The 10th anniversary edition of the Herceg Novi Comics Weekend, themed “Long Live Heavy Metal,” will take place across multiple locations in Herceg Novi from May 30 to June 1. This year’s edition will mark the global festival premiere of the iconic Heavy Metal magazine. As the secondary annual event organized by the Herceg Novi Comic Festival (HSF), this thematic comic showcase has, over the past decade, brought global comic book superstars to the city — including Milo Manara, Zerocalcare, William Simpson, and Werther Dell’edera — and has celebrated major anniversaries related to Game of Thrones and legendary characters such as Zagor and Tex Willer. This time, the spotlight will be on the rebirth of what many consider the most influential comic magazine in the world: the American Heavy Metal.
The editorial team behind the revived Heavy Metal includes two longtime friends of HSF — American Dave Kelly and Australian Chris Thompson — who will be special guests at this year’s event, alongside cover artists for the new issue: Anna Morozova from Estonia and Luca Strati from Italy, as well as legendary Greek comic author Ilias Kyriazis, one of the featured contributors.
The comic spectacle and global premiere of the new Heavy Metal will gather a large number of regional comic stars and include all the beloved program segments HSF fans have come to expect: exhibitions, presentations, live drawing sessions, comic book fair, workshops, and vibrant music events.
Founded in 1977 as the American licensed version of the legendary French Métal Hurlant, Heavy Metal has published works by the world’s greatest comic creators, focusing on science fiction, dark fantasy, erotica, and steampunk. After 45 years and 320 issues, publication ceased in early 2023 due to changes in ownership and financial difficulties.
However, comic fans could not let the story end there. The rights holder assembled a new editorial team, launched a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, and after two years of dedicated work, the new Heavy Metal #1 was released on April 30 of this year. The relaunch issue features comics by legendary creators like Enki Bilal, Vicente Segrelles, Sergio Gerasi, Antonio Segura, and José Ortiz, along with brilliant new works from Anna Morozova, Fernando Dagnino, Paul Kirchner, Craig Wilson, Keron Grant, and many others.