Heavy Metal comic mocks its core fan base. - Not a good way to keep old fans.

[Gimmick Account]

Obviously fans are sensitive about censorship at the moment but you'd think people would give Heavy Metal of all things the benefit of the doubt. My default assumption would be that putting battle armour on her for a couple of issues is only so it can break off so she'll wind up even nakeder.

I'm not really seeing em say otherwise. They're dismissive to some retards on Twitter but not establishing that it's a permanent or digging in like it's a progressive move.

And they aren't even ripping on nerds that hard even though nerd ripping is kind of a Heavy Metal thing. Playfully yeah, but if they were really going in on the "core audience" it would be a lot funnier.
But I haven't read it in like a decade so I could be wrong. That'd be sad. I've always meant to catch up on it more seriously.

 

[The Curmudgeon]

My default assumption would be that putting battle armour on her for a couple of issues is only so it can break off so she'll wind up even nakeder.

If that was the case, then I could forgive this. But if they insist on appeasing feminists who don't read their magazine, then they can fuck themselves.

 

[Fagnacious D]

Being non-woke (even if it's just apolitical instead of "based" or whatever) is practically a license to print money for niche comics like them.

This is what I've been saying for a while. It is a really good time to start a company to replace whatever functions the woke corporations provide. Hire any talent that has been fired by the faggots. Focus on good products, treat your employees decently and don't be woke.
Unfortunately I don't see too many companies popping up at the moment. Obviously it is easier said than done! finding someone who's good at filtering out the soyboys and race grifters is going to be very difficult; voicing this out loud to the wrong person will get your company accused of racism and will end things very poorly.

 

[anti SJW]

If that was the case, then I could forgive this. But if they insist on appeasing feminists who don't read their magazine, then they can fuck themselves.

I agree. If it serves the story as to why She is in the armor is one thing.

But the fact they are mocking there core fan base is what's going to end them in the long run.

 

[Stab You in the Back]

The worst part is this

“Al [Barrionuevo] and Bryan [Valenza] created some of the coolest armor for Taarna that I hope we get to see beyond the issues we worked on together. It’s such a cool look.

claim that her shitty, generic-looking armor is the "coolest" and "a cool look." The armor is too busy, bulky, and unflattering, and resembles every generic Halo-inspired futuristic armor created over the last 20 years. Also, the colors are shit. The artist should have his drawing hand broken for creating something that ugly.

I agree. If it serves the story as to why She is in the armor is one thing.

But it doesn't serve the story.

A common left-wing canard is that revealing armor provides no protection, and therefore female warriors must be covered head to toe in bulky, unflattering armor. It completely obliterates the fantasy aspects of the character and serves no other purpose than to appease a bunch of cat ladies on Twitter.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Obviously fans are sensitive about censorship at the moment but you'd think people would give Heavy Metal of all things the benefit of the doubt. My default assumption would be that putting battle armour on her for a couple of issues is only so it can break off so she'll wind up even nakeder.

I'm not really seeing em say otherwise. They're dismissive to some retards on Twitter but not establishing that it's a permanent or digging in like it's a progressive move.

And they aren't even ripping on nerds that hard even though nerd ripping is kind of a Heavy Metal thing. Playfully yeah, but if they were really going in on the "core audience" it would be a lot funnier.
But I haven't read it in like a decade so I could be wrong. That'd be sad. I've always meant to catch up on it more seriously.

I guess we'll have to wait and see, but a lot of the rhetoric looks like the cookie cutter SJW hostile takeover bullshit we've seen a hundred times in the past.

Them asking fans to wait for the issue might be them hinting at Taarna being stripped down to her panties again. Or it could be them going "You'll see there will be a good reason for her to wear more armor" (and that might turn out, that she's tired of being oggled by "ew... men").

What really sells me on assuming the latter is them insisting that this is Taarna/the comic "growing up". It's a change that seems to be here to stay , that is, unless they eat a slice of humble pie and silently switch back, pretending it never happened or was meant to be handled this way from the get-go.
You usually don't have PR people this fucking dismissive with comments like "We don't need fans like that" either, unless they drank the kool-aid.

 

[Gimmick Account]

unless they drank the kool-aid.

Ya I'm hoping it's a New Coke switcharoo situation because to be honest I always hated her old outfit. Hopefully she winds up even lewder but less boring.
Maybe I missed something but what they've actually said doesn't seem to fit the usual cookie cutter shit to me, which is why I'm reserving judgement.

 

[Van Darkholme]

I'd really like to know what their circulating numbers are and if they can even afford to potentially lose a large part of their core audience....I seriously doubt it.

Has 2000AD drunk the kool-aid yet?

 

[WhatIsThePunchline]

Obviously fans are sensitive about censorship at the moment but you'd think people would give Heavy Metal of all things the benefit of the doubt. My default assumption would be that putting battle armour on her for a couple of issues is only so it can break off so she'll wind up even nakeder.

I'm not really seeing em say otherwise. They're dismissive to some retards on Twitter but not establishing that it's a permanent or digging in like it's a progressive move.

And they aren't even ripping on nerds that hard even though nerd ripping is kind of a Heavy Metal thing. Playfully yeah, but if they were really going in on the "core audience" it would be a lot funnier.
But I haven't read it in like a decade so I could be wrong. That'd be sad. I've always meant to catch up on it more seriously.

Their response was pathetic.

Some nerd "Welp, that's that franchise as well. Rest in peace I guess."
Them "uR UnDeRWeaR ThOUGH"

They shouldn't argue with people in the first place, but if they did the very least they could do would be to be good at it.

And I don't think fans are sensitive anymore. Fans are done. The main reaction is "sure whatever, not buying that shit either I guess."

 

[Blamo]

I didn't know Heavy Metal magazine was still around!
Oh, for a magazine that used to have all kind of novel stuff in it, they have to basically reboot a 30+ year old character.
Boring!

Somebody should just make a compilation magazine/website and just let people do what they want inside. One rule, make your own stuff.
I can imagine there would be a market for that, also artists who just want to tell some cool stories without worrying about the editors all the time.

Why do these companies go forward with changes that they know fans won't be happy with AND THEN double down with insulting them? You can still go through with changes you want to see, but not insult fans right? If they don't hate fans of course.

Because the people making the decisions feel superior to their customers. If they get push back they will just feel more justified! They are basically in a different culture.

 

[FierceBrosnan]

Because the people making the decisions feel superior to their customers. If they get push back they will just feel more justified! They are basically in a different culture.

It's the same kind of logic as "If you kill your enemies, they win" only it's, If you disenfranchise your readers, you win! I though Heavy Metal went under a decade ago myself so the fact they're still alive and semi- kicking is the real news here.

That being said, I do miss the old 1970s-80s Heavy Metal. I was exposed to so many amazing artists and stories growing up on top of it being primo spank material from my 11 year old self. I would have never discovered Milo Manara or Boris Vallejo ( well probably him his work is everywhere in fantasy) and so many others. The draw was the tiddes and ultra violence, but then I stayed for the stories and grew to actually like the characters in them. Like how the fuck did Heavy Metal become so pussified? What happened to the wack ass sci-fi like Ranzerox or the trippy sword and sorcery fantasy like Den? Where did the social commentary and fun go? Now the issue with Taarna's armor, for me, is that it's not terrible but this is TAARNA we're talking about. She never needed armor, Taarna is the baddest bitch in like a dozen universes.

Heavy Metal was always meant to sit outside the mainstream and take a roaring piss on it while being a platform for amazing authors and artists to go fuckin' nuts with their stories, and now it's going woke like everything else and is just another dying piece of counterculture and , for many like me, another piece of my adolescence gone.

 

[Seminal Ointments Lain]

The tragic fact of reality is that women have to put on clothes in order to take them off.

 

[Sweet and Savoury]

I think its not the issue fans had with the change to the character but rather the disrespectful and frankly shitty ass responese from the Twitter account.

These corporate PR dweebs either ignore or hate the fact that these "problematic" chuds they're forced to interact with are in fact the sole reason their job exists. Its these chuds who purchases fund the very salary they get paid and allows the company to exist.

Where this attitude of shitty all over your fans started is a mystery to me. I mean customer service 101 is never disrespect or anger your customer base. But yet so many companies Twatter accounts are shitting all over their customers for having wrong opinions or disagreeing with the new progressive drives the company is starting.

Frankly its mind boggling that the comapny higher up allow thier PR drones to operate so aggressively toward their customers.

 

[JektheDumbass]

The worst part is this



claim that her shitty, generic-looking armor is the "coolest" and "a cool look." The armor is too busy, bulky, and unflattering, and resembles every generic Halo-inspired futuristic armor created over the last 20 years. Also, the colors are shit. The artist should have his drawing hand broken for creating something that ugly.



But it doesn't serve the story.

A common left-wing canard is that revealing armor provides no protection, and therefore female warriors must be covered head to toe in bulky, unflattering armor. It completely obliterates the fantasy aspects of the character and serves no other purpose than to appease a bunch of cat ladies on Twitter.

I say it depends on the setting. Something like Skyrim or Game of Thrones? Yeah, bulky unflattering armor works. Cheesecakey near-porn like Heavy Metal? That heavy armor better have boob-windows or thong over leotard, or something!

 

[Oglooger]

Heavy Metal still published? damn if it weren't for this shit I'd get a subscription

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

It's the same kind of logic as "If you kill your enemies, they win" only it's, If you disenfranchise your readers, you win!

I guess you can tell that these people are like locusts. They fuck up a franchise with their bullshit and move on, once the fallout of their fuckery starts to ruin whatever franchise they worked in. Bonuspoints for getting a new job based on their old job, cause they leave the sinking ship before it goes tits up, so they can claim the time they worked there was still good and all problems started after they left.

I assume their attitude is "better to watch the audience dwindle than to give an inch of ground to the trump-voting rapist men!". I genuinely wonder how many of these faggots are trust-fund kids.

These corporate PR dweebs either ignore or hate the fact that these "problematic" chuds they're forced to interact with are in fact the sole reason their job exists. Its these chuds who purchases fund the very salary they get paid and allows the company to exist.

Sometimes, snappy or snarky retorts by Twitter PR people get a lot of positive feedback for being sassy, so a lot of these companies try to do the same but they go overboard, do it to the wrong people and in this case, they go with the always insanely idiotic "we don't need fans like you". Even as a mere bystander, I go "Okay then." and spent my own money elsewhere.

And that's what these people have not learned after all these years:
As a customer, we can just purchase our entertainment somewhere else. We don't need them specifically and there is a huge market. If push comes to shove, you can just start collecting old issues when the comic was still good and had the right amount of tits and gore to satiate your itch for just that kind of thing.
They, on the other hand, need our money. They do not open up a vast market of other prospective customers with Superior Liberal Morals™, they just become yet one more wannabe-Marvel studio, that will slowly wither and die.

And this is exactly where we need to ask ourselves: How do they get away with it? Why is still happening, if the outcome is so obvious? I assume it's the locust thing. Also nepotism, cronyism and so on. You just need to be part of something successful once, then you can ride that reputation all the way to your grave and ruin dozens of franchises along the way - especially in an industry, where you can dissuade all criticism by dropping SJW buzzwords about bigots, racists, sexists and so on. The ones making the decisions are still easily captivated by that rhetoric and the tax shenanigans they pull means they never run out of money. The companies they work for go bankrupt, get bought by some other entity (most likely Disney) and the cycle starts anew with different people that are interchangeable in their personality, political agenda and non-existence of actual skills. There is now a monopoly of mediocrity in entertainment and movie goers seem to lap it up, cause they barely get exposed to something better (to the contrary, they seem to avoid it, cause they want a quick fix, something to consoom and that's it.)

Shitsucks and I would be sad if I was still capable of giving much of a shit. There's only a few things here and there that manage to make me mad.
I'll just laugh at Predator 5, I'll piss myself in glee when the next inevitable SJW-ified Terminator tries to shill open borders. I'll hoot and whoop once they make another Alien movie, this time featuring space-wetbacks and the TRUE and HONEST monster in the movie isn't the xenomorph, but the tiny-handed orange corporate guy that wants to build a wall around Hadley's Hope. And I can't even bring myself to really mention ST or SW, it's a riot.
These IPs have been fucked up beyond all recognition, I've given up all hope for good content in those, but every now and then, there will be some new project somewhere that will rile me up.
I dread the day we get a Prince's Bride remake... or god forbid, Back to the Future.

All these IPs will be lost in time. Like tears in an ocean of piss.

 

[Gimmick Account]

I'd really like to know what their circulating numbers are and if they can even afford to potentially lose a large part of their core audience....I seriously doubt it.

Has 2000AD drunk the kool-aid yet?

I'd bet it's mostly old grognards with subscriptions that don't care about Twitter bullshit.

 

[SITHRAK!]

A mediocre magazine in the past, a shit one now. I hope it dies.

In its golden years (late 70’s through to mid 80’s) it was the pretty much the only way for English speaking audiences to get access to the more ‘adult’ European stuff being published in ‘Metal Hurlant’ in France. Marvel tried to mimic its success with ‘Epic’ but were still constrained socially in a way that that artists like Liberatore (creator of the awesome RanXerox), Alejandro Jodorowsky, Milo Manara and Guido Crepax were not.
I had around 70 of the first hundred issues that my mother threw away when I went to college. They’d likely be worth thousands now. Fucking kills me. The only one I have left now is issue 100.
I’d guess from your comment you were a latecomer and probably only know it in the Eastman/Strain years, which do suck ass. In which case I pity you, because you never really got to see just how gloriously fucked-up it truly was when it knew it’s market and catered to it unapologetically.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

In its golden years (late 70’s through to mid 80’s) it was the pretty much the only way for English speaking audiences to get access to the more ‘adult’ European stuff being published in ‘Metal Hurlant’ in France. Marvel tried to mimic its success with ‘Epic’ but were still constrained socially in a way that that artists like Liberatore (creator of the awesome RanXerox), Alejandro Jodorowsky, Milo Manara and Guido Crepax were not.
I had around 70 of the first hundred issues that my mother threw away when I went to college. They’d likely be worth thousands now. Fucking kills me. The only one I have left now is issue 100.
I’d guess from your comment you were a latecomer and probably only know it in the Eastman/Strain years, which do suck ass. In which case I pity you, because you never really got to see just how gloriously fucked-up it truly was when it knew it’s market and catered to it unapologetically.

Aren't there any online archives? Sounds like something I would love to check out.

 

[Chaos Theorist]