Heavy Metal – Nostalgia Central

Launched in 1977, Heavy Metal (“The adult illustrated fantasy magazine”) was established as an English-language version of the classic European adult fantasy comic magazine Métal Hurlant (literally “Howling Metal”).

Publisher Leonard Mogel discovered the French magazine in 1975 while in Paris to launch a French edition of National Lampoon, and began by reprinting and translating Métal Hurlant material, bringing the work of Enki Bilal, Milo Manara, Jean Giraud (Moebius), Guido Crepax, Liberatore, and Philippe Druillet to American eyes.

Unlike American comics of the 1970s, which were restricted by the Comics Code Authority, Heavy Metal was published in a magazine format aimed strictly at an adult readership, which allowed it to feature a heady mix of fantasy, erotica, explicit nudity, and graphic violence in its science fiction.

The magazine has undergone several leadership changes over nearly five decades. Originally owned by HM Communications and managed by Mogel and National Lampoon, the magazine was sold for $500,000 in 1992 to Kevin Eastman (co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

Eastman served as both publisher and editor-in-chief until 2014 before selling to a group led by Jeff Krelitz and David Boxenbaum, who intended to turn it into a multimedia entertainment banner.

That dream came to an end in 2022,

After a brief hiatus and financial difficulties in 2023, the brand was revived by Heavy Metal International with a new editorial team, including Frank Forte and Dave Kelly.

A few characters became icons of the brand, including:

• Taarna: Perhaps the most recognisable figure associated with the magazine. She is the last of the “Taarakians,” a race of noble, silent warrior-maidens. She rides her giant pterodactyl-like creature, Bird-Thing, into battle (pictured at right).
• Den; Originally a skinny, bookish teenager named David Ellis Norman, he built a portal to a world called “Neverwhere” where he was transformed into a massive, muscular, bald warrior (famously depicted without clothes).
• Arzach: A silent, stone-faced warrior who flies across a dreamlike, desolate planet on the back of a pterodactyl. His stories are completely wordless, relying entirely on intricate artwork and vibrant colours to tell the story.
• RanXerox: A hulking, violent cyborg made from spare photocopier parts who lives in a decaying, futuristic Rome. Anti-heroic, brutal, and often controversial, the character reflects the magazine’s more aggressive and satirical European roots.
• The Loc-Nar: An intelligent, glowing green orb of pure evil ties together disparate stories, including the tale of Burt, a sleazy space-taxi driver in a future New York who finds himself caught in a mob war over the orb.

An animated 1981 feature film, simply titled Heavy Metal, adapted several of the magazine’s stories and became a cult classic.