The newest issue of Heavy Metal magazine is out on the stands, featuring a front cover by Segrelles, titled 'The Mercenary', which was accompanied in the issue by the second installment of that series. The back cover, 'And the Children Play', was by Tito Salamoni.
Buoyed by the success of the Heavy Metal motion picture, the editorial staff presents a variety of stylin' early 80s clothing and merchandise for fans to purchase (note that back in 1981, baseball cap brims were always flat...the idea of actually manufacturing them with the bills curved would have seemed perverse and bizarre.....note, too, that the idea of shorts for men that had hems below the knee was still some 7 - 8 years in the future).
The columns reviewing music and books in this issue are expanded to three pages. Leading off is 'rok' critic Lou Stathis's exposition on reggae.
All through the 70s and early 80s, rock critics were obsessed with reggae, never skipping an opportunity to rhapsodize about those profound sounds, and, most importantly, never passing up an opportunity to speak in the reggae style (I learned from a native Jamaican that the island people are not, repeat, not impressed when suburban white boys try to mimic 'the dialect' ).
I remember buying Burnin', by Marley and the Wailers, back in 1979 and thinking, what's the big deal ? Thankfully, by early 1979, The Police had come along and done something worthwhile with reggae.....
Also receiving reviews are albums by some 'New Wave' English bands called 'The Psychedelic Furs', 'Joy Division', and 'Souixie and the Banshees'. Kind words also are applied to a nascent genre dubbed 'trance music', as performed by the German band named Kraftwerk. In 1981, all the proto-hipsters name-dropped Kraftwerk.
As far as the comics go, Bilal's 'The Immortal's Fete' continues, as does 'Tex Arcana' by Findley, and there is another 'Mudwogs' strip from Arthur Suydam. The artwork of the Dillons is the topic of a Portfolio.
There are a number of one-shot strips of quality. 'One Evening, I Saw Red !', by Caza, is posted below.
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