The dark fantasy and science fiction anthology magazine Heavy Metal will make its triumphant return with a brand new super-sized debut issue. A Kickstarter for the project will kick off early next month with special rewards for fans.

Heavy Metal dates back to 1977 and has featured work by artists including Eki Bilal, Richard Corben, Guido Crepax, Philippe Druillet, Caza, Jean-Claude Forest, Jean “Moebius” Giraud and Milo Manara. Unlike traditional American comic books, Heavy Metal was published in a magazine format and featured explicit nudity, sexual situations and graphic violence in its pages. Chief Executive Officer Marshall Lees will lead the new Heavy Metal team, and Franke Forte returns to Heavy Metal as Editor-in-Chief along with two new faces to the brand, Executive Editor Dave Kelly (Tales of the Night Watchman) and Editorial Manager Chris Thompson (Titan Comics). Heavy Metal‘s press release announcing their return revealed that a Kickstarter project begins next month, letting fans get limited-edition covers and other collectibles.

Cover Art by GREG HILDEBRANDT

CBR has an exclusive first look at the cover for the new Heavy Metal #1, featuring art by Greg Hildebrandt. Heavy Metal has also teased that the issue will feature a stellar line-up of writers and artists and said that it is “set to be the best Heavy Metal magazine in many, many years”. Further details about Heavy Metal‘s return will be shared in the coming weeks.

Heavy Metal‘s CEO, Marshall Lees, described the challenges the new team faced in resurrecting the magazine and how they hope to take it back to its roots. “I have always been a huge fan of Heavy Metal and the way it influenced art and culture and exposed incredible creators to the world,” Lees said. “The new team and I stepped in after quite a tumultuous period, so we’ve been working quietly behind the scenes to make things right and pave a way for the magazine’s return to its original boundary-pushing roots. Following that, we have a host of exciting new plans for the brand that we hope fans will be really interested in.”

“We wanted to assemble a team of passionate professionals who had complementary skills and shared our vision for the brand. We believe we’ve found that in Frank, Dave, and Chris, as well as the other team members across all facets of the business,” Lees added.

More details about Heavy Metal‘s return will be shared in the coming weeks, and fans will soon be able to sign up for updates through Kickstarter and Heavy Metal‘s Discord server.

Source: Heavy Metal