Robert Crumb: A Short History of America

 Besides their usual output of Sci Fi and Fantasy stories, Heavy metal magazine would occasionally have these short but sweet pieces, like this lovely 12 frame short by legendary artist Robert Crumb in the June 1982 issue, entitled "A Short History of America". In it, we see the birth of America, starting from green meadows, little country cabins, urban development and beyond!

A FASCINATING piece that I could stare at all day and still find new things in them!

I love how the piece begins in the sunshiney morning on the meadow and ends with a glorious sunset ending the day at the end....

Heavy Metal: “It’s Not A Bad Life” by J.D. King

There was a resurgence in interest in the sci-fi fantasy magazine HEAVY METAL among me and my classmates in the mid-eighties, no small part due to the fantastic movie which had come out in 1981, and there were a lot of us digging each month’s stories and amazing art.

Among the tales of cyborgs and wizards was this particularly quaint little story called “It’s Not A Bad Life” by J.D. King.  Appearing in the February issue of 1985, the short strip told of an unassuming alien named Nyrg Gleep, his daily goings-on and, by its end, showing that we may no be so different from out alien cousins!

I remember being particularly touched by this strip. This was, of course, amidst all the Space Cops , Dragon Slayers and Sword Wielding Barbarian stories, and it made me feel so strangely nostalgic!

Re-reading it now, it STILL tugs at the heartstrings!

Heavy Metal: April 1977-December 1985 (Complete Original Run)

I was a huge, huge fan of Heavy Metal when I was in high school and me and my friends spent most of out afternoons poring over the amazing stories and awesome artwork, and over time I managed to to get my hands on every issue in its initial run, and must have read and re-read them a million times over!

I dug out my collection and realized it had been years, if not decades since I read them, and I thought I'd take a month or so out to re-read the entire run of this fantastic series and re-connect back to my teenage sci-fi fantasy years!