Heavy Metal #317

I got Heavy Metal #317 via mycomicshop.com in early June, and it's got 154 pages and the cover price is now $14.99 USD.  Photo of my copy:

The Cover "A" for this issue #317, is by Kim Jung Gi.  It has some imagery inside the HM logo again, it appears to be the same as used for issue #315; I'll call this cover a 6.  It is apparently the 4th in a series over the last four issues, that can be pieced together for a larger image.  I only got two of the series, choosing other covers for artist preference, and I won't look for the other two of the series.  Sorry to this artist, but I'm not about to seek out multiple copies of the same issue just for a cover variant.  This has some imagery inside the HM logo again, it appears to be the same as used for issue #315.

We are thankfully spared big shots' editorials again, in favor of another "in memoriam", for Neal Adams.  I'm not familiar with Mr Adams, apparently he was well-known and respected in comics, and he seemed to be in one piece in the magazine, in July 1979, "...Rears Its Ugly Green Head", with Michael Hinge, but he was also involved in some design work for the 1981 Heavy Metal movie for the "So Beautiful and So Dangerous" segment.

"Space Pirates Unit Dolores Chapter 1 The New Pioneers' Trail" by Didier Tarquin, Lyse Tarquin, Ivanka Hahnenberger, Jame, Fabrice Sapolsky - 7 - A young woman is sent away from the convent where she was raised upon turning 18, seeks her inheritance, and immediately is embroiled in a dirty underworld of a superurban megalopolis.  This 46 page long installment appears to be another somewhat recent French story brought to us via HM, not unlike "Jack Vance's Avenging Demon Princes - Part One:  The Star Prince" in issue #312, which unfortunately has not been seen again.  I like this sort of thing just fine, I like the art style and storytelling, and I hope they decide to continue both of these stories.

"The Adventures of Adrienne James - Chapter 4" by Matthew Medney, Bruce Edwards, Santa Fung, Lucas Gattoni, Morgan Rosenblum - 5 - Now they're space traveling and visiting a junk dealer.  No idea why.

"WireMonkeys" by Dan Schaffer, Fabrice Sapolski - 6 - With a "1. Homo Evolutis" subtitle.  This begins with the preview pages from HM #316, and proceeds with some freaky shit storytelling involving frenemies playing with mutations that enable self-regeneration.  Maybe this will go somewhere cool.

"Entropy" preview by Christopher Priest, Montos - 5 - Four pages of pretty cool black & white art make for a nice preview.  It ends with "Issue #1 in Stores July", so we may or may not see any more of this in the mag.

"The Future in Neon - A Conversation with Steve Aoki, Tom Bilyeu & Maciej Kuciara - Interview by Joshua Sky" - 4 - Apparently famous guy talks about his graphic novel and enefftees.  Right out of the gate comes "restaurant magnet", apparently different from a restaurant magnate.

"The Axe - Part 3" by Joe Trohman, Brian Posehn, Scott Koblish, Diego Fichera, Lucas Gattoni, Morgan Rosenblum - 6 - The three teens try to make their escape from imprisonment in Sheol.  Lots of action packed silliness (demon guitar goes "Gooosh!") helps make it fun.

"Dark Wing - Chapter Ten" by Matthew Medney, German Ponce, Andrew Dalhouse, DC Alonso, Saida Temofonte, Joseph Illidge, Bruce Edwards, Pete "Voodoo Bownz" Russo - 5 - The pilot, shirtless with an enormous - gun - confronts the madman hiding his "children", soon getting all blasty with the place.  This is apparently the story resolution, as scores are settled, accomplices are vaporized, some feelings are reconciled.  It ends with "To Be Concluded" so it's not done yet.

"Bioripple Preview" by Nir Levie - 5 - Some pretty cool art, but I can't tell if this is trying to tell a story, or if it's just some highlight panels.  But it says "A Bio-Punk Story " so maybe both?  This preview ends with "Graphic Novel Available in Stores and Digital Now!" so we may not even see more in the mag.

"Something Seems Off" by Chris Anderson - 8 - Happy to see another installment of this feature, first seen in HM #314.  So it appears Ricky and Darla are the main characters, and they attempt to infiltrate the body of a giant behemoth, so large he bears a city on his shoulders, to interrupt some ritual.  Again the wordless storytelling confounds my ability to briefly describe it.  Which I like, it's so imaginative and obscure, in the intriguing and thought-provoking way that I like.  And it ends with "To Be Concluded in the Next Bizarre Issue" so I've got more to look forward to.

I've been ignoring the ads in recent HMs, since they are mostly for other HM products that have only had brief previews, or none at all, in the mag, and the most I'm likely to get of any of that stuff is if I ever come across them in a resale shop someday.  I'm mostly interested in the magazine itself, and things that advertise "available in stores and digital now!" but only have previews, or don't appear in the magazine, are not enticing to me, especially since I'm not fond of much of what gets put up for previews these days.  An exception in this issue is an ad for a new Hildebrandt calendar with HM, that's supposed to come out in the fall, that I may keep an eye out for.