Some significant changes in my HM multiverse.
Happily, Tex Arcana was recently updated, the 4th book is now up to 346 pages. In that Mr Findley indicated he may not ever work on it again (too busy with actual paying work) I am thrilled to see even this addition of a couple pages. Mysterious and foreboding pages they are, too. It's wonderful to see. I hope there will be more to come, but even if not Mr Findley has my gratitude for sharing this work. You should go to texarcana.com and seek out Book 4, and read it, all of it, really you should.
Unhappily, Jeremy Ray seems to have pulled the plug on XTIN. The web page and the SmackJeeves and Comic Fury pages it linked to, and his Deviant Art pages, have all disappeared. While he completed the posting of XTIN The Dragon's Dream World, his attempts at XTIN2, first as comic, then as prose work, displeased him and he quit them, and now seems to have quit altogether. He made statements about wanting fame, and it seems the small audience he was able to reach was inadequate. I have more regrets about this loss. I thought XTIN's art was excellent and the storytelling fascinating, but Mr Ray's complaints stirred feelings in me more of pity than empathy. I hope he finds what he wants and gets what he needs from his work and his life.
Waiting for the next Kranburn, should be any day now, and the next HM in a couple weeks.
(edit) Mr Ray has indicated that he will try again to publish XTIN. I'd really like that, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
#262
"Full Issue Super Special Featuring Dravn", more like full issue Dave Elliot special, again. It seems Mr Elliot is building another layered and well crafted story line, but will we see more of it in HM? I'm not optimistic. I may be in the minority, but Heavy Metal is pretty much the only comic I buy, besides Kranburn since I like it so much, and the occasional resale shop find, so I'm not likely to get other mags to follow this story. (though I admit that BiLL's link to Metal Hurlant issues has intrigued me, I'm thinking about seeking these out. they're similar and somewhat related to HM.) Anyway,
Cover - 7.5 - I like the flip cover, the front graphic has a lot to offer, it's more than a pinup, it does a lot with a watercolor-ish look, and they drive giant robots. The back looks nice and promotes one of the inside stories. Both have logos, the front shiny metal with flat head screws, and the back has a heat convection effect that fits with the scene. I'm letting "The World's Greatest Illustrated Magazine" tagline bug me though.
Dravn Creedo - 4 - Pompous, and it's spelled "credo"
Dravn History - 7 - kind of cool dossier type presentation
Dravn Gallery - 5 - I'd rather be shown than told. And there's a Dravn 1942 but the story is Dravn 1918, more on my confusion later.
Dravn 2001: Girl of Sorrows - 6 - In two parts, art's ok, like all these the writing is pretty good, this story doesn't offer me much though.
Dravn 1918: Two Masters - 7 - I like the art since it reminds me of Rod Kierkegaard, even though some of the perspectives are a bit off it's still rich and intriguing. I'm confused though, the story looks like it's WWI , but it ends with a pretty neat looking 1943 newspaper headline about D-Day Lost! It's such an unexpected time span, and D-Day was in 1944? Apparently his history is not ours.
Dravn 1541: Brotherly Love - 5 - a few nice bits but the "I Love You Mother" and the 60 ft in the air battle scenes seemed hackneyed.
Dravn 520: Kingdom on Earth - 3 - the art is nice looking, but the writing has too many cute humor attempts for its remaining quality to overcome. And the Citizen Behavioral Mandate was terrible, it looked nothing like a written pronouncement and everything like a kid playing with text fonts. Center justified? sheesh.
I was very amused by the announcement of 4 Horsemen winning Best Orginal Graphic Novel. Spelling errors in HM are nothing new but I found this one funny.
Dravn 1604: Above All Names - 4 - I'm not fond of the art.
the lottery party - 7 - two entries. I like how this offers a break from the Dravn, and the one about the book on H.P. Lovecraft in New York was interesting to me. NYC only got more interesting to me when someone I know went there and I've visited. I don't like it, but like all big cities it has a lot to offer and a deep history if you care to look for it. I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan but I'm amused by fans' depth of interest. Turns out the book author's blog has the book for free.
Dravn 2169: I Am - 7 - I think I like this story the most, maybe it's the sentient robot gaining awareness.
So I thought this was an ok issue, a few nice parts and a few poor parts. I'll be disappointed if we get many more of these Dave Elliot specials that do little more than promote other work, but I might change my tune if we get some repeat installments of some stories, even a serial or two. The internet thinks we may see some Bilal again soon , I hope so.
Cover - 7.5 - I like the flip cover, the front graphic has a lot to offer, it's more than a pinup, it does a lot with a watercolor-ish look, and they drive giant robots. The back looks nice and promotes one of the inside stories. Both have logos, the front shiny metal with flat head screws, and the back has a heat convection effect that fits with the scene. I'm letting "The World's Greatest Illustrated Magazine" tagline bug me though.
Dravn Creedo - 4 - Pompous, and it's spelled "credo"
Dravn History - 7 - kind of cool dossier type presentation
Dravn Gallery - 5 - I'd rather be shown than told. And there's a Dravn 1942 but the story is Dravn 1918, more on my confusion later.
Dravn 2001: Girl of Sorrows - 6 - In two parts, art's ok, like all these the writing is pretty good, this story doesn't offer me much though.
Dravn 1918: Two Masters - 7 - I like the art since it reminds me of Rod Kierkegaard, even though some of the perspectives are a bit off it's still rich and intriguing. I'm confused though, the story looks like it's WWI , but it ends with a pretty neat looking 1943 newspaper headline about D-Day Lost! It's such an unexpected time span, and D-Day was in 1944? Apparently his history is not ours.
Dravn 1541: Brotherly Love - 5 - a few nice bits but the "I Love You Mother" and the 60 ft in the air battle scenes seemed hackneyed.
Dravn 520: Kingdom on Earth - 3 - the art is nice looking, but the writing has too many cute humor attempts for its remaining quality to overcome. And the Citizen Behavioral Mandate was terrible, it looked nothing like a written pronouncement and everything like a kid playing with text fonts. Center justified? sheesh.
I was very amused by the announcement of 4 Horsemen winning Best Orginal Graphic Novel. Spelling errors in HM are nothing new but I found this one funny.
Dravn 1604: Above All Names - 4 - I'm not fond of the art.
the lottery party - 7 - two entries. I like how this offers a break from the Dravn, and the one about the book on H.P. Lovecraft in New York was interesting to me. NYC only got more interesting to me when someone I know went there and I've visited. I don't like it, but like all big cities it has a lot to offer and a deep history if you care to look for it. I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan but I'm amused by fans' depth of interest. Turns out the book author's blog has the book for free.
Dravn 2169: I Am - 7 - I think I like this story the most, maybe it's the sentient robot gaining awareness.
So I thought this was an ok issue, a few nice parts and a few poor parts. I'll be disappointed if we get many more of these Dave Elliot specials that do little more than promote other work, but I might change my tune if we get some repeat installments of some stories, even a serial or two. The internet thinks we may see some Bilal again soon , I hope so.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Kranburn #6
Got this a few weeks ago and just now getting to a review. I still haven't ordered paper copies, I may wait until the next one, but I did get a couple electronic copies of another work FEC puts out, Seven. It's pretty good, the black and white art isn't as energetic as Kranburn, but it's nice, and the writing is somewhat mystical.
My curiosity about how Kranburn would progress beyond the pages posted on the website was answered simply, the pages are done and the books are ahead of the website now. As of now there are just a few pages in this book yet to appear on the site. If the book is published in June like I thought it would, only a couple of the pages will appear on the site before the book comes out.
The cover is another detailed portrait of some guy decked out in post-apocalyptic bohemian chic. A skull for a belt buckle and lucky rabbit's foot (and a big rabbit it was) complete the ensemble. Pretty cool.
This issue picks up with Sylvia driving down on the Nong they came across in their search, but they're unable to capture her. Back at the hideout, one of the captors decides it's time to get his rape in, but it goes "really badly". This is one of my least favorite parts of Kranburn. While it's another gleeful depiction of nasty (really nasty) violence, it's told in a plodding and even nonsensical manner. It may be that the violence is so horrible that I can't view it in a detached enough manner, or maybe it's just so ridiculous. Anyway, it's a minor issue with the storytelling, not so much the story.
The end of this part is interspersed with scenes of a Nong search party walking through a run-down city, wondering what is the deal with Lord and Brand, and reminiscing about times before the plague. Their stroll is interrupted, of course, by Brand's ambush, leading to their and the book's end. There's some silly humor here, and more ridiculousness. For example, the concrete cinder block with spikes driven through, points out, generated some website comments about how it could be done, but I just don't think it could be done without breaking the block.
My pointless annoyance at such minor bits doesn't detract from the overall quality of Kranburn. It's excellent. I still look forward to the next book(s?) and I will certainly get all of them on paper, as long as they come out before our own little apocalypse.
My curiosity about how Kranburn would progress beyond the pages posted on the website was answered simply, the pages are done and the books are ahead of the website now. As of now there are just a few pages in this book yet to appear on the site. If the book is published in June like I thought it would, only a couple of the pages will appear on the site before the book comes out.
The cover is another detailed portrait of some guy decked out in post-apocalyptic bohemian chic. A skull for a belt buckle and lucky rabbit's foot (and a big rabbit it was) complete the ensemble. Pretty cool.
This issue picks up with Sylvia driving down on the Nong they came across in their search, but they're unable to capture her. Back at the hideout, one of the captors decides it's time to get his rape in, but it goes "really badly". This is one of my least favorite parts of Kranburn. While it's another gleeful depiction of nasty (really nasty) violence, it's told in a plodding and even nonsensical manner. It may be that the violence is so horrible that I can't view it in a detached enough manner, or maybe it's just so ridiculous. Anyway, it's a minor issue with the storytelling, not so much the story.
The end of this part is interspersed with scenes of a Nong search party walking through a run-down city, wondering what is the deal with Lord and Brand, and reminiscing about times before the plague. Their stroll is interrupted, of course, by Brand's ambush, leading to their and the book's end. There's some silly humor here, and more ridiculousness. For example, the concrete cinder block with spikes driven through, points out, generated some website comments about how it could be done, but I just don't think it could be done without breaking the block.
My pointless annoyance at such minor bits doesn't detract from the overall quality of Kranburn. It's excellent. I still look forward to the next book(s?) and I will certainly get all of them on paper, as long as they come out before our own little apocalypse.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
more other reviews
so I'm cruising the internet looking for issues of May 2012, the one with four covers, and finding it is surprisingly unavailable. I started looking when I noticed that even HM doesn't have it for sale on the website. there are probably some out there but I haven't found it yet.
while searching, I came across porporbooks blog, which has posts about SF books and stuff from the 80s and such. there are many posts on HM magazines from the late 70s and 80s, maybe thirty, and several others on stories from HM. not only are some of them about some really fantastic issues of HM, but the 80s were the time of my fondly remembered misspent youth (the memories are good, the crap I seem to have forgotten), much of it misspent reading Heavy Metal magazine. while they often start with references to popular songs and movies, they are light on commentary and heavy on scanned images. I have not read them all, yet, but I find them quite enjoyable. I hope you do too.
http://theporporbooksblog.blogspot.com/
while searching, I came across porporbooks blog, which has posts about SF books and stuff from the 80s and such. there are many posts on HM magazines from the late 70s and 80s, maybe thirty, and several others on stories from HM. not only are some of them about some really fantastic issues of HM, but the 80s were the time of my fondly remembered misspent youth (the memories are good, the crap I seem to have forgotten), much of it misspent reading Heavy Metal magazine. while they often start with references to popular songs and movies, they are light on commentary and heavy on scanned images. I have not read them all, yet, but I find them quite enjoyable. I hope you do too.
http://theporporbooksblog.blogspot.com/
Thursday, March 7, 2013
#261
It took a while to find this one. My favorite local bookstore no longer gets HM. The two closest comic stores didn't have it ("we could order it ... "), had to get to the big city B&N to get it. I guess that will happen when they print half of the magazines they used to. At least it still exists.
Cover - 6 - It's the newsstand cover of course, both this and the "Diamond" cover are Bisleys. This one is so outlandish, the hair, the clawed glove, the barbed wire, the multitude of dangling crosses beneath the tubelet top, makes it almost like Bisley doing a parody of a Bisley cover.
No editorial, but they had some fun with the personnel titles.
Journey Into the Dark Side of the Moon - 6 - Space explorers find something unexpected. There are some nice aspects to the art and the story, but I like this more for what it's trying to say, people have choices, than how it actually says it. One of three Abraham Martinez stories in this issue.
Dave Wachter Gallery - 6 - I think he likes wolves.
Choose Your Own Misadventure - 5 - Some prisoners are given choices for a chance to escape, but they choose a false choice. I noticed a bit of classism in how the choices were presented. Would they even know what Megalodon is? I like Llarena's writing but this is not my favorite example, but the art is nicer than he often gets.
War Pig Necrosoldier - 7 - A soldier's short story that's kind of funny but also shallow. Cardoselli's art reminds me of Druillet in the old HM more and more these days.
Star Bride - 6 - Neat story of ancient Central American culture meets traveling aliens, again. The art is flat but colorful. Peoples' selfishness transcends time and space.
An ad for a Free Comic Book Day event features a Kevin Eastman sketch, of a Turtle. What else? At least he gets to draw more now, good for him.
Divide to Conquer - 7 - Xalabarder again displays the imagination I so like about his work. I really liked the two stories told together, but they never really join like I hoped they would. It's more apparent that these are part of a series, that we only see parts of, too bad.
Do You Hear the Sedna-3 Mermaid's Chant? - 8 - Even loyal android servants can't save us from evil aliens. The art's pretty nice, the writing is even better.
17 pages of ads later ...
White Threat - 7 - Someone's lost in the woods, finds a cabin that offers no shelter. I like the black and white art. The story is rather simple but it's told pretty well.
Artist Studio - Andy Kuhn - 6 - nice stuff
The Tide is Coming! - 6 - An organic plague threatens, will humanity survive? Don't know. Looks nice, nice telling, but doesn't tell very much.
Treacherous Bullet - 6 - Crime and betrayal in the American Old West. Nice looking art, pretty nice story. No one gets the girl.
Back cover - 7 - Dave Wachter, I like it, it's contemplative.
A pretty good issue, variety and imagination, I still hope for more. I'm led to believe that some editorial content and other stories will continue, hope so.
Cover - 6 - It's the newsstand cover of course, both this and the "Diamond" cover are Bisleys. This one is so outlandish, the hair, the clawed glove, the barbed wire, the multitude of dangling crosses beneath the tubelet top, makes it almost like Bisley doing a parody of a Bisley cover.
No editorial, but they had some fun with the personnel titles.
Journey Into the Dark Side of the Moon - 6 - Space explorers find something unexpected. There are some nice aspects to the art and the story, but I like this more for what it's trying to say, people have choices, than how it actually says it. One of three Abraham Martinez stories in this issue.
Dave Wachter Gallery - 6 - I think he likes wolves.
Choose Your Own Misadventure - 5 - Some prisoners are given choices for a chance to escape, but they choose a false choice. I noticed a bit of classism in how the choices were presented. Would they even know what Megalodon is? I like Llarena's writing but this is not my favorite example, but the art is nicer than he often gets.
War Pig Necrosoldier - 7 - A soldier's short story that's kind of funny but also shallow. Cardoselli's art reminds me of Druillet in the old HM more and more these days.
Star Bride - 6 - Neat story of ancient Central American culture meets traveling aliens, again. The art is flat but colorful. Peoples' selfishness transcends time and space.
An ad for a Free Comic Book Day event features a Kevin Eastman sketch, of a Turtle. What else? At least he gets to draw more now, good for him.
Divide to Conquer - 7 - Xalabarder again displays the imagination I so like about his work. I really liked the two stories told together, but they never really join like I hoped they would. It's more apparent that these are part of a series, that we only see parts of, too bad.
Do You Hear the Sedna-3 Mermaid's Chant? - 8 - Even loyal android servants can't save us from evil aliens. The art's pretty nice, the writing is even better.
17 pages of ads later ...
White Threat - 7 - Someone's lost in the woods, finds a cabin that offers no shelter. I like the black and white art. The story is rather simple but it's told pretty well.
Artist Studio - Andy Kuhn - 6 - nice stuff
The Tide is Coming! - 6 - An organic plague threatens, will humanity survive? Don't know. Looks nice, nice telling, but doesn't tell very much.
Treacherous Bullet - 6 - Crime and betrayal in the American Old West. Nice looking art, pretty nice story. No one gets the girl.
Back cover - 7 - Dave Wachter, I like it, it's contemplative.
A pretty good issue, variety and imagination, I still hope for more. I'm led to believe that some editorial content and other stories will continue, hope so.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Tex Arcana
So, I finally got the complete Tex Arcana book (from Amazon). I'm quite happy with it, I'm happy I finally got around to getting it, and I really enjoyed reading it over. Not only is it very good, it brought back some nice memories of the times this was in HM magazine. I guess that kind of thing happens when you are old.
The book itself is fine, while the pages are a bit smaller than the magazine pages, and the paper is not the high quality in the magazine (at least the beginning, through the years HM used a variety of paper stock, sometimes a mix, and sometimes Tex Arcana was on even lesser paper in the magazine than in this book), and there are unfortunate instances of fuzzy images in it, it's still 276 pages of John Findley awesomeness. I was bemused by the fact of a date at the back of the book, indicating it was printed a day before it was shipped to me. It appears to be produced on demand rather than from stock. Apparently that can be done these days.
I really enjoy Mr. Findley's work, the high quality of his line drawing, and the convoluted imagination of his storytelling. When this was in HM magazine, it seemed to go on forever (it was in six years of the mag) which was fine with me. It was one of the stories that kept me buying the magazine as its focus and quality varied during those years after the 1981 movie came out.
The book has the revisions Mr. Findley made and are posted on his website, less the few bits of color he tried (if you have not seen it, go to the links page right now for the link to his website, it's all there for free). Mostly the ending of the "Tex Arcana Meets the Toast of Europe" is extended and expanded, which is good. As I mentioned in my review of December 1985, "the Last Monthly" the ending of the magazine story seemed rushed compared to the meticulous telling of the rest of it. The ending in this book doesn't quite tie up every loose end but it does add more detail and makes for a more enjoyable finish.
(Mr. Findley has also started a fourth book, available on his website also, which continues a story with some of the same characters, but it remains unfinished. He's indicated he may or may not restart work on it. While I wish he would, I won't complain if not, he's given so much he doesn't owe me a thing.)
At $24 plus shipping, it was rather expensive, but it was worth it to me. I really enjoy reading on the printed page more than a screen, it's more fun to flip through pages and usually the image reproduction is better and I can see more detail, which is one of the things I like about Mr. Findley's work and HM in general. I feel fortunate that this is available and that I can afford such an extravagance. If you are able and interested, I certainly recommend it to everyone who is actually reading this.
The book itself is fine, while the pages are a bit smaller than the magazine pages, and the paper is not the high quality in the magazine (at least the beginning, through the years HM used a variety of paper stock, sometimes a mix, and sometimes Tex Arcana was on even lesser paper in the magazine than in this book), and there are unfortunate instances of fuzzy images in it, it's still 276 pages of John Findley awesomeness. I was bemused by the fact of a date at the back of the book, indicating it was printed a day before it was shipped to me. It appears to be produced on demand rather than from stock. Apparently that can be done these days.
I really enjoy Mr. Findley's work, the high quality of his line drawing, and the convoluted imagination of his storytelling. When this was in HM magazine, it seemed to go on forever (it was in six years of the mag) which was fine with me. It was one of the stories that kept me buying the magazine as its focus and quality varied during those years after the 1981 movie came out.
The book has the revisions Mr. Findley made and are posted on his website, less the few bits of color he tried (if you have not seen it, go to the links page right now for the link to his website, it's all there for free). Mostly the ending of the "Tex Arcana Meets the Toast of Europe" is extended and expanded, which is good. As I mentioned in my review of December 1985, "the Last Monthly" the ending of the magazine story seemed rushed compared to the meticulous telling of the rest of it. The ending in this book doesn't quite tie up every loose end but it does add more detail and makes for a more enjoyable finish.
(Mr. Findley has also started a fourth book, available on his website also, which continues a story with some of the same characters, but it remains unfinished. He's indicated he may or may not restart work on it. While I wish he would, I won't complain if not, he's given so much he doesn't owe me a thing.)
At $24 plus shipping, it was rather expensive, but it was worth it to me. I really enjoy reading on the printed page more than a screen, it's more fun to flip through pages and usually the image reproduction is better and I can see more detail, which is one of the things I like about Mr. Findley's work and HM in general. I feel fortunate that this is available and that I can afford such an extravagance. If you are able and interested, I certainly recommend it to everyone who is actually reading this.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
#260
Cover - 4 - I got the newsstand cover, I think it's too far towards a simple comic cover, and though it does relate to a story inside, I'm not a big fan of that story. The subscriber cover by Horley looks nicer. I'm not a big fan of the multiple covers. I'm unlikely to subscribe, and even less likely to seek out different covers to "complete my collection".
Emily, Almost - 8 - mysterious and moody, and makes a good point.
The Lottery Party - 7 - So this is perhaps another editorial like Dossier or Metal Media, with a review or something? I'm ok with that, we'll see if it returns. This one had a nice review of Fahrenheit 451, which I had only recently read, that I enjoyed as the writer made the case that we live in the times of that story now. There was also a story about Dax Riggs of Acid Bath. I didn't know about them, but I enjoyed the article and that it made me recall past HM music reviews from the 80s etc.
The Matron - 7 - written by the author of the previous editorial, an interesting story about a tribal outcast's growth from child exile to matron, in a changing world. It has a descriptive and imaginative writing style that I enjoyed. For this and the previous article I wonder if the uncredited art is actually by the author.
Gallery - 5 - the one I liked was Light It Up, just because I like that kind of line drawing.
Carpe Diem - 6 - pretty nicely done, bright and full of action, and there's some fun in the writing, but it just doesn't make a big impression on me.
The Weirding Willows - 5 - another random episode with more critters and .... mini robots? In HM it's not unexpected to have gaps in storytelling or episodes, but this was more annoying than usual. There are some good art examples, though the contrived ways to keep it PG-13 were more annoying than alluring.
Odyssey - Part Two - 6 - a continuation from #259, I think it's ok but not great, at least it goes somewhere.
Elephant's Graveyard - 6 - I want to like what it's trying to say, and the glowing comm-orbs are interesting and offer weird lighting opportunities. Doesn't really grab me though.
Daniel - 8 - I really liked this, even though the art isn't really precise it is very successful telling me this story. I imagine the Bible offers many potential illustrated fantasy stories. (I do have R. Crumb's Genesis)
Dante's Inferno - 6 - interesting and short essay about Dante and his Divine Comedy, and recalling some images it projects as subjects for art. less interesting to me were the theological implications, though it provides an offer to discuss online for those interested.
Deep Six Odyssey - 7 - Big story with lots of action. Seeing Suydam credited with coloring caught my attention, and I thought it added a great deal (he did a bunch of stories like Mudwog back in the 90s etc).
Sharky - 6 - the Johnson gallery and Horley art are pretty cool, looks like the story is trying to have some fun. I'll wait to see if this ever shows up in HM again.
Battle Beasts Preview - 3 - some of the art is good, but seeing a promo for little plastic bits makes me think I'm watching Saturday morning cartoons about 20 years ago, and not in a good way.
There were a couple nice things in this issue, and some things that I wasn't too fond of. Some of the blatant merchandising and the PG-13 approach are unappealing. Note the removal of "adult" from the new tagline "The World's Greatest Illustrated Magazine". Previews on the internet give me a couple things to look forward to, and as long as the print magazine continues to be produced I'll keep trying to find something to like.
Emily, Almost - 8 - mysterious and moody, and makes a good point.
The Lottery Party - 7 - So this is perhaps another editorial like Dossier or Metal Media, with a review or something? I'm ok with that, we'll see if it returns. This one had a nice review of Fahrenheit 451, which I had only recently read, that I enjoyed as the writer made the case that we live in the times of that story now. There was also a story about Dax Riggs of Acid Bath. I didn't know about them, but I enjoyed the article and that it made me recall past HM music reviews from the 80s etc.
The Matron - 7 - written by the author of the previous editorial, an interesting story about a tribal outcast's growth from child exile to matron, in a changing world. It has a descriptive and imaginative writing style that I enjoyed. For this and the previous article I wonder if the uncredited art is actually by the author.
Gallery - 5 - the one I liked was Light It Up, just because I like that kind of line drawing.
Carpe Diem - 6 - pretty nicely done, bright and full of action, and there's some fun in the writing, but it just doesn't make a big impression on me.
The Weirding Willows - 5 - another random episode with more critters and .... mini robots? In HM it's not unexpected to have gaps in storytelling or episodes, but this was more annoying than usual. There are some good art examples, though the contrived ways to keep it PG-13 were more annoying than alluring.
Odyssey - Part Two - 6 - a continuation from #259, I think it's ok but not great, at least it goes somewhere.
Elephant's Graveyard - 6 - I want to like what it's trying to say, and the glowing comm-orbs are interesting and offer weird lighting opportunities. Doesn't really grab me though.
Daniel - 8 - I really liked this, even though the art isn't really precise it is very successful telling me this story. I imagine the Bible offers many potential illustrated fantasy stories. (I do have R. Crumb's Genesis)
Dante's Inferno - 6 - interesting and short essay about Dante and his Divine Comedy, and recalling some images it projects as subjects for art. less interesting to me were the theological implications, though it provides an offer to discuss online for those interested.
Deep Six Odyssey - 7 - Big story with lots of action. Seeing Suydam credited with coloring caught my attention, and I thought it added a great deal (he did a bunch of stories like Mudwog back in the 90s etc).
Sharky - 6 - the Johnson gallery and Horley art are pretty cool, looks like the story is trying to have some fun. I'll wait to see if this ever shows up in HM again.
Battle Beasts Preview - 3 - some of the art is good, but seeing a promo for little plastic bits makes me think I'm watching Saturday morning cartoons about 20 years ago, and not in a good way.
There were a couple nice things in this issue, and some things that I wasn't too fond of. Some of the blatant merchandising and the PG-13 approach are unappealing. Note the removal of "adult" from the new tagline "The World's Greatest Illustrated Magazine". Previews on the internet give me a couple things to look forward to, and as long as the print magazine continues to be produced I'll keep trying to find something to like.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Kranburn #5
I got the .pdf of Kranburn #5, I'll wait for one more before I order paper copies.
The cover is another enjoyably detailed pose. The outfit is especially silly, I'd bet it would weigh 80 lbs at least, with all the stuff hanging on it. Not that I'm complaining, it's fun to look at and I imagine it's lots of fun to draw this. I wondered how the chainsaw cut anything with those smooth teeth, until I saw the mangled end of the branch.
The story picks up in a sort of flashback, a young Brand makes his way through his increasingly horrible neighborhood, to find even greater horror at home. Vicious assault, rapes, stabbings, dismemberment, death, all ensue. Good God. The story holds nothing back in showing an awful and formative moment in Brand's life.
And it was all a dream. No, really, it's the nightmare Brand awakens from ("been a long time since I last had that dream") after hiding to recover, after absorbing the vicious beating from Brutus. Two Nong make the mistake of finding Brand, he makes them pay with their lives, and begins his next assault.
During this, the Nong continue to torture Lawton, sending bits of him to taunt the residents of Kranburn. The Kranburnites are fearful of action, and a frustrated Silvia storms off on her own to search for her parents.
We see Lord ordering increased pressure on the Lawtons and on Kranburn, time is running short for them. Then suddenly Silvia encounters a Nong scurrying back from dropping a "message" to Kranburn, and a chase ensues.
Certainly this is one of the strongest chapters in the story. The action, drama, and emotion shown are unsurpassed here. I really like the artwork, it's easy for me to overlook inconsistencies (BMB's obviously not a cyclist, never seen a bike like that before...) because I enjoy it so much. The raw black and white is perfect for depicting the unflinching brutality people are capable of.
I'm curious about what the future holds for Kranburn. The books have run about mid-40s pages long, there are about 18 pages on the webcomic after the last page of this book, and there are about 9 weeks until the beginning of March, when I thought the 5th book would come up, so I don't see how there would be enough pages by then. I'm sure I'm missing something, and I'm not too concerned, the comic seems to be going strong so I can look forward with anticipation for its conclusion.
The cover is another enjoyably detailed pose. The outfit is especially silly, I'd bet it would weigh 80 lbs at least, with all the stuff hanging on it. Not that I'm complaining, it's fun to look at and I imagine it's lots of fun to draw this. I wondered how the chainsaw cut anything with those smooth teeth, until I saw the mangled end of the branch.
The story picks up in a sort of flashback, a young Brand makes his way through his increasingly horrible neighborhood, to find even greater horror at home. Vicious assault, rapes, stabbings, dismemberment, death, all ensue. Good God. The story holds nothing back in showing an awful and formative moment in Brand's life.
And it was all a dream. No, really, it's the nightmare Brand awakens from ("been a long time since I last had that dream") after hiding to recover, after absorbing the vicious beating from Brutus. Two Nong make the mistake of finding Brand, he makes them pay with their lives, and begins his next assault.
During this, the Nong continue to torture Lawton, sending bits of him to taunt the residents of Kranburn. The Kranburnites are fearful of action, and a frustrated Silvia storms off on her own to search for her parents.
We see Lord ordering increased pressure on the Lawtons and on Kranburn, time is running short for them. Then suddenly Silvia encounters a Nong scurrying back from dropping a "message" to Kranburn, and a chase ensues.
Certainly this is one of the strongest chapters in the story. The action, drama, and emotion shown are unsurpassed here. I really like the artwork, it's easy for me to overlook inconsistencies (BMB's obviously not a cyclist, never seen a bike like that before...) because I enjoy it so much. The raw black and white is perfect for depicting the unflinching brutality people are capable of.
I'm curious about what the future holds for Kranburn. The books have run about mid-40s pages long, there are about 18 pages on the webcomic after the last page of this book, and there are about 9 weeks until the beginning of March, when I thought the 5th book would come up, so I don't see how there would be enough pages by then. I'm sure I'm missing something, and I'm not too concerned, the comic seems to be going strong so I can look forward with anticipation for its conclusion.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Season's Greetings
Happy Apocalypse! And happy all the other damn holidays too!
The world ended and I didn't even notice.
Looks like Issue #260 is out, in two covers, one for subscribers by Horley that looks nice and one for newstands. Time to look for a store that has it. On the website, you have to look for it in the HM sales pages, but there's a free sample pdf that looks nice.
There are some other new digital downloads, including Sinkha Episode 0 and Episode 1. There's a sample from the Episode 0, it supposedly is the original "3D Computergraphic Novel" from 1994, and it was interesting that it looks more like a comic than the slick-for-the-mid-90s computer graphics that were in the magazine (in 1996, 2004, and 2010).
Pax Vobiscum
The world ended and I didn't even notice.
Looks like Issue #260 is out, in two covers, one for subscribers by Horley that looks nice and one for newstands. Time to look for a store that has it. On the website, you have to look for it in the HM sales pages, but there's a free sample pdf that looks nice.
There are some other new digital downloads, including Sinkha Episode 0 and Episode 1. There's a sample from the Episode 0, it supposedly is the original "3D Computergraphic Novel" from 1994, and it was interesting that it looks more like a comic than the slick-for-the-mid-90s computer graphics that were in the magazine (in 1996, 2004, and 2010).
Pax Vobiscum
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
and ... ?
So, if I'm counting right, #259 was the fourth issue of HM in 2012. Ever since the specials were stopped, there were still supposed to be six issues a year, so supposedly we should see two more yet this year.
The internet doesn't tell me anything about #260 being in the works, so I'm pretty skeptical we'll see it in 2012, let alone #261 to get in all six. Good thing I don't have a subscription, else I'd feel pretty ripped off by now, instead of just annoyed and disappointed.
(edit)
I stand corrected:
http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Heavy-Metal-260___419534
That might count for 2012, but ...
and #261? It's encouraging, but I'll believe it when I see it.
(edit again)
this is the letter to fans by Mr. Eastman, that was the editorial in issue #259 (with a few small edits):
http://comicrelated.com/news/17448/heavy-metal-letter
I'll try to remain patient.
The internet doesn't tell me anything about #260 being in the works, so I'm pretty skeptical we'll see it in 2012, let alone #261 to get in all six. Good thing I don't have a subscription, else I'd feel pretty ripped off by now, instead of just annoyed and disappointed.
(edit)
I stand corrected:
http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Heavy-Metal-260___419534
That might count for 2012, but ...
and #261? It's encouraging, but I'll believe it when I see it.
(edit again)
this is the letter to fans by Mr. Eastman, that was the editorial in issue #259 (with a few small edits):
http://comicrelated.com/news/17448/heavy-metal-letter
I'll try to remain patient.
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