| Heavy Metal (magazine) |
Article Index for Heavy Metal |
Website Links For Heavy Metal |
Information AboutHeavy Metal (magazine) |
|
''Heavy Metal'' is an American Science Fiction and Fantasy Comics Magazine . In the mid- 1970s , while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of '' National Lampoon '', he discovered the French science-fantasy magazine '' Métal Hurlant '' which had debuted December 1974 . The French title translates literally as "screaming metal." When Mogel licensed the American version, he chose to rename it, and ''Heavy Metal'' began in the United States on April, 1977 as a glossy, slick full-color monthly. Initially, it displayed translations of graphic stories originally published in '' Métal Hurlant '', including work by Enki Bilal , Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius), Phillippe Druillet and Phillippe Caza. The magazine later ran Stefano Tamburini and Tanino Liberatore 's ultra-violent '' RanXerox ''. Since the color pages had already been shot in France, the budget to reproduce them in the US version was greatly reduced. Founding editors of the American edition were Sean Kelly and Valerie Marchant. Art director and designer John Workman brought to the magazine a background of experience at DC Comics and other publishers. After two years, Mogel felt the lack of text material was a drawback, and in 1979 , he replaced Kelly and Marchant with Ted White , highly regarded in the science fiction field for revitalizing '' Amazing Stories '' and '' Fantastic '' between 1968 and 1978 . White and Workman immediately set about revamping the look of ''Heavy Metal'', incorporating more stories and strips by American artists. White's main solution to the problem of adding substantive text material was a line-up of columns by four authorities in various aspects of Popular Culture . Lou Stathis wrote about Rock Music and Jay Kinney dug into Underground Comics , while Steve Brown reviewed new science fiction Novels and Bhob Stewart explored visual media from Fantasy Film s to Animation and Light Shows . 's '' Den '' characters returned for the March, 1996, cover.]] In 1980 , Julie Simmons-Lynch took over as editor, and her new slant on text material was the showcasing of non-fiction by well-known Author s such as Robert Silverberg and Harlan Ellison . Later, a review section labeled "Dossier", featuring short pieces by a variety of writers, was edited by Stathis and Brad Balfour. There were also Interview s with such media figures as Roger Corman , Federico Fellini , John Sayles and John Waters . In 1986 , ''Heavy Metal'' dropped back to a quarterly schedule, and then went bi-monthly in 1989 . Simmons-Lynch remained the editor until 1991 when Kevin Eastman acquired the magazine and became both publisher and editor. In 1981 , an animated feature film was adapted from several of the magazine's serials. '' Heavy Metal '' featured animated segments from several different animation houses with each doing a single story segment. Another house animated the Frame Story which tied all the disparate stories togther. Like the magazine, the movie featured a great deal of Nudity and graphic Violence , stopped somewhat short of the borderline Pornographic content of the magazine. For example, in its '' Den '' segment, it didn't display the blatant male Genitalia of its print counterpart. The film featured such Hollywood talents as John Candy , Eugene Levy , Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman . The film did reasonably well in its theatrical release, and has gained something of a Cult Status . Another animated feature film alternatively called ''''. ''Heavy Metal'''s high quality artwork is notable. Work by international Fine Artist s such as H.R. Giger has been featured on their covers. Terrance Lindall s illustrated version of Milton's Epic Poem '' Paradise Lost '' appeared in the magazine in 1980 and is generally considered to be the greatest rendition of the Poem done in the 20th Century . Many stories were presented as long-running Serial s, such as those by Richard Corben and Matt Howarth . Some critics feel ''Heavy Metal'''s style and content is too Violent and pornographic and argue for protectively banning its sale to Minor s. Despite such objections, the sale of ''Heavy Metal'' is not restricted to adults in the US. The magazine is currently owned and published by Kevin Eastman , co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . Publication of the French magazine ceased in 1987 . It resumed in July 2002 under the French name '' Métal Hurlant '', edited by Les Humanoïdes Associés . In a feature article on the "New International Surrealist Movement" in the March 2006 issue of Art & Antiques Magazine, several Heavy Metal artists are mentioned as major expression of that movement. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|