Heavy Metal magazine got its start in the 1970s when fantasy and blockbuster science fiction films were making a massive comeback. Almost overnight, artists of every nationality, ethnicity, and creative style were coming out of the woodwork to bring their gloriously unorthodox concepts to life with a series of striking artworks that would eventually grace the front cover of the underground adult magazine.
Never a publication to placate parents or censors and created specifically to circumvent the guidelines of the Comics Code Authority by virtue of being a magazine, Heavy Metal allowed imaginations to run wild. The more far out, the better. As such, the mag drew greater attention from the art community as it slid its way into the decade that would go on to become its most iconic era: The 1980s.
10 "He Turned The Phindog To Stone" Cover Art By Tony Roberts (April 1980)
Tony Roberts is no stranger to the science fiction/fantasy art field. This English native has illustrated the works of some of the genre's most talented writers, including Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbertm and Ursula Guin. His work landed him a coveted Heavy Metal magazine cover in April of 1980, which is a true standout.
This striking work features a vicious dog literally being turned into a piece of sharply sculpted stone. The inventive use of colors is incredible, with the dog's head wreathed in smoky dark greys, while a burnt orange skyline lingers in the background.
9 "Invaders From Mars, Part II" Cover Art By Carol Donner (July 1980)
There's a lot going on in this striking work by Carol Donner that rivets the viewer. It's an alien invasion piece of the best kind, with incredible levels of detail, a creative use of the green palette, and symbolism for days. Are the viewers staring at themselves through the perspective of the Martian, or is the invader seeing a human face in a crystal orb?
Whatever the case, it makes an incredible impression. The heavy detail in the facial expression is enough to grab anyone's attention as they walk by, which must have been especially powerful during the 1980s when this kind of hyper-imaginative illustration was picking up steam.
8 "Morbus Gravis" Cover Art By Alan Craddock (Spring 1988)
Cyberpunk goes into overdrive with this late-'80s cover by Alan Craddock. It's got all the elements that would make for a fantastic synthwave album cover, thanks largely to its use of neon grid lines and Tron-inspired visuals. The dark colors in the background are a perfect foundation to frame the subject.
"Droidmaid" doesn't look a thing like one would expect. She's jazzy, cool, and looks more than able to toss out riff raff if they act up. The use of bright golds and flattering reds suggests this droid serves elite clientele. It's hard not to imagine what this futurescape might look like.
7 "Garbage" Cover Art By Jim Warren (Spring 1987)
Jim Warren mixes full-tilt pop culture iconography with a surrealist take for this 1987 cover that elicits so many emotional responses, it's hard to know which one takes precedence. On its face, it looks cool beyond belief, but also disturbing given the fact that the figure in question has torn his paper-like head from his own shoulders and is waving it about.
The facial expression denotes happiness, and there's nothing sinister going on in the background, which suggests Warren might have been going for an existential take rather than ominous messaging. It's clever, witty, slightly humorous, and disturbingly bizarre, all at the same time.
6 "Mr. Interlocutor?"..."Yes, Mr. Bones?" Cover Art By Patrick Couratin (February 1980)
It doesn't get more '80s than this wonderfully abstract piece by artist Jim Burns. It's a mixture of classical painting, surrealism, and a hint of fantasy thrown in to create a spicy and striking cover that grabs the viewer with that big eyeball floating in the background. The clever use of shaping from eye to skull is a neat twist that gives off a cyclops effect.
It's hard to know what the artist was thinking when he drafted up this dark dream-like image. An interlocutor is usually an interrogator or a commentator, and that makes a bit of sense given the strong use of the eyeball. It's something one wouldn't find out of place on a Blue Öyster Cult album cover.
5 November 1982 Cover Art By Alan Ayers (November 1982)
This is by far one of the most bizarre and striking of the 1980s Heavy Metal magazine covers, and it isn't close. Alan Ayers brings an incredible amount of symbolism and surrealism to this shot featuring what appears to be a slave girl free of her shackles, and quite happy about it.
The fact that she's swinging in glee from a rope attached to the broken jail bars of a fellow's eye socket is enough to get philosophers— and psychiatrists, for that matter— arguing ceaselessly amongst one another. It's slightly disturbing, but the piece suggests something positive and happy.
4 "Cadmium Anniversary" Cover Art By Thomas Warkentin (July 1982)
This is romance done in the traditional Heavy Metal style, with two powerful-looking androids embracing passionately on what appears to be their anniversary, if the title is any suggestion. Thomas Warkentin did this piece, and it's one of the absolute coolest of the 1980s run.
There's nothing ominous or threatening about the piece at all. It's an expression of love and affection in a very traditional style that harkens back to the 1930s and '40s romance cinema moments. The detail in the android bodies is superb, right down to the servos in the hip joints.
3 "The Necronomicon" Cover Art By H.R. Giger (June 1980)
Horror surrealist-extraordinaire H.R. Giger got to take a stab at Heavy Metal magazine in 1980 when he showed off this characteristically disturbing cover that blended his love of biomechanical design with some of the most infamous Satanic iconography around.
The result is a twisted mess of science fiction, fantasy, and gothic horror that harkens immediately back to the artist's original xenomorph creature design for Ridley Scott's Alien film. As one can guess, the story regarding the inspiration behind these works is just as disturbing, involving a beautiful muse who shot herself dead with a revolver in 1975.
2 "Warmth" Cover Art By Hajime Sorayama (November 1980)
If this image causes one to think of the album cover for Aerosmith's Just Push Play, that's because artist Hajime Sorayama was the man responsible for creating both works. His inventive, glamor-inspired take on female gynoids is responsible for some of the coolest science fiction "pin-up" art ever made.
This is a simple but incredibly cool cover that relies heavily on shimmering, pristine metal, and a rose-red blanket to sell the eroticism. It's abstract in such a way that it evokes a strong reaction without feeling disturbing or over the top. In fact, it would look cool framed and hung in the den.
1 "Taarna" Cover Art By Chris Achilleos (September 1981)
This is it: The granddaddy of Heavy Metal covers, and the one which most people have seen before even if they've never purchased or read a single issue of the magazine. Chris Achilléos is the famed artist responsible for this fantastic work, and it ended up being the chosen cover art and primary inspiration for the fantasy animated work of the same name, which also debuted in 1981 just a month prior to this issue being released.
It's hard to imagine a more fitting and beloved Heavy Metal magazine cover. Everything from Taarna's powerful and triumphant pose to the swooping attack angle of her pterodactyl-like dragon is pure pop culture iconography of the most powerful kind.
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