The Adult Illustrated Fantasy Magazine Fan Page |
Frequently Asked Questions Selling Your Issues Buying Stuff About My Site "Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.²" Game Miscellaneous Selling Your Issues Q: How much is my Heavy Metal Magazine collection worth? A: For a price list of how much each issue is worth, try going to ComicsPriceGuide.com or download ComicBase. Please note that the default price shown for each issue is for Near Mint condition. Also note that there's no real exact amount for what an issue is worth, because it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. For example, if you were to sell your stuff on eBay, the price can vary a lot. Q: How do I grade the condition and quality of my magazines? A: I've set up a page that breaks down the condition definitions and how to grade your issues. Check it out here. Q: Where should I sell my Heavy Metal Magazine collection? A: You might want to try the classifieds in your newspaper, or a comic book store, but the best place is usually eBay. Q: Where's a good place to purchase issues of Heavy Metal Magazine? A: Everyone's shopping experience is different, depending on where you go. But here are some places that sell Heavy Metal, along with store opinions I've heard from other people, together with my own experiences. These are listed from best to worst, however all are at least recommended: 1) - Subscription - Update, January 2024: I don't recommend this. The packaging has never been good when ordering directly from Heavy Metal. But the biggest reason is that the store is having serious problems. They'll accept the orders, and take the money. But there's a good chance it'll be a very long time (if ever) that you receive the product. 2) - Your local comic shop - There's no shipping time, and you get to examine the quality of the magazine before you buy it. The main downside is that their inventory may be limited. Customer service and price varies per store. 3) - Your local variety store - There's no shipping time, and you get to examine the quality of the magazine before you buy it. The main downside is finding a store that carries it. Customer service varies per store, but it should normally be the cover price. 4) - Mile High Comics - Their selection is excellent, and they list the issues by their grade, so you know exactly the quality you're getting. Their shipping is well packaged and quick. The price can range from moderate to high. Ordering from their site can be a bit confusing. If you do need to contact them for any reason, I'd recommend calling them instead of emailing, as you might not get a reply through email. If you're ordering a new issue, I don't recommend their N.I.C.E. ordering department. It may take them a few months to get new issues after they come out, which by then they're added to the back issue department anyway. Also the N.I.C.E. department's accuracy on shipping you the correct item is not the best. Just stick with their regular back issue department. 5) - MyComicShop - 6) - Advanced Book Exchange - Their selection is excellent and easy to order. However because it's sold from different stores, the condition, shipping, and prices may vary. 7) - eBay - Their selection is excellent and easy to order. However because it's sold from different individuals, the condition, shipping, and prices may vary. Also use standard eBay caution. 8) - HeavyMetal.com - Update, January 2024: I don't recommend this. The packaging has never been good. But the biggest reason is that the store is having serious problems. They'll accept the orders, and take the money. But there's a good chance it'll be a very long time (if ever) that you receive the product. 9) - If you still can't find that issue you're looking for, there are many other on-line stores such as Amazon.com that have a few issues. Q: I'm fairly new to Heavy Metal and I'd like to check it out. What issues would you recommend I start with? A: That's a hard question to answer as people have different tastes as to what they like in a story. And even when people's tastes are the same, their opinions can also vary quite a bit from person to person. It's like trying to recommend music to someone. Everyone's different. For some more information, some offsite reviews can be found in my Links section, or you can also read my article, "What Is Heavy Metal?". Although the easiest way to get an issue is to just grab the latest one out there. Or if you're really serious about possibly starting a collection, maybe get one or two from each era. One from late '70's/early '80's. One from mid to late '80's. One from mid '90's. One from the last few years. Q: I just got a subscription, when should I expect to see the first issue? A: It may take 6 to 8 weeks to receive the first issue. Foreign deliveries could take 8 to 12 weeks. For general questions and inquiries about your subscription, you can call 516-594-2130 in New York, Monday to Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm (EST). You can also e-mail them at heavymetal1@rcn.com. Q: I just ordered something from HeavyMetal.com, when should I expect it? A: It should take less then a week. Foreign deliveries should take less then 2 weeks. For general questions and inquiries about orders you can call 516-594-2130 in New York, Monday to Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm (EST). You can also e-mail them at heavymetal1@rcn.com. Q: Where can I buy the "Taarna On Bird" statue? A: Unfortunately it's no longer for sale and I'm not sure where you could get one. You could try searching eBay. Q: Where can I buy the Ranxerox t-shirt? A: Unfortunately it's no longer for sale and I'm not sure where you could get one. You could try searching eBay, but I've never actually seen it there yet. Q: Where can I buy the "Heavy Metal" logo belt buckle? A: Unfortunately it's no longer for sale and I'm not sure where you could get one. You could try searching eBay. Q: Where can I buy the 20 Years Of Heavy Metal CD-ROM collection? A: Even though this was put together by CD Technologies and advertised for sale in late 1997 and early 1998, the project was quickly stopped, due to controversial electronic copyright reprinting laws. Although before it was stopped, there were a little over 50 copies that were sold. Caution when buying, as fake bootleg imitations do exist. For more information on why the CD-ROMs were cancelled, see the answer in the Miscellaneous FAQ. Q: I can't seem to find the Epic Illustrated special that was supposed to have the conclusion to "The Last Galactus Story". Where can I find it? A: Unfortunately even though this was advertised for sale in the last Epic issue, John Byrne went on to do other things and no longer had control over the Galactus story so the issue and story were never made. Since then many other things have happened in the Marvel universe that would cause continuity problems, so there may never be an ending to this story. But from an interview in 2000 by Comic Book Resources, here's how John said he originally planned to conclude this story: "Galactus battles the Watcher who showed up at the end of the last published chapter.
This turns out to be the same Watcher who witnessed the "birth" of Galactus - yes, that was not Uatu - and who has been driven insane by his guilt over all the deaths that have happened because, as he sees it, he did not snuff out the nascent Galactus when he had the chance. As the two battle, over millennia, the universe basically dies around them. The stars burn out. No "Big Crunch" of everything collapsing back onto itself to be born again. Entropy wins over all. As the universe verges on flickering out of existence, Galactus draws into himself the last shreds of energy, giving him just enough of an edge to defeat the rogue Watcher. But then Galactus and Nova are alone in an empty, endless void. The universe as we know it is gone. Galactus finally understands what it's all about. What he's been doing all these billions of years. He cracks the seals on his armor, and all the energy he has absorbed spews out of him. He becomes, effectively, the Big Bang of the next universe. Nova survives - and herself becomes the "Galactus" of that universe, the cycle beginning once again." Q: Are you missing some Special Editions such as "Psychorock" in your magazine list? A: All the Special Editions are in the magazine list, including Hardcover versions. Anything else, such as "Heavy Metal Presents…" issues or graphic novels by Heavy Metal, can only be found mentioned on my Collectors List page. There is no real answer to when Special Editions officially started. From 1977 to 1992 it's a grey area, and there was no real categorizing the book they would release. In the first year Heavy Metal started in 1977, it printed 3 "Heavy Metal Presents" books. These books were just one story, or at least one artist, and they felt like their own separate thing, away from the magazine. Over the next few years, Heavy Metal released many more books. When it released "Heavy Metal Presents Moebius" in 1981, it now had a new UPC, which introduced the series code 38340, which would be on every Special Edition until 1997. 1982 released "The Best Of Heavy Metal" which definitely felt like the magazine. 1983 released "Even Heavier Metal" which was advertised as "a thirteenth issue", and definitely felt in the spirit of a Special Edition. A couple more issues like this came out in 1984 & 1985. Book releases would slow down at this time. "The Best Of Heavy Metal #2" came out in 1987. "The Venus Interface" came out in 1989, which didn't quite feel like a Special Edition. Then in 1992, Special Editions started coming out that were more clearly marked as such. There were a lot of graphic novels printed over the years, and before 1992, it's mostly just educated guesses on what's considered a true Special Edition. There is no official answer. So for now I'll consider "Psychorock" only as a graphic novel and not as a true Special Edition. Q: Why do you have "The Venus Interface" in your magazine list? I didn't think it was an official Special Edition, but instead just a graphic novel. A: There is a bit of a grey area when it comes to what's considered a true Special Edition before 1992, and more so with "The Venus Interface" issue from 1989. Before 1992 there wasn't any clearly labeled Special Editions. There were a lot of graphic novels printed and it's mostly just educated guesses on what's considered a true Special Edition, and that there is no real answer as to what is a real Special Edition before 1992. With "The Venus Interface" it has everything going against it being a true Special Edition. It's just one story (although different artists); it was advertised as "The first Graphic Novel in 10 Years"; the cover HM logo is very small compared to usual issues; it has a different UPC series code from the rest of the Special Editions; and where most Special Editions feel like an extension of the regular issues, this felt totally independent. However inside the issue, it actually lists it as the Volume 5, Number 4, Special Edition, which is pretty big evidence that it's a true Special Edition. So even though it doesn't look or feel like a true Special Edition; because it's printed in the fine print, for now I'll consider it an official Special Edition. Q: Why do you have "Moebius" in your magazine list? I didn't think it was an official Special Edition, but instead just a graphic novel. A: There is a bit of a grey area when it comes to what's considered a true Special Edition before 1992, and more so with the "Moebius" issue from 1981. Before 1992 there wasn't any clearly labeled Special Editions. There were a lot of graphic novels printed and it's mostly just educated guesses on what's considered a true Special Edition, and that there is no real answer as to what is a real Special Edition before 1992. With "Moebius" it has everything going against it being a true Special Edition. It's just one artist (although different stories); it's the last of the "Heavy Metal Presents" series of graphic novels, (although separated by a couple years); the cover HM logo is very small compared to usual issues; and where most Special Editions feel like an extension of the regular issues, this felt totally independent. However this is the first special to have a UPC, and introduces the series code 38340, which would be on every Special Edition until 1997. It also lists it as the first issue in this series, 01. The next Special, "The Best Of Heavy Metal", clearly lists it as the second issue in this series, "No. 2". This is pretty big evidence that "Moebius" is a true Special Edition. So even though it doesn't look or feel like a true Special Edition; because it's listed in the UPC, for now I'll consider it an official Special Edition. Q: Should the October 1980 issue be listed in the Special Editions section? A: It's true that the "Special Rock Issue" of October 1980 is technically the first Special/Theme issue. However it was also considered a regular issue together with the regular monthly subscription of issues at that time. Q: Your pages look a bit off. Why? A: This website is best viewed in Windows with the default font size and using Internet Explorer. You may not have the Arial or Times New Roman fonts installed, although almost all computers come with these fonts; or if you're using the Firefox web browser it may not display correctly; or if you are using WebTV, the text may try to default to the Arial font (although I mostly use the Arial font for this site anyway); or if you are using a Macintosh it may try to wrap the end of a sentence around to the next line; or if you are using a different device, such as a cell phone, it may not display correctly. Q: Didn't there used to be a forum on this site? A: Yeah, there was, but I took it down in January 2008. Here's a bit of history of what happened to my forum. My forum was first set up on ezboard in 2001. There was increasingly too much advertising and technical problems with ezboard, so by December 2004, I converted it over to my own forum using phpBB. Unfortunately around May 2006, my forum was hit by a computer worm, so I had to take the forum offline. I didn't get around to reinstalling the backed up forum until September 2006. In December 2007, I installed a new version of phpBB, and was happy to do so, as for many years I had been battling with Spam, and this got rid of it. However, in January 2008, I had a problem with my sites host and my forum was deleted. At that time I weighed my options, and came to the conclusion that I've put hundreds of hours into this forum, and also it's one of the biggest eaters of bandwidth for my site, which is costly. Add this to the fact that there was already an Official Heavy Metal Forum at that time, and it just didn't seem worth it to put it back up. Q: Didn't there used to be a Talent section on this site? A: Yeah, there was a section where available artists, writers, and models could pair up to create stories. It was started in 2004, however this section was removed with my site redesign in 2011. Q: I'm playing the game FAKK², and I can't seem to kill the end boss. How can I kill him? A: You can find a nice walkthrough for this at Ritualistic. Q: I've heard a remake of the Sammy Hagar "Heavy Metal" song, where can I buy or download it? A: You can't buy it and you can't download it as just a song due to copyright issues. However, this song came out on a very early trailer for the game, which you can download from FilePlanet. This is not the song "Heavy Metal Fire". Q: At the end of the game it left off with an unfinished story, indicating that there's still more to do. Was there a sequel? A: No there wasn't. There was one planned, however game sales weren't high enough to invest in a sequel. Then in 2007 Ritual Entertainment was acquired by MumboJumbo, making a sequel even more unlikely. Q: How do I send in my story and art to Heavy Metal to get published in their magazine? A: You can see their Submissions Policy at HeavyMetal.Com. Q: Here's my work. Can you print me in your magazine? A: I don't have a magazine. I run the Heavy Metal Magazine Fan Page, and am not affiliated with Heavy Metal whatsoever. If you're looking to submit your work to them see their Submissions Policy at HeavyMetal.Com. Q: On the Heavy Metal 2000 promotional HyperCD how come it brings me to an unrelated page? A: Unfortunately HyperCD Technology relies on the Internet to view the full content, and that online content has since been removed, so it can no longer be viewed. However you can still open the "content" folder on the CD (Windows may hide this folder) and view the videos. You don't need to install the HyperCD to view these videos. Q: Are there different versions of the Heavy Metal 2000 promotional HyperCD? A: The CD that comes with the F.A.K.K.² game and the CD Special Summer 2000 issue are the same. However they slightly differ from the CD included with the limited edition Heavy Metal 2000 soundtrack. They're mainly the same, but the one included with the game and magazine has a couple more video interviews with Kevin Eastman and other small changes. Q: I used to own an issue with a great story in it. I no longer have that issue, but I want to read that story again. Can you scan that story for me so I can read it again? A: No. This would be like stealing. If you wish to see an issue, please buy it. Q: What's the story behind the 20 Years Of Heavy Metal CD-ROM collection being cancelled? A: In late 1997 and early 1998, Heavy Metal advertised a CD-ROM collection that included every issue of the first 20 years. However in February 1998, after only a little over 50 copies had been sold, Heavy Metal stopped the selling of the CD-ROMs, due to controversial copyright reprinting laws. To understand why this happened, let's first go back to 1976 when the Copyright Act was created. When this Copyright Act was created, it gave the publisher the right to archive material, as long as the material is shown as it originally was, in full, without editing. The publisher would not have to notify the artist, nor give them any compensation. However, because that law was put into place in 1976, it doesn't clear up how to deal with today's technology and the fact that new mediums can be very valuable. Fast forward to December 1993 when a group of writers under the National Writers Union sued The New York Times, Newsday, Sport Illustrated, Lexis/Nexis, and the UMI Company. This case was called "Tasini Vs. The New York Times". These companies were using the Copyright Act of 1976 to archive material using new electronic mediums such as on-line databases and CD-ROMs. The writers felt that their rights had been violated and that they should have control over secondary uses of their work and be compensated. A few years later in August 1997, there was finally a ruling in which the Judge favored the publishers, and the writers lost. This is where Heavy Metal comes in. Around this time, the company CD Technologies suggested to Heavy Metal that they put together a CD-ROM of all the magazines to date. Heavy Metal thought that the CD-ROM would be a great searchable medium to archive the magazine's material. Heavy Metal lawyers figured there shouldn't be any legal issues especially considering the recent outcome of the Tasini case. So, CD Technologies went to work manufacturing the Heavy Metal CD-ROMs. None of the Heavy Metal contributors were contacted. This collection was advertised for sale in late 1997 and early 1998. One such ad was in an issue of Previews, which was seen by Heavy Metal contributor Rick Veitch. Veitch passed the word onto another Heavy Metal contributor Steve Bissette. Bissette then passed the word onto other Heavy Metal contributors, including Jean-Marc Lofficier. Many Heavy Metal contributors were displeased with the situation, because they weren't contacted or being compensated for their material being sold on the CD-ROMs. Although many contributors never took any action to stop Heavy Metal, there were a few who tried. Lofficier and Starwatcher Graphics (a company owned by Lofficier and Mœbius) legally went after Heavy Metal to resolve this issue. Veitch and Bissette also contacted Heavy Metal trying to resolve the issue. The artists noted that this issue may be complicated by other legalities, such as many of the artists live outside North America, where copyright laws were different. Shortly after, in February 1998, the Tasini case was appealed. So with this fact, and with all the complaints, Kevin Eastman and Howard Jurofsky agreed in good faith (and to possibly save them from any future legal problems) to put the CD-ROM on hold. There had only been a little over 50 copies sold through Diamond Distribution. They first wanted to see what would happen with the Tasini appeal case. Then they would either continue to sell them, but change their approach that would be friendlier towards the artists, or Jurofsky thought it wouldn't be worth the hassle, no matter what the legalities would be. The outcome is that the CD-ROMs haven't been sold since. In September 1999, the Second Circuit Court Of Appeals revised the previous courts decision on the Tasini case, and favored the writer's rights. In June 2001, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling, with a 7-2 majority in favor of the writers. It seemed that's where the law stood. Around the same time there were 2 similar cases, Greenverg Vs. National Geographic and Faulkner Vs. National Geographic. In March 2005, the Second Circuit Court Of Appeals upheld a decision in favor of the publisher allowing National Geographic the legal rights to produce and sell their CD-ROM. In June 2008, the Eleventh Circuit upheld a decision in favor of Nation Geographic. Since then, many other popular magazines have put out archived CD-ROMs and DVDs. Between 2021 and 2022, Heavy Metal sold thousands of digital Humble Bundles which included many past issues of Heavy Metal in digital form. Authors were neither contacted nor compensated. Was this legal? In the US, probably. Different international laws make this answer a little more difficult though. In any case, some authors were not happy to see their work treated this way. Q: I loved reading Æon Flux in Heavy Metal, but I forget which issues it was in; do you know? A: Although there are Æon Flux comics and such out there, they were never in or published by Heavy Metal. Although there was an interview with the creator, Peter Chung, in the March 1997 issue. His illustration style is also influenced by Mœbius, among others. |