Heavy Metal #276

Hey Metal!

Yahoo! Love that crazy cover to HM 276! Such a break from the rather more conservative pallets of most covers, and its Jack Kirby like you’ve never seen him! I like these wraparounds! Is Gellar for real? It would be fantastic to see a Kirby world movie/theme park; I guess we are to be disappointed. God, if that ain’t a crowdfunding project, I don’t know what is! 

So, a great start, got me excited as soon as I opened the mailbox.  The rest of the issue does not disappoint.  First, bravo for the return of Paul Kirchner’s “The Bus”.  While I do not like to encourage reprints, I would love to see more! Are these new strips? And let’s hope this gets the “The Bus” book back in print.  Lost my first copy! 

I am enjoying the Aftermath stories, including this issues Big Clean, though they take a while to learn to decode, sort of like Paul Pope (who we have not seen in HM, hmmm) or Simon Bisley; the noise obscures the signal.  Like Bisley, Kevin Molen’s art works really well with the Chuck-Jones-gore-humor he and Matt are writing.  It seems that Aftermath is also taking a page form Aeon Flux, where the overall story is more like a framework for an extended scene, a vignette from that world.  The plot seems pointless or incomplete, which can be unsatisfying, but it is fun just to look at the wild exaggeration. Derp, derp.

“Narcopolis” has excellent draftsmanship, and the story, while low key, but I don’t care to know that I have to buy another book for this tale.  It would be nice if previews could be formatted to take up less page space so more could be devoted to works or chapters of continuing stories.

The prize of 276 has to go to Frezatto’s “To Much Fantasy on Mother Flower”. All the hallmarks of HM tradition appear: sexy character design, alternative storytelling, fantastic craftsmanship over varying styles and media.  Frezatto is like a sexy-Euro-Suydam (hmmmm, no Suydam in HM either) and this story was almost as much fun as you can have in a magazine.

Finally, thanks for numbering issues, and could you explain what is included in the numbering and where one might find a listing by these numbers with cover images? Does the numbering include specials? And, it would be great to be able to find a wider range of designs for HM tees, particularly cover images if the rights don’t make it too expensive.

PS. No magazine changes its production schedule like HM, so, see you in however long until the next issue comes!

REVIEW: Heavy Metal #275

Hey Hurlers and Screamers:

Thank you so much for the Cyberpunk meets Magic Realism Special, Heavy Metal 275! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! This is a special that stands out from the regularly monthly fare in a way I don’t remember other specials.  275 had all the novelty and exoticism I came to love reading HM in the 1970’s (remember those?)

Bang up cover! Jose Quintero was an excellent choice for the Gallery! Both his style and content are fresh and intriguing.  The cover, while still showing the almost requisite semi-nude hot female, manages to avoid the piercings and tattoos that have become so cliché in almost every guest artist’s work.  Has Quintero worked up any Buba stories?  I would love to see his various textures and media applied to something with this character.  Keep on him, and bring him back.

Each interior story had something to add to my enjoyment of this ish. Calvo and Omar-Trucu-Estevez New Moon Rising showed some delightfully detailed architecture and design; I especially loved the geometric motion lines of the Aztec gods’ movements.  I enjoyed The Eyes of Itzam for its interesting extrapolation of social media. Taxi, while not one of the strongest stories, begs for tales of the driver and his new drivee.  I want to see what comes next. Munoz and Casares’ The Data Mule, Llarena and Bazals’ Itzel, and Rios and Velazquez’ The Outsider rounded out a great issue with solid stories and draftsmanship. 

I especially enjoyed Puig and Guivara’s Untopia. Guivara creates highly detailed and yet readable panels and the Xibalba mythos is ripe for the picking, but it doesn’t quite read.  Still, the story breaks down between the Hacker starting to hack and the ending.  Do we assume that somehow the group has called up cyberdemons and are now possessed? 

Finally, While the artwork and design of Trees Feel No Rage displays a competent and engaging quality, the story seems incomplete.  Why a tree?  I see reference to the trees in an earlier seen, but felt unconvinced; neither rage nor trees seemed enough to connect the two, and I am sure a panel was out of place. If not, then the time flow of the tale is not clear.  

Interesting how revolution and butterflies seem to dominate the thematic content.

Pull some of these guys in to work some regular issues! I don’t remember seeing anything remotely “Mexican” in HM before, and they used to publish La Rambla down there, so we know there is talent.

Thanks again for this fine special! Until next ish,…

Griffin Mauser