Heavy Metal January 1984

'Heavy Metal' magazine January 1984

 

January, 1984, and the 80s are kicking into gear. On FM radio and MTV, the latest single by The Fixx – ‘The Sign of Fire’ – is getting airplay. 

The latest issue of Heavy Metal magazine is on the stands, with a wraparound cover by Mitch O’Connell.

By now - that is, the start of 1984 - , MTV was firmly in place as a pop culture cornerstone, and even the most stylishly jaded of hipsters could not avoid referencing it. So, the Dossier section hypes MTV, and provides a photo of Robert Plant posing with the VeeJays – this picture communicates just how physically tiny Martha Quinn actually was.

One of the features in this January issue is a portfolio of pages from The Sentinel, a newly issued trade paperback of Arthur C. Clarke short stories and essays, with black and white illustrations by Lebbeus Woods.  

The Sentinel, and succeeding volumes in the Berkeley Books 'SF Masterworks' series, was the brainchild of Byron Preiss, who was still resolutely trying to make graphic novels and illustrated books mainstream entries in sf and fantasy publishing. 

While I can't say that Arthur C. Clarke is one of my favorite authors, the illustrations by Woods are very well done.

There are some good comics in this January issue; posted below is Segrelles's '1992', a sardonic look at the End of the World.