both, and with most of my life behind me instead of ahead of me now, I've been reflective.  Despite pain and annoyance, I am aware enough to be grateful for the good fortune I do have.  Despite the overwhelming greed and stupidity displayed by humanity's worst, I still try to emphasize to myself what good there is in this world of ours, and I hope for myself and others (including the few who actually read this) that the good will overcome the worst.  Take care all.

To celebrate, I made a copy of Lostboy's HM Checklist (it's a word doc near the bottom of the page) and modified it to reflect my collection:

Hey kids!  Try it at home!

Looking at it this way, it's pretty apparent to me how they landed on #259 when they went to numbered issues in 2012.  Not that I understand why Mr Eastman decided to not count the "Special" issues, as he was responsible for most of them.  With the last few years' issues checked off on the month I actually got my copy, it's also apparent that there have been problems publishing consistently in the recent years.  It concerns me about the mag's future, especially considering my opinions about the current big shots.

Anyway, I also recently decided to include the early "Heavy Metal Presents" special books on my list, per this list on Lostboy's fan page, since I already had some, and I can work to gather the others.  They can be pretty pricey these days, so I'll take my time.  One thing is that they're not the same size as the mag, so my bags don't fit.  Good thing the copy of Conquering Armies I recently got came with a bag, since it's an enormous 10" x 13.25":

This is a good time to point out that the richly detailed black and white art in Conquering Armies, and several other stories in the mag's early days, is something that is missing in today's HM.  I don't expect to see it like this again:

("Conquering Armies" by Gal and Dionnet, appeared in the first 4 issues of Heavy Metal, April - July 1977, and in January 1978.  It's excellent, beautiful and horrifying.)

So this was a fun diversion to start this new year with.  Best wishes to all, especially the few of you actually reading this.