Heavy Metal magazine has always been a fascination for me. I’ve seen its often-provocative covers displayed in newsagencies many times over the years, yet my CCCD has always been an obstacle to me reaching into my wallet. As with 2000 AD, I was thrilled to discover when preparing for RetroSmack that Heavy Metal launched in 1977. Finally I had the excuse I needed to check the magazine out, while satisfying my chronological compulsions. The year of publication wasn’t the only interesting fact I learnt in this research phase though. I quickly ascertained that Heavy Metal was created as a way of publishing translated versions of stories found in the French magazine, Métal hurlant. If I was going to RetroSmack this properly, I would need to go back as far as 1974.
Métal hurlant Issue 1: Without which there would be no Heavy Metal.
Métal hurlant, which translates as Howling Metal, was created in December 1974 by journalist Jean-Pierre Dionnet, financial director Bernard Farkas, and French comic artists Jean (Mœbius) Giraud and Philippe Druillet. It was published by Les Humanoïdes Associés (United Humanoids), a collective name given to its four creators. The 68 page magazine was originally a quarterly release, but was monthly by issue 9. Interestingly, Métal hurlant wasn’t entirely dedicated to comics. It also contained articles and reviews on video games, music, and sci-fi related books and movies. If RetroSmack was created in the seventies, Métal hurlant would likely have been the result!
The original Les Humanoïdes Associés logo. I love it!
Image Credit: The Saddest Bitch in All of Spectrum
In 1976, American publisher Leonard Mogel discovered Métal hurlant while visiting France to launch the French edition of National Lampoon magazine. He was immediately impressed, and believing the dark fantasy, science fiction and erotica combination would be popular in the States, acquired the license to publish it. Sometime before its April 1977 first issue, Mogel renamed the magazine Heavy Metal, also stripping it back to be almost entirely focussed on comics. The editors at launch were Sean Kelly and Valerie Marchant, who I’m assuming were involved in the translation from French to English (given their roles with the French version of National Lampoon). The Design Director was Peter Kleinman, and it was he that came up with the Heavy Metal logo. There were a total of 9 issues released in 1977, with each issue containing as many as fifteen separate storylines. Unlike 2000 AD, the majority of these stories ran for only a few issues, making it a bit harder for me to cover the magazine in any sort of structured way. I’m just going to start typing and see what comes out…
It was the folk behind National Lampoon magazine that got behind Heavy Metal. They were fairly accustomed to publishing edgy content, not to mention the downright inappropriate.
Image Credit: History’s Dumpster
I’ll say straight off that the highs of Heavy Metal are far beyond anything I’ve read in DC’s comics or in 2000 AD for 1977. The quality of the artwork is for the most part outstanding, with a quirkiness and abstractness that the French seem to produce quite naturally. There are numerous visual techniques used, and various forms of storytelling, making each issue fascinating to explore. Of course, this variety also results in some pretty average stuff, and quite a bit that wasn’t to my tastes at all. Hmmmm, I think I’m going to do a countdown of my top 7 favourite contributors in Heavy Metal’s 1977 issues, interspersed with my 3 least favourite. This should give you an idea of just how awesome, and how weird, things get.
Heavy Metal Issues #1 to #9: The cover art alone is almost worth the price on some of these mags.
World Apart by E. E. Davis (7th most favourite)
E. E. Davis apparently couldn’t decide what genre he wanted this story to belong to, so included them all. Sword and sorcery? Check. Spaceships and laser canons? Check. Tanks and rifles? Check. Ninjas, monsters, demons, zombies, you got it! Not surprisingly, it’s sometimes pretty difficult to figure out what’s going on, and it all gets unnecessarily philosophical at times. So why am I listing it as my seventh favourite thing in Heavy Metal’s first year? The visuals! Man this is beautiful! The use of colour is fantastic, and Davis’ characters are muscular and full of energy. The main character (the nameless albino), is mysterious, and often acts in unexpected ways. World Apart is like DC’s The Warlord, with extra nudity, violence and philosophical ramblings. Who cares if it’s complete nonsense?!
It’s unusual that the hero meets his match in the opening couple of pages, and at the swordtip of a woman too.
There is a lot of nudity in Heavy Metal. Neither sex is excluded mind you.
I love the way Davis handles action, with great use of adjoining frames.
1996 by Montellier (3rd least favourite)
I did try to find enjoyment in Chantal Montellier’s 1996 strips. I always got the feeling that she was saying something important, and often felt stupid that I couldn’t figure out what it was. Perhaps they needed to be read in the time they were written, or perhaps something was lost in translation. Whatever the answer, deciphering the language Montellier used quickly became a chore, and I could see no relationship between each month’s storylines (if they could even be called that). Maybe you can figure out what the hell she was trying to say…
Many of these entries are one page long, with no semblance of plot.
Piggin up disturbanz. Hurtza mi hed.
The Green Thumb by Edith Zha and Nicole Claveloux (6th most favourite)
I have to admit that I struggle with almost all of the abstract works in Heavy Metal. As soon as things go all weird and/or psychedelic, I lose interest pretty quickly. I was therefore pretty surprised at just how fascinating I found The Green Thumb. If you’re at all familiar with the works of David Firth (who I consider to be a genius but understandably not for everyone), you’ll know what you’re in for here. Its basic story revolves around a woman that brings home a plant one day, only for it to talk to her, causing her highly depressed bird to get jealous and kill it. From there things just get weirder and weirder! The whole thing comes across as some messed up dream, but despite not much of what’s going on making any real sense, I felt a real sense of completeness and satisfaction at its close in issue 9. Nicole Claveloux is a female artist of note in France, and I’d be interested to see more of her work based on what I’ve seen here.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you how strange it is.
But the dreamlike state of it all somehow excuses some of the bizarreness, and the creativity comes to the fore.
If I apply English accents to these characters, it really does seem like something Firth would come up with.
Sunpot by Bodē (5th most favourite)
I had no idea who Vaughn Bodē was prior to Sunpot. It turns out he was a popular American artist, known for the character Cheech Wizard, and for drawing voluptuous yet cartoonish women. Sunpot was originally in black and white only, and appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in the early seventies. It was coloured and republished in Heavy Metal, and I for one am glad for it. This six chapter comic is a heap of silly fun! Dr. Electric is a great character, abusing all of the Sunpot crew while commenting on the assets of his assistant Belinda Bump (described as a robust, busty, 4 foot high pile of sex). It’s sexually-obsessed, and very, very silly, but it was a perfect intermission from all the dark fantasy and gritty sci-fi that filled a large portion of each issue. Worth reading for a good laugh.
Vaughan’s characters have such personality, not to mention hilarious names.
A lot of the descriptive text is filled with unnecessary yet humorous sexual innuendo.
Belinda Bump is Dr. Electric’s first point of call for sex…and assassination.
Age of Ages by Akbar Del Piombo and Rubington (2nd least favourite)
Age of Ages describes itself as “a gothic science-fiction trip to the apocalypse”. That sounded pretty cool to me, but I quickly changed my mind. This is basically a collection of strange collages by Norman Rubington, with almost completely unrelated commentary by Del Piombo. The images were not particularly interesting to begin with, but it was the boring writing that really did me in. Maybe this is brilliant and I just didn’t get it. I doubt it though.
Seriously, what the hell are they going on about?!
It’s not like the imagery is all that interesting on its own.
Bird Dust / Virgo by Philippe “Caza” Cazamayou (4th most favourite)
These two short efforts by Caza are not overly memorable beyond their imagery, but what imagery it is! I’ve included these works in my favourites list because they’ve introduced me to a fantastic new artist; one that I will undoubtedly check out further in the future. Bird Dust has one of the coolest looking main characters ever, and while I don’t really understand what scripter François Bazzoli was really getting at, the whole thing is awe-inspiring and epic. Virgo is even better, for no other reason that it has no words at all. The artist’s gorgeous imagery tells the story of an Eve-like character discovering and eating an exotic fruit on an alien planet. It’s seductive, disturbing, and beautiful. I’d love to read a monthly comic series illustrated by Caza, and I believe I will have that opportunity when covering the early 80s.
I really wish Bird Dust was an ongoing series. It looks fantastic!
I can even excuse the fact that I have little idea what’s happening.
Virgo is definitely one of the more beautiful stories (still a tad disturbing though) from the first year.
Den by Richard Corben (3rd most favourite)
The only comic that appeared in all nine issues I read was Richard Corben’s Den. It was the first comic to appear in issue 1, and I was drawn in immediately. The visuals are breathtaking, with Corben’s strikingly colourful paintings demanding attention. Den is the main character, who awakens in a strange land called Neverwhere, with no recollection of how he got there. Even more peculiarly, he now boasts a highly muscular (and well-endowed it must be said) body; very different to the weak one he had on Earth. While the story that unfolds is filled with Edgar Rice Burroughs clichés, I reached the end of each segment desperate to know what would happen next. With lots of nudity, violence and outright weirdness, this is classic adult fantasy, and a story I can’t wait to see through to its conclusion in years to come. It’s worth noting that the Neverwhere concept first appeared in Corben’s short film of the same name, which he directed in 1968. You can watch it here. It’s really quite good!
Den is nude for the entire series so far. Then again, so are a lot of the other characters.
Some of the artwork is just stunning, and I love the use of colour!
This is where issue #9 left things. I’ll have to wait to read the conclusion.
Roger by D. Locquet and Souchu (1st least favourite)
The idea behind this isn’t actually that bad. Have a couple of action figures discuss the mysterious being that controls their lives. What Locquet and Souchu did with the concept is crap beyond words. I had very little clue what was actually going on due to the nonsensical, existentialist bullshit. Either drugs or mental illness (perhaps both) were involved in the making of Roger, that’s for sure.
He goes off to find his sister, Zoe, the great normalized gash?! What the?!
This is the conclusion to the story. It would be considered a spoiler if there were any semblance of a plot to begin with.
Druillet (2nd most favourite)
It’s probably no surprise that the two most impressive contributors (in my opinion) found within Heavy Metal’s first issues were its founding artists. Philippe Druillet never reaches the godly heights of his partner in crime, but his work is still pretty damn awesome. He was already an established comic artist by the time he helped launch Métal hurlant, with the epic scale of his Lone Sloane series earning him the nickname Space Architect. His numerous contributions in Heavy Metal have to this point all been black and white and somewhat similar in style, yet they showcase the artist’s ability to produce intense sci-fi / fantasy stories as well as hilarious situational skits, often within the same storyline. My first Druillet experience was Rut, where a gigantic space creature takes hold of a passing spaceship and starts copulating with it, ejaculating a horde of baby aliens inside to take it over. It would be downright disturbing if it wasn’t so damn funny! My second experience was Agorn; a threateningly dark revenge story that includes skeletal horses, aggressive rape, and brutal revenge. Druillet switches between these two extremes at will, and while his characters do all tend to have an elongated alien physique, the artwork is consistently jaw-dropping.
When Druillet does funny he does very, very funny.
When Druillet does cool he does very, very cool.
There’s a lot of imagination in his work, and things rarely pan out the way you might expect them to.
Moebius (1st most favourite)
Oh boy. Where do I start?! Simply put, Moebius is the most exciting discovery I’ve made since I started RetroSmack. I’d read about a couple of his works in 1001 Comics to Read Before You Die, but his art style didn’t immediately attract me. That opinion changed very quickly, and I got excited every time I turned the page and found his name at the top. His works are often surreal, and not always easy to follow, but they draw the reader in with gorgeous, highly detailed environments and quirky, attention-grabbing characters. It was the four-part Arzach that broke my Moebius virginity, and I wasn’t at all surprised to discover later on that it’s one of his most famous works. The way it tells its story without any need for words is just incredible, and the colourful line-filled artwork both perfectly executed and gorgeous. Arzach undoubtedly inspired a generation of French artists and manga authors. I was a fan immediately, but things would soon get even better. Issue 4 contained the opening part of The Long Tomorrow. I was instantly intrigued when I saw it was written by Dan O’Bannon; a man whose screenplay work I’m a big fan of (Alien, Return of the Living Dead and Total Recall). O’Bannon and Moebius had been set to work together on Jodorowsky’s failed Dune project (discussed in more detail in the H.R. Giger post), and it wasn’t wasted time. The Long Tomorrow is a classic detective story set in the future, and could easily be given credit for kick-starting the cyberpunk genre. William Gibson has stated that his acclaimed Neuromancer novel was influenced by The Long Tomorrow, and Ridley Scott has cited it as the “key visual reference” for his classic Blade Runner film. It’s enthralling from the first frame to the shocking finale, and if I’ve convinced you of anything in this post, I hope it’s that you’ll go and check this out. I could go on and on about each of Moebius’ contributions, but I’ll simply state that my life is better for having found him.
Arzach: A wordless story that left me speechless.
The Long Tomorrow: The bottom frame displays Moebius’ highly detailed style.
Oh and then there’s Ballade, The Airtight Garage Of Jerry Cornelius, How Good Is Man, It’s A Small Universe, and…and…oh, just go and check it all out!
I looked forward to finally reading Heavy Metal, and despite not being able to connect with probably a quarter of the content, wasn’t at all disappointed. I’ve discovered some great new comic artists and writers, and find the adult themes to be quite refreshing in contrast to DC’s family friendly fare. Speaking of adult themes, I can’t finish without commenting on the high percentage of stories that contain nudity and/or sexual content. There’s hardly a clothed woman to be seen, and if there is, well you can almost guarantee that they’ll remove it at some point. It wasn’t surprising when a letter appeared in the Chain Mail section complaining about how sexist the magazine is. The response was very interesting: “Three of Heavy Metal’s four editors are women. Regular contributors include Zha, Nicollet, Claveloux and Montellier – all women. We feature enough male nudes to make the mag a favourite with gays, for what that’s worth. But finally, the magazine is of fantasy – and doesn’t treat women or men as human beings, but as idealized, imaginary characters.” I’ll let you be the judge whether or not they won that debate.
The Heavy Metal (1977) RetroCard has now been added to the RetroCard Shop. It’s a rare card, so therefore costs 60 smacks and has a limited release of 20.
Featured Image Credit: Luis Royo via The Killer 60
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