Picking up the pieces
Picking up the pieces |
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Page 36 of 38  Page from 'Comic Artist'. (1990), a dystopian satire, with art/script from British contributor Angus McKie. Other creators came from all over Europe. Notables included: Enki Bilal, Yves Chaland and Phillippe Druillet from France; Stefano Tamburini and Milo Manara from Italy; Francois Schuiten from Belgium; and Matthias Schultheiss from Germany. These were joined by two Americans, both ex-undergrounders, who had also proved popular in Europe - Richard Corben, whose art for 'Den' and 'Sinbad' was luminously colourful (not to mention overtly sexual), and Vaughn Bode, whose cartoony style provided a humorous contrast. As Heavy Metal found its feet, so the mix of American and European contributors became more even (with indigenous names like Arthur Suydam, Peter Kuper, George Pratt and Rick Geary joining the roster). At the same time, the comic was playing more of a role in youth culture, with the airbrush art style taking over from the old underground look as an inspiration for album and book covers, as well as for posters, motorbike art, T-shirts, and so on. The publishers eventually cashed in on this craze themselves by initiating a variety of merchandising (Heavy Metal calendars, posters and collected stories). The culmination of this trend was the release in 1981 of the Heavy Metal movie, a big-budget animation epic that adapted five of the most popular strips from the comic. At the time, this was the most ambitious project of its kind ever attempted, and employed 5000 animators in five countries. It also went for a youth audience, and included a soundtrack with music by Devo and Cheap Trick, among other mainstream rock acts. The film, however, ended up as a mish-mash of styles and influences, and was the subject of some controversy for its sexism: it was killed at birth by poor reviews.  Pages Epic (1980), depicting 'The Silver Surfer', originally a 1960s Lee/Kirby creation. Art: John Buscema. Script: Stan Lee. |