The weekend is almost here! What geeky things are you all doing? Sound off in the comments below! While you wait for the weekday to end and the weekend to begin, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.
We’re only 18 days in to 2023 and things have already seen a lot of changes and shakeups in the comic industry. Yesterday news broke that Matthew Medney was stepping down as CEO of Heavy Metal with Marshall Lees taking over the role.
The publisher has had troubles of late including a money crunch, a “reorganization”, accusations of selling foreign rights without the creators knowledge or compensation, and accusations the publisher has been having troubles fulfilling purchases.
Today, the company’s new CEO has issued a statement about the situation:
A message from Heavy Metal’s new CEO to all our valued partners, friends and fans.
As stewards of a renowned brand that has had a significant impact on cinema, art, literature, and culture for over 40 years, we recognize that we have made mistakes. As the new CEO, I am excited and honored to take on this role, but also aware of the challenges ahead. The brand, its legacy, our team, and all of you deserve better, and I, along with the new team, are committed to delivering that.
We recognize that creatives are the lifeblood of our company. They are the reason we exist. Moving forward, Heavy Metal will focus on being a conduit for unfettered creativity, providing support for your exploration and a platform for reaching the world without boundaries or restrictions. We want to hear your stories, see your art, and empower you to create without limits. As part of this commitment, Heavy Metal Publishing will publish a wide range of stories and content that pushes boundaries fearlessly. Additionally, we are implementing a more transparent creator portal to improve communication with all of our partners.
To all of our fans, including those who have remained loyal to us and those whom we have disappointed, we want you to know that we deeply value your support and contributions to the legacy of our brand. We are committed to doing better for you and enhancing your experience with Heavy Metal in new and exciting ways, while staying true to our roots. You can expect increased engagement with our community, great emphasis on timely delivery, and improved products that you will be proud to own. THe journey ahead is only meaningful if you join us on it.
There are many reasons to be enthusaistic about the future. The new leadership brings a desire to rebuild and a commitment to allowing creators to do their best work. The team is reinvigorated and passionate about what they do. Heavy Metal Studios, our emerging TV and film studio, is poised to break through barriers in the entertainment industry. Additionally, we have a variety of exciting new products and intellectual property that we are confident will excite our audience.
Our management team will continue to have some familiar faces. Tommy Coriale will remain our Head of Studio, Kris Long remains as our Chief Sales Officer and now serves as interim Publisher, Jamie Penrose has assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer and Joe Durko fills the critical role of Chief Restructuring Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
I am here to listen and learn from you all and I open my inbox for you to reach out to me at ceo@heavymetal.com if you would like be a part of the exciting road ahead as we rebuild Heavy Metal together.
The weekend is almost here and it’s a pretty big holiday weekend! Hope you all have a good one. While you wait for the weekday to end and the weekend to begin, here’s some comic news and a review from around the web.
It’s new comic book day! What are you all excited for? What do you plan on getting? Sound off in the comments below. While you think about that, here’s some comic news from around the web to start the day.
Heavy Metal Entertainment has announce that it is partnering with SCP on new merchandise, available now. The company, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary, is famous for being the home of the legendary illustrated Heavy Metal Magazine and the source for the cult classic animated film Heavy Metal (1981). For over a decade, SCP has managed merchandise lines for top-level musicians and entertainment personas such as Billie Eilish, Jacksepticeye, Keith Urban, and Carly Rae Jepsen. Heavy Metal and SCP present both classic and holiday merchandise lines, with all items now available to purchase. Fans can go to https://merch.heavymetal.com/ to buy merchandise from the official store.
The classic line of Heavy Metal merchandise includes a black T-shirt and Trucker Hat with the company’s beloved red branded logo. For vintage fans and lovers of the Heavy Metal film, the shop also has a T-shirt with the chrome version of the Heavy Metal logo, made famous by acclaimed “Sexy Robot” artist Hajime Sorayama in 1980. The classic line also features a black hoodie available for purchase, showcasing a special version of the Heavy Metal logo designed by the late esteemed artist Kim Jung Gi, who created a set of Heavy Metal Magazine covers earlier this year.
The holiday line of Heavy Metal merchandise includes two Taarna T-shirts featuring art by Tehani Farr and Ken Kelly, respectively. Both pieces of Taarna art, showcasing the company’s iconic warrior heroine from the Heavy Metal film, originally debuted as covers of Heavy Metal Magazine. The Tehani Farr Taarna art also takes center stage on a speciality woven blanket tapestry, perfect for cozying up with a viewing of Heavy Metal or for hanging on the wall as art. Another new offering is a pair of sweatpants with bloody eyeballs inspired by the horror comedy serial The Axe, co-created by Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman, actor Brian Posehn, and Marvel artist Scott Koblish. Fans can also purchase a Cold Dead War poster with art by Agustin Alessio from Heavy Metal Magazine #300 featuring famous war zombie Nelson, and a red Heavy Metal branded beanie and socks.
Delve into a library of uncompromising science-fiction, horror, and fantasy ripped from the pages of the “World’s Greatest Illustrated Magazine”! The Bleeding Heart of Heavy Metal Volume 1features 45 digital books from across 45 years of the magazine’s history, from the iconic first issue with a story by legendary artist Moebius to this year’s 45th Anniversary issue featuring Heavy Metal’s flagship heroine Taarna.
Discover some of the most legendary graphic fiction of all time, and support Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with your purchase!
Delve into a library of uncompromising science-fiction, horror, and fantasy ripped from the pages of the “World’s Greatest Illustrated Magazine”! The Bleeding Heart of Heavy Metal Volume 1features 45 digital books from across 45 years of the magazine’s history, from the iconic first issue with a story by legendary artist Moebius to this year’s 45th Anniversary issue featuring Heavy Metal’s flagship heroine Taarna.
Discover some of the most legendary graphic fiction of all time, and support Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with your purchase!
Delve into a library of uncompromising science-fiction, horror, and fantasy ripped from the pages of the “World’s Greatest Illustrated Magazine”! The Bleeding Heart of Heavy Metal Volume 1features 45 digital books from across 45 years of the magazine’s history, from the iconic first issue with a story by legendary artist Moebius to this year’s 45th Anniversary issue featuring Heavy Metal’s flagship heroine Taarna.
Discover some of the most legendary graphic fiction of all time, and support Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with your purchase!
Delve into a library of uncompromising science-fiction, horror, and fantasy ripped from the pages of the “World’s Greatest Illustrated Magazine”! The Bleeding Heart of Heavy Metal Volume 1features 45 digital books from across 45 years of the magazine’s history, from the iconic first issue with a story by legendary artist Moebius to this year’s 45th Anniversary issue featuring Heavy Metal’s flagship heroine Taarna.
Discover some of the most legendary graphic fiction of all time, and support Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with your purchase!
Heavy Metal Entertainment has announced the ‘Metalverse’, a slate of live action and animated TV shows and films at the company’s ‘Forging the Future’ panel on Thursday afternoon at San Diego Comic Con. The publisher, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary, is known for being the home of the legendary illustrated Heavy Metal Magazine and the source for the cult classic animated film Heavy Metal (1981). Now the iconic company looks to the future with a lineup of film and television projects, under its studio division Heavy Metal Studios, as well as its upcoming publishing projects.
Heavy Metal’s President and Head of Studio Tommy Coriale presented a sizzle reel which features new live action test footage of Taarna, the fierce heroine originating from the 1981 Heavy Metal film, arming herself and fighting in battle, replicating the famed pose from the movie poster astride her pterodactyl Avis. The video also includes inspirational clips that bring to life a whole slate of adaptations from Heavy Metal’s vast IP library, including Taarna (by Stephanie Phillips and more), Cold Dead War (by George C. Romero and more), Dark Wing (by CEO Matthew Medney), ArenaMode (by Blake Northcott), The Adventures of Adrienne James (by Matthew Medney and Bruce Edwards), Sun Eater (by Dylan Sprouse and Joe Harris) The Rise (by George C. Romero), and Savage Circus (by Brendan Columbus).
At the panel, attendees were also treated to a sneak peek of the upcoming Heavy Metal animated television series Moon Lake, created by award-winning actor-writer Dan Fogler and based on his anthology graphic novel series. The horror comedy television series, currently in development and seeking distribution, is being co-produced by Heavy Metal, Fogler, Emmy and Peabody-winning
Executive Producer Daniel Powell, and Emmy Award-winning animation studio Bardel Entertainment, the studio behind hit shows like Rick and Morty and Teen Titans Go!. Moon Lake is a thirty-minute animated TV show hosted by the Man in the Moon, a farcical character reminiscent of iconic TV anthology hosts of the past who has been held captive by “moon-men” since childhood. He prevents these aliens from attacking Earth by keeping them endlessly entertained with shocking tales of gruesome horror and hilarity.
The ‘Forging the Future’ panel, which was moderated by Heavy Metal’s Associate Publisher & Chief Sales Officer Kris Longo and included Medney, Coriale, Heavy Metal’s Publisher and Chief Creative Overlord David Erwin, Executive Editor Joseph Illidge, Dan Fogler (Moon Lake, Brooklyn Gladiator, FishKill), and Blake Northcott (Arena Mode), also gave the audience a taste of the future of Heavy Metal publishing. Not only is Heavy Metal Magazine being published monthly for the first time in 35 years, but also the publisher is debuting exciting new series like this summer’s Entropy, written by Christopher Priest (Black Adam, Black Panther). A stunning sci-fi miniseries about what happens when someone gets ultimate power, Entropy is inspired by the likes of Green Lantern and Breaking Bad.
Executive Editor Joseph Illidge also teased a little about Fall Out Boy Joe Trohman and actor-comedian Brian Posehn’s The Axe horror-comedy series, Dan Schaffer’s cyberpunk series Wiremonkeys, Morgan Rosenblum and Øwen Rosenblum’s futuristic Fast & Furious-inspired series Ramgod, and an unsettling horror series about nightmarish deities, A Darker God. Heavy Metal also announced that it will be publishing a 30th anniversary book about Tripwire, the beloved British publication and site that covers all things pop culture. More on these fronts to come soon!
San Diego Comic Con attendees can visit Heavy Metal at Booth #1529 where the company is selling books and merchandise, including convention exclusives like special editions of best selling issues of the magazine and comics and new apparel celebrating the publisher’s 45th anniversary this year. Fans can also purchase tickets for the Heavy Metal Live Hornblower Boat Party, taking place this Saturday July 23rd at 7pm PST in San Diego Harbor. In partnership with iBoatNYC, the concert cruise will feature sets from the popular DJ Matt Steffanina and electronic artist Doll Machine. Ticket packages start at $34.96.
Book signings from Heavy Metal’s acclaimed talent will also take place at Booth #1529 with the following updated schedule:
Brendan Columbus: 1:00pm – 2:00pm (writer: Savage Circus)
Dan Fogler: 2:00pm – 3:00pm (writer: Moon Lake, Brooklyn Gladiator, FishKill; actor: Fantastic Beasts, The Walking Dead, The Offer)
Tehani Farr: 3:00pm – 4:00pm (artist: Heavy Metal Magazine)
Sunday, July 24th Signings
Brendan Columbus: 11:00am – 12:00pm (writer: Savage Circus)
Dan Fogler: 2:00pm – 3:00pm (writer: Moon Lake, Brooklyn Gladiator, FishKill; actor: Fantastic Beasts, The Walking Dead, The Offer)
Matthew Medney: 4:00pm – 5:00pm (Heavy Metal’s CEO; writer: Beyond Kuiper, Dark Wing, The Adventures of Adrienne James)
HEAVY METAL’S PANEL SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 23rd:
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Room: 28DE: Heavy Metal Launching New Voices Heavy Metal has launched many careers in the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Come meet some of the new faces launching into the world of comics. Learn what it takes to start a career in this industry. Moderated by GlobalComix’s Eric Tapper with the following panelists: Joseph Illidge (Heavy Metal’s Executive Editor; writer: MPLS Sound), Blake Northcott (writer: Arena Mode, Heavy Metal Magazine, Catwoman), Gideon Kendall (writer/artist: WHATZIT, Marley’s Ghost, MAD Magazine), Brendan Columbus (writer: Savage Circus), and Tehani Farr (artist: Heavy Metal Magazine).
