Heavy Metal

When I arrived at home last night there was a big box sitting in the floor to greet me. It was heavy and I knew what was in it. I'd invited paka over anyhow so this was an extra treat.

I spent about an hour just sorting them into chronological order and gaping at the covers. OMFG these are cool!!!! I'm in geek heaven!

You know what else? I'm GLAD I didn't see these when I was younger. I'm glad my parents forbade them because it built me up to this moment. This overwhelming torrent of incredible, sexy, pervy, and funny just totally amazing artwork.

The earliest edition I have is #2. I'll start filling in the missing volumes now that I have a good base to start from.

#2 contains work by Moebius, Drulliet, Caza, Bodot, and a lot of others. I think I stare at Drulliet and Caza with the most amazement. They're just.. Wow.

Drulliet got the centerfold in this edition. It was black and white but every bit as stunning as his colour work. It gave me an odd tingle. WTF is up with that!? I've looked at a few porn magazines and found them largely to be an immense turn-off. The centerfolds have never really done anything for me. But a twisted castle spire ascending into a night sky filled with demons and screaming faces and I'm all hot and heavy? There's definitely something right with me. ;)

A Time Warp called Topeka

I started to read the June 1977 edition of Heavy Metal tonight and I was taken with the following letter to the editor and response and felt it was worth posting. I am SO loving this magazine.:

Dear Heavy Metal People:
I liked your first issue alright, butit was, well, a bit European for my taste. I mean, it was too European, that's all. It not only looked French, it read French. What's wrong with American writers and artists? Why French? Especially "Den." What's wrong with "Den" is what's wrong with the whole issue: Much too European. But I liked it, considering.

Ronnie Stall
Lawrence, Kansas

Thanks for the constructive criticism. Good to see the old virtues like patriotism are not dead. You might look up the artist-author of "Den," Richard Corben, some time.
He lives in Kansas, too.-Eds.