September, 1985, and in heavy rotation on the radio and on MTV is the Norwegian band A-Ha, and their hit single 'Take on Me'.........
The latest issue of Heavy Metal magazine is out, with a striking cover illustration by Greg Hildebrandt.
Inside, the 'Dossier' section is its usual eclectic self.....and in many ways, tries too hard to be all things to all (80s) Hipsters.
The lead article is about an Austrian artist named Stefan Eins, who runs 'Fashion Moda', a South Bronx art gallery dedicated to showcasing 'street' art. Some of this art is generated by urban hipsters, while some of it - including graffiti and break dancing - is generated by local Ghetto Youth.
Author Catherine Hazard breathlessly informs us that some of these Youth "....are familiar with guns and knives, and more than one teenager has been permanently damaged by angel dust...."
Ah, when white Art-Farts meet black street culture......back in '85, the term 'culture vulture' didn't really exist yet, but it certainly needed to be invented.....
In other sections of the Dossier, Ed Naha reviews the horror movie Fright Night, which I never saw. I have no idea if it was good or bad.
The Pop Culture page focuses on Garbage Pail Kids trading cards; I don't really remember collecting those.
Rok Critic Lou Stathis turns.......inevitably......to Jazz, in a two-page column titled 'Raving and Drooling Bebop Apocalypse'.
I say inevitably, because sooner or later, the most pretentious of Rock Critics turn to Jazz and begin fawning and swooning over the genre. Sometimes this happens because there are too few obscure rock bands available for reviewing purposes; sometimes, it seems to happen as the result of some sort of intrinsic genetic trait. But here, Stathis is particularly ecstatic over the offerings of the Blue Note label, and thus cloaks himself in the status accorded those most Hip among the Hipsters...........
The remaining pages of the Dossier cover yet another hipster icon, Leonard Cohen. There is an Obituary on Theodore Sturgeon, and the Video Voyeur column looks at six low-low-budget films that I have never seen....... Feel free to Comment if you have seen Splatter University, Empty Suitcases, and Warrior of the Lost World, among others......?!
As far as the comic content and graphic works of the September issue go, among the best is a lengthy tale by Juan Giminez, titled Top Secret. Although much of his work for Heavy Metal magazine was printed in color, with this comic, Jimenez showcases his draftsmanship skills in black and white...........I have posted it below.
thanks for another Heavy Metal review. I'll agree that the Gimenez Top Secret is the best entry. Though I still liked the Tex Arcana and Rock Opera, and the Bilal The Gray Man is pretty good for a single page, there's not much else to recommend this issue. The Trivial Metal was kind of fun, I only got about half of them right.
ReplyDeletethanks again,
fred