In 1977, the comic book magazine Heavy Metal was released in North America, introducing a new audience to Europe’s most amazing batch of artists and writers.

It didn’t take long for the film industry to take notice, and the next year, the animated anthology film went into pre-production. Producer Ivan Reitman (post Meatballs and a couple of years before Ghostbusters) and his Stripes screenwriters Dan Goldberg and Len Blum laid out the concept, based upon stories from Dan O’Bannon (Alien) and men now considered comics masterminds the likes of Bernie Wrightson, Richard Corben and Moebius. The film was directed by Gerald Potterson, who had gained experience working on such animated films as Animal Farm and Yellow Submarine. He oversaw an international crew of 1,000 artists from New York, LA, London, Montreal and Ottawa.

The 7.5 million dollar film grossed over $20 million in it’s domestic run alone, and garnered a huge fan-base thanks to the VHS era of home entertainment.

Heavy Metal at the Mayfair for Sunday Night Geek Night, June 6th at 9:30. Featuring DVD prizes to give away from Invisible Cinema, the greatest video store in Ottawa.