Broken Frontier

Heavy Metal Magazine will publish and distribute the graphic novel Fluorescent Black in July of 2010.

A hard-bound limited edition will be sold at San Diego and New York Comic Con. The novel is nearly 200 pages long and was written by Matt Wilson, illustrated by Nathan Fox and colored by Jeromy Cox.

Fluorescent Black is one of the most popular stories featured in the well-known adult illustrated magazine and has a massive cult following. “We are very excited to be publishing Fluorescent Black. This book is like nothing else out there! It's crazy, original and totally punk,” says Kevin Eastman, Editor-in-Chief of Heavy Metal Magazine. The novel takes the reader into the hard-hitting dark future of South East Asia where gene-tech has divided the human race into two races. A particularily unique element of the story is the way in which a utopian and dystopian future exist in near proximity; it seems to draw inspiration from a lot of the border disputes going on in politics today. The story plays with other hot-button themes like public healthcare, gene patenting, eugenics, the dangers of bio-artistry, and the limits of body modification. Known for it provocative ideas and scientific accuracy, Fluorescent Black has been praised by biotechnology web rings, counter-culture magazines and comic book blogs as a seminal “bio-punk” novel, a relatively new genre which has been slowly working it's way into the literary and cinematic marketplace.

The novel is based on a screenplay written in 2006 and optioned by an animation studio. Matt Wilson says, “I wanted to write this story for all the things it is guilty of; it's hard-core, violent, sexual and frightening. It's venereal horror, bio-punk and psychadelic science fiction all rolled into one.” It seems to be the perfect material for an illustrator like Nathan Fox who has built a fan base out of his featured work in rock-and-roll magazines and adult comic books, and who is known for his kinetic freehand and raucus style. Every panel is a work of art, with hidden (sometimes blush-worthy) details that only become apparent on a second or third read. “I wanted this book to be wild and colorful, it had to be a living, moving thing.”

The collaboration between these artists has produced a one-of-a-kind novel that is well worth the price tag. It is available through heavymetal.com, amazon.com and will be on comic book shelves everywhere later this year.
For more information, visit freethegene.com


Hey Bio Sci-Fi Punk sports fans! Part 3 and the final installment of FLUORESCENT BLACK will be available in the Newsstand and the special summer issue of Heavy Metal Magazine again this year. Three years in the making, those last 48 pages will wrap up the 3-part story as subscribers have known it to date. HOWEVER, unavailing at SDCC and available for pre-orders shortly on heavymetal.com, will be the FLUORESCENT BLACK graphic novel.


The FBGN will collect all three 48 page installments PLUS over 50 pages of new content - additional story pages, a rogues gallery of pinup art and special features and content never before seen or published.

So join us on facebook and keep up to date as we tick down to SDCC and this monster of a books debut. We will be releasing a ton of free content, news, art, contests and the like starting in May.