Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal International is a privately held illustrated magazine publisher founded in 1977, producing a flagship sci-fi, fantasy, and horror periodical sold via subscriptions, webstore, and Kickstarter to a global community of collectors and enthusiasts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1977
- HeadquartersEasthampton, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Heavy Metal does
Heavy Metal is a privately held illustrated magazine publisher and cultural media brand (legal entity Heavy Metal International LLC), founded in 1977 to bring the French publication Metal Hurlant to American audiences. Its core product is Heavy Metal Magazine, a science fiction, fantasy, and horror illustrated periodical featuring serialized and standalone comic stories, artist galleries, prose fiction, and creator interviews, historically showcasing artists such as Moebius, Enki Bilal, Richard Corben, and Frank Frazetta.
The company's product portfolio now spans the flagship magazine, a three-tier annual subscription (Hardcover, Softcover, Digital), a DTC webstore selling collectibles, prints, polystone figures, and pinballs, the Heavy Metal Archive project unlocking decades of back issues via Kickstarter, Heavy Metal Studio for multimedia/short-form video, and the Metal+ premium membership tier. The Emerging Artist Spotlight program serves as a creator pipeline for the relaunched magazine. Technology is described as a standard illustrated magazine publishing platform with digital archive, e-commerce, and community engagement tools — no proprietary technology stack or AI capabilities are disclosed.
Revenue is generated through a mix of recurring annual subscriptions, one-time single-issue and merchandise sales through the own webstore, comic shops and newsstands, the La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, and crowdfunded Kickstarter library campaigns. The company is led by founder and CEO Travis Corrigan and Editor-in-Chief Frank Forte. With 11-50 employees, an active Discord community, a 10,000+ newsletter subscriber base, and a global distribution footprint, Heavy Metal operates as a small but culturally entrenched niche media business.
Heavy Metal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Heavy Metal
- Legal name
- Heavy Metal International LLC
- Website
- https://heavymetal.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1977
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Heavy Metal International is a privately held illustrated magazine publisher founded in 1977, producing a flagship sci-fi, fantasy, and horror periodical sold via subscriptions, webstore, and Kickstarter to a global community of collectors and enthusiasts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Heavy Metal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Easthampton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Heavy Metal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Magazine Subscriptions: Three-tier subscription model offering hardcover, softcover, and digital formats of Heavy Metal Magazine, providing recurring revenue from dedicated readership
- Single Issue Sales: Individual magazine sales through comic shops, newsstands, and the company's webstore
- Merchandise and Collectibles: Sale of branded merchandise including collectibles, prints, and limited edition items through the webstore and Kickstarter campaigns
- Library/Kickstarter Campaigns: Crowdfunded archive publications through Kickstarter featuring rare and limited edition collectibles
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Hardcover Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Softcover Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Digital Subscription |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Heavy Metal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Heavy Metal is a comics and magazine publisher that produces and distributes Heavy Metal Magazine, an illustrated publication featuring science fiction, fantasy, and horror content including serialized and standalone comic stories, artist galleries, prose fiction, and creator interviews. The company sells its content via three subscription tiers (Hardcover, Softcover, Digital), single-issue sales, branded merchandise and collectibles through its webstore, and crowdfunded archive releases through Kickstarter.
Product overview
Heavy Metal is a magazine publication brand offering a portfolio of products centered around its flagship illustrated magazine featuring science fiction, fantasy, and horror content. The product line includes the core Heavy Metal Magazine (available via three-tier subscriptions: Hardcover, Softcover, and Digital), a webstore for merchandise and collectibles, the Heavy Metal Archive preserving decades of historical content, Heavy Metal Studio for multimedia production, the Emerging Artist Spotlight program, and Metal+ premium membership. The brand positions itself as the definitive publication for speculative fiction and fantastic art since 1977.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Heavy Metal Archive: Digital archive of historical magazine issues and content spanning 1977 to present
- Heavy Metal Studio
- Metal +
Products and services
- Heavy Metal Magazine The flagship illustrated magazine publication featuring science fiction, fantasy, and horror content including serialized and standalone comic stories, artist galleries, prose fiction, and interviews. First published in 1977 and relaunched in 2024 with new issue runs.
- Heavy Metal Subscriptions Three-tier annual subscription service offering Hardcover, Softcover, and Digital formats of Heavy Metal Magazine issues, providing recurring access for dedicated readers.
- Heavy Metal Webstore Online retail platform selling branded merchandise, collectibles, prints, polystone figures, pinballs, and limited edition items to fans and collectors.
- Heavy Metal Archive Digital archive project unlocking decades of historical Heavy Metal content from 1977 to present, distributed via Kickstarter campaigns with exclusive library editions and limited collectibles.
- Metal+ Premium membership tier offering exclusive access to additional Heavy Metal content and benefits beyond standard magazine subscriptions.
Companies that use Heavy Metal
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Heavy Metal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Heavy Metal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- La Luz De Jesus GallerycoreHeavy Metal partners with La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles for art exhibitions, artist showcases, and gallery events. The gallery, established in 1986, is known for showcasing figurative, narrative paintings and unusual sculpture with content ranging from folk to sexually deviant. The partnership hosts regular exhibitions featuring Heavy Metal artists and related content.
- KickstarterminorHeavy Metal uses Kickstarter for crowdfunding special edition releases, library archive projects, and exclusive collectible campaigns. The platform enables the company to offer limited edition items and gauge demand for new products.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Heavy Metal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Valiant Comics: Independent comics publisher with sci-fi/superhero catalog and film/TV licensing ambitions — comparable independent comics publisher with IP licensing focus.
- 2000 AD / Rebellion: British science fiction weekly comics magazine (Judge Dredd) — the closest international analog to Heavy Metal as a long-running, genre-focused sci-fi/fantasy comics anthology with a dedicated collector audience.
- Dark Horse Comics: Independent comics publisher with deep sci-fi/fantasy/horror catalog and strong film/TV licensing pipeline — directly comparable to Heavy Metal's genre focus and IP-driven model.
- Image Comics: Largest independent American comics publisher, offering creator-owned sci-fi, fantasy and horror titles — comparable independent publishing model targeting similar speculative-fiction readers.
- IDW Publishing: Independent comics publisher with strong genre (sci-fi, horror, fantasy) catalog and licensed IP — operates with similar independent publishing dynamics and genre focus.
- Titan Comics: UK-based publisher of graphic novels, magazines, and sci-fi/fantasy comics — closely comparable genre focus and magazine-plus-collected-editions business model.
- Boom! Studios: Independent comics publisher with strong genre slate (sci-fi, fantasy, horror) and significant film/TV adaptation pipeline — comparable independent model and licensing upside.
- Oni Press: Independent comics and graphic novel publisher with genre and alternative titles — comparable independent publishing footprint and DTC/specialty distribution approach.
- Fantagraphics Books: Publisher of alternative and underground comics and illustrated magazines — directly comparable as an independent publisher of illustrated, artist-driven serial content with collector editions.
Broad incumbents
- Warren Publishing: Historic publisher of horror/sci-fi illustrated magazines (Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella) — the most direct historical analog to Heavy Metal's illustrated horror/sci-fi magazine heritage.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Heavy Metal social profiles
Digital presenceHeavy Metal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Heavy Metal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Heavy Metal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Heavy Metal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Heavy Metal
What does Heavy Metal do?
Heavy Metal is a comics and magazine publisher that produces and distributes Heavy Metal Magazine, an illustrated publication featuring science fiction, fantasy, and horror content including serialized and standalone comic stories, artist galleries, prose fiction, and creator interviews. The company sells its content via three subscription tiers (Hardcover, Softcover, Digital), single-issue sales, branded merchandise and collectibles through its webstore, and crowdfunded archive releases through Kickstarter.
Is Heavy Metal a public or private company?
Heavy Metal is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Heavy Metal founded?
Heavy Metal was founded in 1977. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Heavy Metal based?
Heavy Metal is headquartered in Easthampton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Heavy Metal make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Magazine Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are single Issue Sales, merchandise and Collectibles and library/Kickstarter Campaigns.
Who are Heavy Metal's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Valiant Comics, 2000 AD / Rebellion, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, IDW Publishing, Titan Comics, Boom! Studios, Oni Press and Fantagraphics Books. Warren Publishing is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Heavy Metal have an API?
No public API is recorded for Heavy Metal.