The Dark Wing, a planet turned into a spaceship by human-like people known as the Quails, searches the cosmos for a solar system to call home. Piloted by the legendary Benedict Gunn, the exploration of this gargantuan planet ship is an adventure like no other. But when Captain Gunn pulls a daring interstellar maneuver, the price he and his crew must pay is deadly.

Dark Wing debuted in Heavy Metal #300 and runs as a serialization within the magazine from Issue #300-309

Dark Wing is written by Matthew Medney with art by German Ponce, color by Protobunker Studio, and the creative team of Bruce Edwards and Pete “Voodoo Bownz” Russo.

In Dark Wing #3, we learn about CELL- Collective Experiential Living Life-form is the planetary collective intelligence; basically, like a touch less internet that you can constantly access in your head just by thinking about something, connecting you to the entire world’s knowledge whenever you need it. It’s also used to help everyone make the most logical decisions possible, for the best outcome for the most amount of people, while being guided by your heart is also encouraged and actually assisted by not having to second-guess if your heart is affecting your thinking).

The issue comes to shops on February 17 and we have an exclusive look and commentary from writer Matthew Medney.

MATTHEW MEDNEY, writer: This page is so incredible for me. The incredible team I worked with to create the CELL (Collective Experiential Living Life) form is the planetary collective intelligence; basically, like a touch less internet that you can constantly access in your head just by thinking about something, connecting you to the entire world’s knowledge whenever you need it. It’s also used to help everyone make the most logical decisions possible, for the best outcome for the most amount of people, while being guided by your heart is also encouraged and actually assisted by not having to second-guess if your heart is affecting your thinking) CELL which was created after the first uprising of the sentient A.I. as a way to fuse the best parts of the Quails technology while mitigating any risks that could arise from sentient robotics, CELL was created and implemented.

MEDNEY: I mean come on, its Heavy Metal! We need at least one sex scene. The best part about Dark Wing, to me, is that we created an amazing universe that allows for high octane action weaved in between a love triangle and some interpersonal dilemmas. Pon and Ben are in this on again off again emotional pull and off in the corner is Ben and Phoebe, former lovers, and akin to each other. But the passion between Pon and Ben is as fiery as it gets! 

MEDNEY: This spread is one of the best pages I have ever seen in comics. German and the coloring team at Protobunker Studios have dazzled our eyes with this montage that perfectly sums up the ethos of issue #3. We have the Dark Wing, CELL, Ben and Pon and the city of Tiberius all beautifully put together in this smorgasbord of color and wonder.

MEDNEY: What’s Next in Dark Wing? Well, I can assure you it is a dashing cosmic adventure where the twists and turns will surprise you and keep you at the edge of your seats. I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say, you haven’t met all the players yet, and what you think will happen, most certainly not. Bruce, Pete, German, Protobunker, Ricardo (editor) and all of the brilliant minds that have come together to help construct Dark Wing into this cosmic adventure all have the guiding light of a true space odyssey that pays homage to stories like Star Trek, but pushes the envelope with what matters today in science, fiction, culture and genre. 

Dark Wing #3 is in comic shops nationwide on February 17, 2021.