free pdfs

There are a few free pdf downloads on the "official" HM web site.  A Bisely Bible excerpt, some 4 Horsemen, an Azurek that's mostly a reprint, a TMNT thing, a Descur reprint, and a small Claudia story.  The Claudia is the most interesting of the bunch.  They're all pretty nice in their own way, for free even, but they hardly fill the widening gap between magazine issues.

Nothing on the next magazine issue, but for a note on the f-book about July being out in late August, and how it will be number 259, and issues will be numbered from now on, and something about a change in distribution as the cause of the delay...

Odd that War of the Worlds - Goliath has been off of the HM web site for a while now, but that Gates remains though the story stopped months ago.

The madness behind the methods of the HM multiverse remain a mystery to me.

Thanks Again

Lostboy linked this blog on his excellent fan page www.heavymetalmagazinefanpage.com and the visits to this blog increased dramatically.  Thanks again Lostboy.

Though he stopped updating the magazine list last November (regrettably, though I accept it), his fan page remains the best resource for the HM magazine fan.  I frequently visit for info and research on past issues, and there are many other links and pages of information.  There are more than enough reasons to make frequent visits worthwhile.

Chances are, if you're reading this you already know about his fan page, but I recommend exploring it to find his views and opinions, as well as all that stuff in the collectors' lists.

thanks

Kranburn #3

I got this one in the electronic copy (via feccomics.com, and I got #1 and #2 as well) and I plan to buy the print copies of #3 and #4 at the same time to save on shipping.  Digital is a lot cheaper and easier, and I really recommend getting Kranburn, so this is a good way to do it, but getting print copies of this is worth it to me.

The cover is again enjoyably detailed, and silly.  She must not be able to sit down with all the knives strapped to her butt.  Must take forever to put all that stuff on…  The covers are one of the benefits of buying the copies rather than just looking at the webcomic.  Supporting an artist whose work I like is another.

The story picks up with Brand and Egon cleaning up after the forage mission gone wrong.  We learn a bit about how Egon got here, Brand brings him to Kranburn and shows him (and us) around and hopes he joins them.  Kranburn’s lower level self perpetuating security system is not for the squeamish.  Brand wonders (as I do) what Egon’s reaction is, but we’re not shown.

A dramatic turn of events is told in a convoluted way.  Duncan’s widow is distraught, and decides to go to another settlement.  While Brand takes her, a kidnapping breaks Kranburn’s security and blame is pointed to Brand.  Fearing a traitor, Brand leaves on a suicide mission telling only Gerald the doctor why.

While this chapter is a bit light on the action, at least in comparison, some good exposition helps deepen the story, and again the art is raw but still compelling.  Knowing what’s coming, from following the webcomic, I’m really looking forward to getting #4.

May 2012

Man, it took forever to get this issue.  The local bookstore never got it.  I never found it in a mainstream bookstore.  I went to a comic store I’d never been to for it.  They only had one of the covers.  Fortunately, it was the Tariq Raheem, which is the one I’d decided to get, if I didn’t get the original Nicollet.  Then, it took me forever to write this.

The four covers idea might have been a good one, but I didn’t like the result.  The new ones didn’t approach the energy of the original, and reprinting the original seemed to lessen the impact that is its legacy. 

The original cover set the tone for what HM meant to me.  “wow, it’s two robots, fighting … man, that’s one’s beatin’ the crap out of the other one … and it’s a girl!  whoa.”  (C’mon, I was a teenager.)  It promised wild action-packed fantasy and in the early days the mag kept that promise.  Using this cover reprint for a 35^th anniversary cover version, while using it as a template (sort of) for the other versions, hinted at not having many new ideas to choose from.

I suppose printing the original cover gives more people the opportunity to have this one in print.

The other three new covers disappointed me.  The Sperlonga, the outfits, the posing, the composition, none of it worked for me.  He’s a really good artist, but I don’t care for this.  The Stanley at least was slick, and the obvious stiff posing and gazing at the viewer gave me some intrigue as well as boredom.  The Raheem shows the most imagination and mystery of the bunch, she might be getting put back together instead of taken apart, and is the robot head going on or off?  The giant monkeywrench and falling sparks were just goofy.

Moving on, the content has much to recommend it.  Excellent use of the early editorial.

Burton and Cyb, and Sataka, were unique as these were not reprints, though some of the Sataka looked familiar (interesting that Sataka appeared first in the mag in the late 00s though these are from the mid 80s ( some of these pages are even on http://www.royo-royo.com/luis-royo/bio/ ).  I like them, though they are dated.  7s for them both.

H – 8, just cause it’s nuts.  I like a good descent to madness.

Daymares/Nightdreams – 8 - because it’s old and tells a story I like.

Fragments – 7 – A strong story about fear of the unknown, from the early days, and it looks nice.  Things may not be what they seem.

Little Ego – 7 – yeah, well, good thing for that Green Sheik anyway…. These were always nice to see if not at all deep.

Willy’s Garage – 7 – nice looking and some drama.  And that was that…

The Last Century – 7 – nothing surprising but still compelling.  A very different future view than the later Children of the Future.

Sax Blues – 8 – A classic, not because of the fantasy (tho this would be a fantasy for my life) but for the telling.  Of course now he’d be checking his farcebook page instead of looking at a paper letter…

Pilatoriam – 7 – Ooops, that rebellion against society didn’t work out too well for you.  Better luck next life.

Children of the Future – 8 – Love this story, with some nice characterizations, and a real range of emotion, and a quick telling of a good story.  I’m sure I reviewed it once (but didn’t find it) and said something about a mixture of tenderness and disgust that you don’t see often, unless it’s Serpieri.

Dear Enemy – 7 – There’s a lot to like about this, all the futuristic gizmos and wearable technology, pretty cool for ’88.  There’s a nice story too, if you look for it, it took me a few times through.  I didn’t recognize this as a Frezzato right away either.

The Warrior’s Repose – 7 – An interesting story, all the trouble he goes through to cheat on his wife, cunning and cruel, even evil.  There are some inconsistencies but the storytelling and the art are busy enough to keep my interest.

A smattering of ads and a few old cover reprints fill in some space.  The Snail Factory ad was intriguing enough for me to look it up, but a quick view didn’t show me much.  While I’ve liked how the mag has looked for the past months, clean and concise, there’s some uncertainty of what the future holds for the print magazine.  I remain hopeful for its continued existence.

Kranburn #2

Getting this was just as expensive and challenging as last time, I'm happy I did just the same.  The cover shows BMB's ability for close detail.  It's interesting that the guy's body tattoo is some sort of comic background art, pasted in.  He's got a nice approach to using digital image copying in the comic, sometimes making small changes between sequential panels, or more separate panels, or like this.  I think it works well.

The plot thickens.  A love interest, family / social conflict, a bit of reminiscing, a forage run turns bad.  Told with the words and thoughts of the characters, and with some real ranges of emotion.  And with the same raw style and gleeful depictions of nasty violence that we love about this comic.  I realize I have the benefit of seeing the online version first with BMB's slang interpretations, and some of the comments, and it really helps me see farther into this comic.  It's still there, you should go look.  I knew what a dinger was before we saw it. 

Did I mention the violence?  Man, it's nasty.  Looks like he likes to draw this type of thing, and I like it too.  If a story of the vicious struggle for post apocalyptic survival drawn with raw black and white emotion appeals to you, it's worth it to look at this online, and maybe even buy it like I did.

Tex Arcana

John Findley was kind enough to reply.  He said he's too busy doing other work that actually pays, and won't get back to Tex Arcana until later this year, if at all.  As much as I'd love to see more, I can only wish him the best.  He's already given us plenty and doesn't owe me anything.  I think I'll buy the book with the first three stories collected.  Maybe you should too.

(crickets chirping)

it's been pretty quiet in my corner of the HM universe.  the new issue hasn't shown up at my local bookstore yet.  I'm looking forward to whining about it, the four cover versions is an idea that might have been good but didn't turn out that way.

Lostboy's HM fan page hasn't shown an update for months, not that I really expect one.  Gates has stopped, Rod Kierkegaard has been quiet, though I got his Mirrorland and I'm reading that slowly, xtin has fallen off the page but might be somewhere else, he was complaining of needing to do something else, but I hope it gets done.  Kranburn continues, and I did get the second issue so I suppose I could put up a review.

I did email John Findley to ask if Tex Arcana might continue.

RIP

Moebius, pax vobiscum

It wouldn't have been Heavy Metal without you.

thanks

March 2012

Cover - 6 - The more I look at it, the less I like it.  I like Bisely, the new logo treatment is kinda cool (flat head screws are practically archaic), it's plenty gruesome for a cover, but it seems such a mishmash even for a promo cover.  I can imagine someone saying "I dunno, let's put an explosion... here."  It doesn't help that I'm confused by the print mag touting Requiem #10, while the website image announces "World Premier of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and, there's only 3 horses...but I'm easily confused.

Gallery - 8 - To me a curious move to publish old Classic covers for the Gallery (and Artist Studio), but I really like the old covers, so I'm good for now.

The Bogey's Dictionary - 6 - Pretty funny and sometimes clever

Metal Media - 7 - I'm not into movies as much as this guy, Drive doesn't look as interesting to me as it does to him, and it's pretty New York - centric, but it's still a fun read.

Requiem - 8 - Spectacularly rendered as usual.  The selection of Hiroshima as the scene of the earthly atrocity is admirable.  Reading multiple two page panels across the crease was challenging for me, the storytelling was ok but there were some good lines, and the censorship was lamentable and clumsy.  I still enjoyed it.

Animal'z - 8 - It's obtuse and absurd, I think that's why I like it.  It might be trying to say something, that I don't get.  The art is sketchy, but it's still sharp, and maybe it adds to the mood.  I think I'm lucky to see it.

In the Trenches of Oniria - 7 -This isn't my favorite Xalabarder, still like it, but less enchanted.  There is a lot to look at, and indeed, "what a lugubriously furnished mind the poor devil has."

Fiendy - 7 - Though the story is light the telling is fun.  DP's lettering adds to it.  I do like the art and its energy.  I'm totally diggin' the recumbent machine gun cycle.

Kranburn #1

Kranburn is a webcomic (link on my Links page) that I first saw on the departed HM forums.  The author and artist BMB is rather prolific and pretty talented.  I recall he said he was trying to produce this ridiculously quickly, he puts out a page a week and for a while it was two pages.  The style is raw, and the story is of a vicious post apocalyptic near future set in suburban Australia.  Yes, Mad Max does come to mind, which is fitting as I think HM and Mad Max / Road Warrior influenced each other at their times.

He successfully got #1 published, so I bought a copy.  It was a bit challenging and expensive getting this from AU, but the company (fec comics) was responsive.  The book itself is rather small, less than 7" x 11" but it's very good quality with nice shiny pages, and I really enjoy a physical magazine like this, holding it and being able to flip back and forth between pages easily, so taking the trouble to get it is worth it to me.

I think this first installment of the story does the best of all I've seen so far.  It sets up the environment, only shows a bit of the background story, and grabs your attention with a car chase, brutally violent action, and wild swings of emotion.  This kind of gripping presentation is exciting.  The art is spare but with enough detail and range of perspectives to keep me interested.  Knowing how it progresses from watching the webcomic, I see that it's well thought out and appreciate how he tells the story.  Following chapters have more foreshadowing and exposition than this first one, which works to this one's advantage as a visual thrill ride and horror show.

Future installments are planned, and I will buy them for the sake of having the paper copies, and giving a bit of support to a comics creator that I like.  You should too.