DARK WING Leads a New World of Science Fiction At Heavy Metal

Thrust your rockets into gear and explode into the outer limits! Heavy Metal has announced the arrival of Dark Wing, a new space odyssey coming to the pages of Heavy Metal Magazine #300. Set to be serialized in graphic form in future issues and elaborated upon in a coming novel series known as the “Beyond Kuiper Expanded Universe,” the strip will be written by none other than Heavy Metal CEO Matt Medney, and feature a journey of biblical proportions as a lost people seek to find a suitable new solar system aboard their planet which has been converted into a massive spaceship, The Dark Wing after being tempest tossed across the galaxy.

Since undergoing a massive personnel shift in the last year, Heavy Metal Publishing has been quietly developing new and hard-hitting stories in an effort to revamp their brand and reestablish themselves as the “bleeding edge of horror, science fiction and fantasy.” To that end, Mendey’s newest endeavor will be the first proper novel series published by Heavy Metal, with tie-in strips done in graphic form to be serialized in Heavy Metal Magazine beginning in issue #300, on sale in August. The first strip takes place nearly 4000 years before the main story is set to begin, and concerns the architect of the massive infrastructure conversion the planet Tiberius undergoes to become the Dark Wing, Dr. Simon Fredericks.

Drawn by artist German Ponce and colored by Protobunker, this preliminary installment will serve as a prequel to the larger epic chronicling the adventures of Captain Benedict Gunn, leader of the planet-turned-spaceship Dark Wing which houses the Quail people, a human-like species separated from their sustainable solar system by a rogue black hole. Set on a planet of castaways in search of a new home, this tale of adventure should provide an action-packed yet philosophical romp fans of sci-fi such as The Expanse and Star Trek might find familiar,  Medney said in a press release. The CEO went on to say regarding his larger ideas behind the concept that he intended to follow a more cerebral route with this story, possibly more in line with the old masters of science fiction such as Ray Bradbury or Robert Heinlein:

The [Beyond Kuiper Expanded Universe] created by myself and John Connelly is deeply rooted in hard science and fantastical concepts. The Dark Wing planetary ship is more fringe-science; however, the conceptual ideas are rooted in engineering and energy transference. I am excited for people to dive into the philosophical concepts and adventure that Dark Wing has to offer.

Though the strip is set to debut in serialized form in the pages Heavy Metal Magazine, those who miss out on all the magazines need not fear, because Dark Wing will also be collected into a single issue comic once the initial publication of the series has run its course. This will be part of Heavy Metal’s new Elements initiative, which will see each serialized story assembled and released in a standalone issue with new artwork and additional background lore.

Heavy Metal has pledged a new artistic ethos in moving forward with their brand, one with poignant stories, brilliant art and relatable, character-driven drama, all while pushing the boundaries of speculative fiction like sci-fi. The first of a continuing epic set in a distant, alien world, Dark Wing promises to start delivering on this pledge, and at the pen of the Chief Executive Officer, no less. Alien though the world may be to our own, there is a sense that the publishing house is at its core trying to deliver human stories even amidst their most outlandish and exotic concepts, and this appears to be an early step in that direction.

Heavy Metal Magazine #300 goes on sale August 19^th.

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Andrew Firestone
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Andrew Firestone is a writer of sentences, paragraphs, chapters and words, cultural enthusiast and a hard news junkie from Allston, Massachusetts. An editor, audio engineer and evangelist of all things awesome, he’s saddled with an all-consuming awe/fear of Alan Moore, so please be kind. Formerly a writer for the public interest in local government, Andy is a graduate of Lesley University and holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. He enjoys loud music and soft music and sometimes in-between.

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