Heavy Metal #300

 

For any comic or magazine to reach 300 consecutive issues these days is a miracle what with all the constant relaunches, renumbering and whatever, but this particular magazine has even more reason to be proud of it's continuing run. Heavy Metal outlived it's "parent" Metal Hurlant by a miles. There's even an interview with Jean Pierre Dionnet one of the founders of Metal Hurlant launched in 1974, ran for 11 years and 132 issues.

Oddly the prelude to the interview includes Eerie & Creepy as one of 'it's "glossy competitors" not sure I'd count those warren Magazines as rivals exactly the world of black & white horror mags was a separate one. Marvel's Epic and Playboy's Omni now they were distinct rivals which had short lives.

I have to be honest here that I've never really been a reader of Heavy Metal though did try it once in a while, the last time being when Grant Morrison was given an editorial run. I ordered three issues and remembered why I wasn't a great fan. The stories were too esoteric for their own good. 

This over-sized and highly priced 100 page issue contains a couple of quite readable stories of which Savage Circus was the best and is apparently continuing as a comic book series not that I'll be following it up for a whole number of reasons.

I understand that Heavy Metal is part of a whole genre of comics including those produced by Humanoid publications but though I like The Incal (or what I managed to read of it) and The Metabarons, the stories such as Memories which is (re)printed here just do not do anything for me. Like a lot of Grant Morrison's edited issues it's self indulgent and unappealing, to me anyway.

However Heavy Metal has it's fans and I have on occasion considered picking up some of the other comics they produce but with everything that's happening at the moment it is nowhere near a priority even in terms of collecting comics.

The only other story which caught my attention was The Cold Dead War otherwise the material which is Heavy Metal's usual fare just does not appeal. I did try to like this comic/magazine and I am aware it has it's fans otherwise it wouldn't have either lasted this long or be going strong. I wish them all the best for the future but Heavy Metal will not be on my list.

Note: I haven't given Heavy Metal a rating or recommendation simply because though it doesn't appeal to me there are many who will enjoy it's content and I don't wish to appear unfair.