Heavy Metal Announces Strategic Partnership With Whatnot Publishing

Brandora Editorial Staff - October 2022

Veteran magazine publisher Heavy Metal Entertainment announces a strategic partnership with ascendant upstart Whatnot Publishing, in an arrangement that sees both parties partnering to co-publish much of the Heavy Metal line, inclusive of the monthly magazine, floppy comics, trade paperbacks and specialty books.

“This may sound hyperbolic, but this partnership represents an astonishing new chapter in Heavy Metal’s history,” says Matthew Medney, Heavy Metal Entertainment’s CEO. “In seeking a partner to help us grow our standing in the marketplace and offer an unfettered and unshackled version of our publishing line, Whatnot was not only the strongest contender, but the only logical candidate. We see this partnership as the start of a brave new age in mainstream counterculture by Heavy Metal. Which is why we are going to be starting an entirely new volume of the magazine.”

Whatnot Publishing is uniquely positioned for a partnership with a legacy brand like Heavy Metal. Their mission—to build a space where creators, retailers and fans are part of a united community—serves Heavy Metal’s own mission as well, which is to reach beyond the legacy fans of the brand and engage with a new audience hungry for compelling sci-fi, fantasy and horror content.

“Heavy Metal is an institution with over 40 years of history in the comic marketplace, and we are excited to have the opportunity to become part of that storied tradition while finding new and exciting ways to reach potential readers,” says Michael Calero, Publisher of Whatnot Publishing. “We envision a future where legacy readers and new fans come together to create a Heavy Metal Community unlike any the brand has seen.”

“Having the Whatnot Publishing team and their extraordinary live streaming platform supporting our titles is a dream come true,” adds Kris Longo, Associate Publisher and CSO of Heavy Metal. “Not only will our ability to serve the direct market and book channels exponentially increase, gaining access to a legion of potential new fans and readers is an extraordinary opportunity, and we are putting our best foot forward as a result with some truly amazing content.”

Some of that content includes the following serials, magazines and collected editions:

• Heavy Metal Magazine #1: scheduled for early 2023, the first issue in a new era of Heavy Metal Magazine, featuring the launch of all new stories and content.
• Crashdown: the first joint release from Whatnot Publishing and Heavy Metal. Written by comic influencer “Comic Tom” Garcia, Ryan Sargeant and veteran artist Ben Templesmith (30 Days Of Night).
• Ranx: the complete collection, a 208 page omnibus featuring the entire RanXerox library. The Italian sci-fi graphic novel series by Stefano Tamburini and Tanino Liberatore, following a bizarre antihero, Ranx, a mechanical cyborg.
• Dark Wing: a collected edition of the sci-fi adventure serial following Captain Benedict Gunn and his crew, who journey across the stars searching for a new sun to power the spaceship that is home to a whole civilization. Written by Matthew Medney (Beyond Kuiper) and illustrated by German Ponce (Cold Dead War).
• A Darker God: a nightmarish sci-fi horror serial, following a group of friends who must confront their deepest fears. Written by Homero Rios (Mundo Diablo), with art by Carlos Fabián Villa (Black Cat), Oscar Carreño, Andrés Esparza, and JAME.
• RAMGØD: a cyberpunk action thriller serial revolving around a new player recruited for a dangerous high-octane global sport. Co-created by Morgan Rosenblum (Stable) and Owen Rosenblum.
• Aeon: an existential sci-fi serial about a society of sentient robotic beings. Co-created by Matthew Medney (Dark Wing), John Connelly (Beyond Kuiper), and Joe Harris (The X-Files).
• Lucy: a historical fiction serial following in the footsteps of Lucy, the ancestor of mankind. Written by Patrick Norbert and illustrated by Tanino Liberatore (Ranx).

The strength of the Whatnot app and its formidable community proved to be a winning strategy with the recent success of their launch title Alpha Betas, which topped the new series sales charts. Heavy Metal and Whatnot feel this particular group of titles can capitalize on those strengths and empower retailers to get more copies into readers’ hands. Among the highest profile projects distributed out of the gate includes Heavy Metal’s 321st issue, branded as the first issue of Volume 2 of the historic magazine, the long awaited Ranx collected edition, and the collected edition of Medney’s Dark Wing serial which is set for a major adaptation announcement before the end of this year.

Heavy Metal and Whatnot commemorated their new partnership with a strategic push at New York Comic Con this past weekend, with Heavy Metal talent signings at the Whatnot Publishing booth. Taarna cover artist Peach Momoko, Heavy Metal cover artist Tehani Farr, WhatZit writer and illustrator Gideon Kendall and writer of the Heavy Metal-published Tripwire 30th Anniversary book, among others, appeared there.