Kranburn #4

I got the digital copy of Kranburn #4 a little while ago, and I also managed to order the paper copies of #3 and #4.  Looking forward to getting them after their journey halfway around the world.

The cover is something of a change of pace.  Rather than a fairly detailed piece with a pose, the art is a stark portrait of a shadowed Brand, and it's also a page in the comic.  It does grab your attention.

Kranburn #4 is noted as the start of chapter 2.  At three books a chapter, and I'll guess a few more chapters, we may be at this for a while.  That's good, the webcomic is maybe a full book or so ahead, and it looks like there's still a lot of story to tell.

Brand starts his assault on the Nong in revenge for the kidnapping of Lawton and his wife.  (It seems to me it's more personal than that.)  Immediately the nasty violence begins.  An ambush, a trap, then Brand absorbs a vicious beating and barely escapes.  Meanwhile, the kidnappers terrorize the Lawtons, and deliver the digit to Kranburn, to terrorize its inhabitants.  Finally, we see Lord, and the guy who beat up Brand, Brutus, who took a few lumps as well, presents Lord with Brand's machete.  Lord is quite pleased with this.

This is a bunch of fun to read.  There's loads of action, some drama, not a lot of exposition but a few foreshadows.  The art has more breathless renditions of nasty violence, and some nice composition.  I'm anticipating what I've seen coming in the webcomic as I read the story, and it actually adds to my enjoyment of it.  Though it almost looks like it's building to a climactic battle, it seems to me there are other parts to the story that will grow more significant.

You should really check out Kranburn.  You can see it for free, and own it for cheap.  Check the Links page on this blog and see for yourself.

tick ... tick ... tick ...

it's quiet, too quiet

the new issue #259 was said to ship in late September, now there's eff-book jabber about it just coming off the press and getting checked.  incomprehensible.  I wonder if my favorite local bookstore will ever get it.

I did find that many new books that are offered on the HM website as digital downloads also have free .pdf samples.  better than nothing.  the Llarena Divergent Dimensions appear to be mostly reprints.

I did get Kranburn #4 digital, I'll put up a review soon.  I'm trying to buy the paper books but now they are sold via their effin-book and it's not cooperating yet.  oh cruel fate.

Gates

I waited long for something to come of Gates, it seems that I will remain unrewarded.  While it continues to be linked on the HM main page, and the Links page of this blog, pretty much nothing is happening.

An interesting premise of transhumanism and hints of a great deal of background work, led me to anticipate a rich and interesting story and imaginative artwork.  After more than a year of plodding storytelling and underachieving art, it stopped.  Now it appears Mr. Hefner is working on a prequel to Gates involving visits to his roots and more background development, said to be presented as "transmedia".

I admire the effort and passion he brings to his work, but the results continue to leave me wanting more.  Often the blog posts beneath the webcomic page were more interesting than the story.  His defiant attitude to naysayers and his commitment to his craft earn my respect, but the results in this story have not satisfied me.

I'll go take a look occasionally so you don't have to.  I'll let you know if something comes up.  Until then go look at Kranburn, or read some Rod Kierkegaard Jr.

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.