''Heavy Metal'' is an American

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

comics magazine, first published in 1977. The magazine is known primarily for its blend of

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

, and

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

comics. Following a brief hiatus in 2023, it plans to relaunch in 2024 with new owners and a new editorial team consisting of Dave Kelly, Frank Forte, and Chris Thompson. Unlike the traditional

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

of that time bound by the restrictive

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

, the magazine-format ''Heavy Metal'' featured explicit nudity, sexual situations, and graphic violence. The magazine started out primarily as a licensed translation of the French science-fantasy magazine ''

Métal hurlant ''Métal Hurlant'' (; literal translation: "Howling Metal," "Screaming Metal") is a French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories. Originally created in 1974, the anthology ceased publication in 1987, but was revived b ...

'', marking for many Americans their first introduction to the work of European cartoonists like

Enki Bilal Enki Bilal (born Enes Bilal; born 7 October 1951) is a French comic book creator and film director. Biography Early life Bilal was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from Karlovy ...

, Philippe Caza,

Guido Crepax Guido Crepas (15 July 1933 – 31 July 2003), better known by his pen name Guido Crepax, was an Italian comics artist. He is most famous for his character ''Valentina (Italian comics), Valentina'', created in 1965 and very representative of the sp ...

Philippe Druillet Philippe Druillet (; born 28 June 1944) is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design. Biography Philippe Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France, but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 195 ...

Jean-Claude Forest Jean-Claude Forest (11 September 1930 – 30 December 1998) was a French writer and illustrator of comics and the creator of character Barbarella. Biography Jean-Claude Forest was born in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, a Paris suburb and graduated ...

Jean Giraud Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (; 8 May 1938 – 10 March 2012) was a French artist, cartoonist, and writer who worked in the Franco-Belgian comics, Franco-Belgian ''bandes dessinées'' (BD) tradition. Giraud garnered worldwide acclaim predomin ...

(a.k.a. Moebius),

Chantal Montellier Chantal Montellier, born on August 1, 1947, in Bouthéon near Saint-Étienne in the Loire Department, is a French comics creator and artist, editorial cartoonist, novelist, and painter. As the first female editorial cartoonist in France, she ...

, and

Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a fumetti neri ...

Publication history

National Lampoon

After a 1975 European trip by '' National Lampoon'' contributor

Tony Hendra Anthony Christopher Hendra (10 July 1941 – 4 March 2021) was an English satirist and writer who worked mostly in the United States. He was probably best known for being the head writer and co-producer in 1984 of the first six shows of the long ...

expressing interest in European comics, the magazine's New York offices attracted significant European comic material. On 2 September 1976, editor Sean Kelly singled out the relatively new French comics anthology ''

'' (, though Kelly translated it as "Screaming Metal") and brought it to the attention of company president Leonard Mogel on 3 September, as Mogel was departing for Germany and France to jump-start the French edition of ''National Lampoon''. (''Métal hurlant'' had debuted in early 1975 from

Les Humanoïdes Associés Les Humanoïdes Associés (or Humanoids) is a French- American publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, founded in December 1974 by comic artists Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet, and financial director Be ...

(), an association of

Jean-Pierre Dionnet Jean-Pierre Dionnet (; born 25 November 1947) is a French comics writer and TV presenter. He has also worked as an editor-in-chief (in ''Métal Hurlant''), journalist, editor, film producer/distributor, and blogger. He was the co-founder of the c ...

(Mœbius), and financial director Bernard Farkas formed on 19 December 1974.) Upon Mogel's return from Paris on 27 September, he reported that the French publishers had agreed to an English language version, and he suggested the title ''Heavy Metal'' for an April issue to be released in March 1977. ''Heavy Metal'' debuted in the US as a glossy, full-color monthly published by HM Communications, Inc., a subsidiary of

Matty Simmons Martin Gerald "Matty" Simmons (October 3, 1926 – April 29, 2020) was an American film and television producer, newspaper reporter for the '' New York World-Telegram and Sun'', and Executive Vice President of Diners Club, the first credit card ...

' Twenty First Century Communications, Inc. The cover of the initial April 1977 issue declared itself to be "From the people who bring you the ''National Lampoon''", and the issue primarily featured reprints from ''Métal hurlant'', as well as material from ''National Lampoon'', a colorized portion of

Vaughn Bodē Vaughn Bodē (; July 22, 1941 – July 18, 1975) was an American underground comics, underground cartoonist and illustrator known for his character Cheech Wizard and his artwork depicting voluptuous women. A contemporary of Ralph Bakshi, Bodē h ...

's ''Sunpot'' (1971), and an excerpt from

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly high fantasy, epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times Best Seller List, ''New York Times'' ...

' ''

The Sword of Shannara ''The Sword of Shannara'' is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in a titular trilogy. The novel interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called The Four Lands. One follows the protagonist ...

'' (1977). Since the color pages from ''Métal hurlant'' had already been shot in France, the budget to reproduce them in the US version was greatly reduced. In the late spring of 1980, ''

'' went bankrupt and ''Heavy Metal'' severed its ties with its content partner. ''Métal hurlant'' managed to keep publishing, however, and the two magazines reconciled in the summer of 1981. After running as a monthly for its first nine years up to the December 1985 issue, the magazine dropped to a quarterly schedule (winter, spring, summer, and fall) beginning in 1986, promising an increase in length and to feature only complete (rather than serialized) stories. ''Métal hurlant'' folded in the summer of 1987, forcing ''Heavy Metal'' to expand its reach for new content.

Other HM Communications publications

In 1977–1978, HM Communications published a number of

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

featuring "Heavy Metal Presents" on their covers, collecting translated material it had previously serialized in the pages of ''Heavy Metal'': * ''

Arzach ''Arzach'' () is a comic book collection of four wordless short stories by artist/author Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, which were originally published in the French sci-fi/fantasy comics magazine ''Métal Hurlant''. The stories follow Arzach, a silent ...

'' (1977) — by

; originally published in ''Métal hurlant'' * ''Candice at Sea'' (1977) — by

Jacques Lob Jacques Lob (19 August 1932 – 24 May 1990) was a French comic book creator, known for several Franco-Belgian comics, comics creations, including ''Superdupont''. His series ''Le Transperceneige'', later continued by Benjamin Legrand, was adapte ...

and

Georges Pichard Georges Pichard (17 January 1920 – 6 June 2003) was a French comics artist, known for numerous magazine covers, serial publications and albums, stereotypically featuring partially exposed voluptuous women. Biography A native of Paris, he ...

(trans. by Sean Kelly and Valerie Marchant); originally published in ''Blanche Épiphanie'' #3 - ''La Croisière infernale'' by

in 1977 * ''Psychorock'' (1977) — by

Sergio Macedo Sergio Macedo (born 8 April 1951) is a Brazilian comic artist. Born in Além Paraíba, he pursued a career in illustrating for advertising and journalism, before illustrating for Brazilian newspapers and magazines. In the 1970s, he moved to Fran ...

(trans. by Kelly and Marchant); originally published by Les Humanoïdes Associés in 1976 * '' Barbarella: The Moon Child'' (1978) — by

(trans. by

Richard Seaver Richard Woodward Seaver (December 31, 1926 – January 5, 2009) was an American translator, editor and publisher. Seaver was instrumental in defying censorship, to bring to light works by authors such as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Henry Mi ...

); originally published in ''Barbarella'' #3 - ''Le Semble-Lune'', published by Pierre Horay in 1977 * ''Ulysses'' (1978) — adaptation of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' by Jacques Lob and Georges Pichard; originally published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

in 1974–1975 * ''Is Man Good?'' (1978) – by Jean Giraud (trans. by Sean Kelly and Valerie Marchant); originally published in ''

Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...

'' and ''Métal hurlant'' * ''Conquering Armies'' (1978) – by Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Jean-Claude Gal (trans. by Sean Kelly and Valerie Marchant); originally published in ''Métal hurlant'' In 1978–1979, HM Communications released a number of

of original content that had been serialized in the pages of ''Heavy Metal''. These projects also featured "Heavy Metal Presents" on their covers: * ''More Than Human'' (1979, in association with

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

) – adaptation of the

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

novel of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

, by

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of comics, novels, short stories, newspaper feature articles, weekly newspaper comic strips, film screenplays and teleplays. He is notable for his ''Batman'' wo ...

and

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early l ...

; packaged by

Byron Preiss Visual Publications Byron Preiss (April 11, 1953 – July 9, 2005)Byron Preiss
at the

Arrow Books Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the follow ...

) — loose adaptation of the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

film of the

, by Allen Asherman, Stephen R. Bissette, and

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...

, with in introduction by Spielberg; varies wildly and humorously from the film. * '' Alien: The Illustrated Story'' (1979, with distribution by

) — adaptation of the

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

film of the

, by Archie Goodwin and

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...

* ''Michael Moorcock's The Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell'' (1979) — by Michael Moorcock and

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...

* ''So Beautiful and So Dangerous'' (1979, in association with Simon & Schuster) — by

Angus McKie Angus McKie (born July 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British comics creator who has worked as an artist, inker, writer and colourist. McKie was an early employer of computer-generated artwork. He has worked frequently with fellow British cr ...

* ''New Tales of the

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'' (1979) — by

Richard Corben Richard Corben (November 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...

and

Jan Strnad Jan Steven Strnad (sometimes credited as J. Knight; born 1950) is an American writer of comic books, horror, and science fiction. He is known for his many collaborations with artist Richard Corben, as well as his work in the ''Star Wars'' expan ...

, introduction by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

In 1981, the company launched a new series, ''Heavy Metal Special Editions'', which consisted of fifty seasonal ''Heavy Metal'' specials published until 2008. These began with ''Heavy Metal Presents Moebius'' (1981), followed by ''The Best of Heavy Metal'' (1982), ''Even Heavier Metal'' (1983), ''Son of Heavy Metal'' (1984), ''Bride of Heavy Metal'' (1985), and ''The Best of Heavy Metal 2'' (1986). Beginning with ''The Venus Interface'' (1989, v5 no. 4), the indicia began to feature volume and issue numbers, as well as the phrase "a series of special editions published four times a year by ''Heavy Metal'' magazine." After the fiftieth issue, "Overload Special" (Summer 2008, v22 no. 2), the numbering of the seasonal specials was merged into the main series, and continued for another nine issues until the "War of the Worlds Special" (2011).

Grodnik/Matheson, J2 Communications

In late 1988/early 1989, film producer

Daniel Grodnik Daniel Grodnik (born May 30, 1952) is an American film producer living in Los Angeles, California. In 1989/1990, he and partner actor Tim Matheson took over National Lampoon, with Grodnik becoming the company's chairman and CEO. Mr. Grodnik i ...

and actor/producer

Tim Matheson Tim Matheson (born Timothy Lewis Matthieson; December 31, 1947) is an American actor and director. Some of his best-known acting roles include the title character of the 1960s animated ''Jonny Quest (TV series), Jonny Quest'' TV series, Eric "O ...

acquired voting control of 21.3 percent of National Lampoon Inc. stock, were named to the company's board, and eventually took control of the company (by purchasing the ten-percent share — worth $760,000 — of

, who departed the company). During this period, publication of ''Heavy Metal'' increased from a quarterly to a bi-monthly schedule, citing a thirty-percent increase in circulation. A year later, Grodnik/Matheson Co. sold the properties to

J2 Communications J2 Communications was a media production and distribution company that operated from 1986 to 2002. The company is best known for its unsteady stewardship of '' National Lampoon'' magazine and all its related properties through the 1990s. Histor ...

, a home video producer and distributor founded by James P. Jimirro, with Grodnik and Matheson staying on for a period to run the new division.

Kevin Eastman

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...

, co-creator of the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'', who had grown up reading ''Heavy Metal'', bought the magazine for $500,000 in May 1992. (In total, HM Communications published 137 issues in 15 volumes from April 1977 to March 1992.) Eastman's publishing entity Metal Mammoth, Inc., published the magazine from 1992 to 2014. Eastman also served as ''Heavy Metal'''s editor-in-chief for the bulk of this time (even into 2016, after he was no longer the owner).

Later developments

In January 2014, Eastman sold the magazine to digital and music veteran David Boxenbaum and film producer Jeff Krelitz. Eastman continued to serve as publisher of the magazine (until early 2020) and was a minority investor in the new ''Heavy Metal'', which became at that point published by Heavy Metal Media, LLC. In late 2019, Krelitz was no longer with the magazine, which was undergoing leadership churn. In early 2020, ''Heavy Metal'' saw a regime change to CEO Matthew Medney and "Creative Overlord" David Erwin (formerly of

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and is based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery which manages DC Comics characters by working with other units ...

). Medney and Erwin announced two new comics publishing ventures, Virus and Magma Comix, though neither line produced much material. ''Heavy Metal'''s 300th issue, published in 2021, featured work by

Tanino Liberatore Gaetano Liberatore (born 12 April 1953), better known as Tanino Liberatore, is an Italian comics author and illustrator. His best known fictional character is RanXerox. Life and work Born in Quadri, Liberatore went to high school in Pescara w ...

Mark Bodé Mark Bodē (() born February 18, 1963) is an American cartoonist. The son of underground comics legend Vaughn Bodē, Mark shares the Bodē family style and perpetuates many of his late father's creations as well as his own works . He is best kn ...

, and Kent Williams, among others; and posthumous work by

Moebius Moebius, Mœbius, Möbius or Mobius may refer to: People * August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), German mathematician and astronomer * Friedrich Möbius (art historian) (1928–2024), German art historian and architectural historian * Theodor ...

, and

. It had interviews and testimonials from writers discussing the impact the magazine had on them as teenagers.

Cancellation

In the fall of 2022, the magazine entered into an agreement with

online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a wa ...

Whatnot to publish the following 12 issues of the magazine. Soon afterward, the magazine announced it was "ceasing publication of what they described as the first volume of the magazine, which had been published continuously since 1977. The last issue of the first volume, number 320, was scheduled for publication in late October 2022 and the successor, Volume 2, would be published by WhatNot Publishing starting with issue 1 in February 2023." Amid cash flow problems, however, ''Heavy Metal'' shut down in December 2022. Initially intended to be a temporary suspension, the magazine worked to rectify subscription non-fulfillments and non-payments to artists and vendors. Medney stepped down as CEO, replaced by Marshall Lees and Jamie Penrose. In July 2023, with Whatnot's publishing division, Massive Publishing, only having produced one issue of ''Heavy Metal''—#320, released in April of that year and still listing Heavy Metal Entertainment LLC in the indicia—it was announced that the publisher had decided to cancel the magazine and that #320 had been the final issue.

Relaunch

On October 15, 2024, Heavy Metal International, LLC announced that they would be relaunching the magazine in 2025, and began a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

campaign for the first issue on November 25, 2024.

Artists and features

''Heavy Metal''s high-quality artwork was notable. Work by international

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as p ...

s such as

H. R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". He was part of the special effects team that won ...

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American artist known for themes of Fantasy art, fantasy and science fiction, noted for comic books, mass market paperback, paperback book covers, paintings, p ...

, and

Esteban Maroto Esteban Maroto (born 1942) is a Spanish comic book artist. Career Born in Madrid, he began his career in the 1960s with series like ''Cinco por infinito'', published in English by Continuity Comics as '' Zero Patrol'' (heavily retouched by e ...

were featured on the covers of various issues. Stefano Tamburini and

's '' RanXerox'' series debuted in the States.

Terrance Lindall Terrance Lindall (born 1944) is an American artist and the co-director and chief administrator of the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Lindall's illustrations have been published in '' Heavy Metal'', ''Creepy'', ''Ee ...

's illustrated version of Milton's

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'' appeared in the magazine in 1980. Many stories were presented as long-running serials, such as those by

, Pepe Moreno and

Matt Howarth Matt Howarth is an American comic book writer/artist known for such series as '' Those Annoying Post Bros'', '' Savage Henry'', '' Star Crossed'', and ''Bugtown''. Biography Howarth's influences include writers Philip K. Dick and H. P. Lovecr ...

. Illustrators like

Luis Royo Luis Royo (born 1954) is a Spanish artist. He is best known for his fantasy illustrations published in numerous art books, magazines such as '' Heavy Metal'' and various other media including book and music CD covers, video games and Tarot cards ...

and

Alex Ebel Alex Ebel (November 14, 1932 – December 6, 2013) was a science fiction and fantasy illustrator. Ebel painted the poster for the original ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980), and an unused poster for ''Friday the 13th Part ...

contributed artwork over the course of their careers. An adaptation of the film '' Alien'' named '' Alien: The Illustrated Story'', written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by

Walter Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

, was published in the magazine in 1979. Here is a starting list of contributing artists featured in ''Heavy Metal'': * Jean "Moebius" Giraud *

Juan Giménez Juan Antonio Giménez López (; 26 November 1943 – 2 April 2020) was an Argentine comic book artist and writer, most recognized for his detailed machine-like imagery. Among his noted works include stories for the French ''Métal Hurlant'' and ...

Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri (born 29 February 1944) is an Italian comic book writer and illustrator, noted for his works of highly detailed renderings of the human form, particularly erotic images of women. He is best known for his work on the ''Druu ...

Simon Bisley Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s in comics, 1990s work on ''ABC Warriors'', ''Lobo (DC Comics), Lobo'' and ''Sláine (comics), Sláine''. Early life Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is ...

Berni Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comics artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, Illusionist, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with th ...

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

Barry Windsor-Smith Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best-known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian (comics), Conan t ...

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ''2000 AD (comi ...

Arthur Suydam Arthur Suydam (; born May 18, 1953) is an American comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Black Panther, and KISS Zombies. He has done artwork for magazines including '' Heavy Metal'', ''Epic Illustrated'' and '' Nation ...

Dave Stevens Dave Lee Stevens (July 29, 1955 – March 11, 2008) was an American illustrator and comics artist. He was most famous for creating '' The Rocketeer'' comic book and film character, and for his pin-up style "glamour art" illustrations, especiall ...

Yacine Elghorri Yacine Elghorri, also referred to as Elgo, is a French illustrator, storyboard artist, conceptual designer and comic book artist. He worked in the United States on films and cartoons such as Matt Groening's Futurama, Titan AE, ''Evolution'' direct ...

Editors

The founding editors of the American edition of ''Heavy Metal'' were Sean Kelly and Valerie Marchant. Over the life of the magazine, the two editors with the longest tenures were Julie Simmons-Lynch (who was publisher

' daughter) and

, who was also the magazine's owner/publisher for more than 20 years. The founding design director was Peter Kleinman (who served in the same capacity for ''National Lampoon''). He created the original ''Heavy Metal'' logo design, at the request of Mogel, and was responsible for the launch and art direction of the first issue. Kleinman later hired designer and letterer

John Workman John Workman (born June 20, 1950) is an American editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and letterer in the comic book industry. He is known for his frequent partnerships with writer/artist Walter Simonson and also for lettering the entire ru ...

, who brought to the magazine a background of experience at

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

and other publishers. Workman served as the magazine's

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

from 1977 to 1984. (His comics art, writing, lettering, coloring, and design work are evident throughout issues from that period.) Founding editors Kelly and Marchant were replaced in August 1979 by Ted White, who was hired to introduce

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

and prose fiction into the magazine. White was fired in August 1980, replaced as editor by magazine founder Leonard Mogel. Julie Simmons-Lynch took over from Mogel in late 1981, serving as ''Heavy Metal'''s editor-in-chief for more than eleven years, stepping down when Kevin Eastman bought the magazine. With a few breaks, Eastman was chief editor for ''Heavy Metal'' from early 1993 until mid-2016. Most of these breaks were packaged and edited by A1 co-creator Dave Elliott. Comics writer

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

became the magazine's editor-in-chief beginning with the April 2016 issue, serving through 2018. They later served as creative advisor. By issue #298 (2020),

Tim Seeley Tim Seeley is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as '' Grayson'', ''Nightwing'', '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', ''G.I. Joe vs. Transformers'' and '' New Exiles''. He is also the co-creator of the Ima ...

had become editor-in-chief but was out by the end of that year. In 2021, Joseph Illidge took over as Executive Editor but left the company entirely by the end of 2022. Following the hiatus, all employees were let go and the company was dissolved. Heavy Metal International, LLC revived the brand in 2024 and subsequently announced new editors Dave Kelly, Frank Forte, and Chris Thompson would helm the magazine going forward.

Legacy

''Heavy Metal'' was widely credited for exposing many Americans/English-speakers to European comics and the continent's top cartoonists. As cartoonist and publisher

said of the magazine, "''Heavy Metal'' published European art that had not been previously seen in the United States, as well as demonstrating an

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

sensibility that nonetheless wasn't as harsh or extreme as some of the underground comix – but ... definitely intended for an older readership". Creators like

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

, and

Steven Lisberger Steven M. Lisberger (born April 24, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing the 1982 film ''Tron''. Early life and education Lisberger was born in 1951 in New York City and gre ...

have all discussed the influence of ''Heavy Metal'' on their later work. The magazine was taken to task, however, for its juvenile stories, violence, and misogynist portrayals of women. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' described the magazine as, "a legendary sci-fi and fantasy comic magazine for adults... and perhaps precocious teens interested in more daring material, or who consider

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

a tad underdressed." Critic R. M. Rhodes pointed out "the abundance of breasts in the magazine /nowiki>was/nowiki> somewhat of a running joke over the years."

Sheila Benson Sheila Benson (December 4, 1930February 23, 2022) was an American journalist and film critic. She served as film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1981 to 1991. Early life and education Benson was born in New York City on December 4, 193 ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that ''Heavy Metal'' had "charm" but decried its "sadism." Writing about the magazine's early years, Rhodes discussed the voluminous number of pieces in which "the amount of rape (and stories where attempted rape drives the action).... I really didn't keep track of how often it happens, but any number more than 'none' is usually a bad sign. Tragically, it's mostly used as just another plot point, with no mention or indication of the consequences."

In other media

Films

In 1981, an animated feature film was adapted from several of the magazine's serials. Made on a budget of U.S. $9.3 million and under production for three years, '' Heavy Metal'' features animated segments from several different animation houses, with each contributing a single story segment. Another house animated the

frame story A frame story (also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, sandwich narrative, or intercalation) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either fo ...

which ties all the disparate stories together. Another animated feature film called ''

Heavy Metal 2000 ''Heavy Metal 2000'' (also known as ''Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.²'' outside North America) is a 2000 Canadian adult animated science fantasy film produced by Jacques Pettigrew and Michel Lemire, and directed by Michael Coldewey and Lemire. Starring t ...

'' was released in 2000. During 2008 and into 2009, reports circulated that

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...

and

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

would executive produce and, each, direct two of the eight to nine segments of a new animated ''Heavy Metal'' feature. Kevin Eastman was to also direct a segment, as well as animator Tim Miller,

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...

and

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

decided to stop funding the film by August 2009 and no distributor or production company has shown interest in the second sequel, since. In 2011, filmmaker

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...

purchased the film rights to ''Heavy Metal'' and planned to develop a new animated film at the new Quick Draw Studios. An animated 3D film entitled '' War of the Worlds: Goliath'', created as a sequel to

H.G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

' ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'' and based on a story previously published in the magazine, was produced by The Tripod Group and released in Malaysia in 2012. The series "Interceptor" is being adapted into a film. In March 2019, the Fincher project was released as a reimagining television series, titled ''

Love, Death & Robots ''Love, Death & Robots'' (stylized as LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS; represented in emoji form as ❤️❌🤖) is an adult animation, adult animated Anthology series, anthology television series created by Tim Miller (director), Tim Miller and streamin ...

''. In March 2021, ''Heavy Metal'' announced its first move into television with an adaptation of Blake Northcott's trilogy of novels, the ''Arena Mode Saga''. The first book was in active development after optioning the rights to the sci-fi thriller.

Video games

''Heavy Metal 2000'' inspired a video game sequel released in 2000, the PC action-adventure '' Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.²''. It was developed by

Ritual Entertainment Ritual Entertainment was an American video game developer established in 1996 by Robert Atkins, Mark Dochtermann, Jim Dosé, Richard 'Levelord' Gray, Michael Hadwin, Harry Miller, and Tom Mustaine. Based in Dallas, Texas, Ritual Entertainment wa ...

. In 2001,

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

released '' Heavy Metal: Geomatrix'', an arcade fighting game that later made its way to

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

console. Though not based on any specific material from ''Heavy Metal'', it featured character designs by frequent contributor Simon Bisley and a style generally inspired by the magazine. In 2020,

Stern Pinball Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for '' Berzerk''. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1986 ...

and the production company Incendium released a pinball machine commemorating the 300th issue of ''Heavy Metal'', featuring '' Taarna'' and '' Cold Dead War'' (2021). The made to order machine, with a playfield based on the Stern ''Star Wars'' release, sold for eight-thousand dollars and shipped in late 2020 along with an exclusive variant cover edition of ''Heavy Metal'' issue #300.

Podcast network

In 2021, ''Heavy Metal'' launched a podcast network featuring scripted and unscripted shows that focused on horror, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy, and pop culture.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

*
''Heavy Metal'' magazine fan page

Collection of essays about ''Heavy Metal'' by R.M. Rhodes
{{Authority control 1977 comics debuts 1977 establishments in New York (state) Comics magazines published in the United States Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Science fiction magazines published in the United States Comics adapted into animated films Comics adapted into video games Comics by Jean Giraud Fantasy fiction magazines Magazines about comics Magazines established in 1977 Mass media franchises introduced in 1977 Magazines published in New York (state) Magazines published in Massachusetts Capcom franchises Columbia Pictures franchises 2023 comics endings

Publication history

National Lampoon

Other HM Communications publications

Grodnik/Matheson, J2 Communications

Kevin Eastman

Later developments

Cancellation

Relaunch

Artists and features

Editors

Legacy

In other media

Films

Video games

Podcast network

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links