“Heavy Metal Magazine” was one of the biggest sensations in the 1970s/80s. this spawned a cult classic movie which, just like the magazine, featured various stories that had sci-fi/fantasy, horror, gore and lots of nudity. One of the most famous of these stories is Richard Corben’s “Den” which has finally been republished after decades with the first story “Neverwhere.”
Den, a skinny, nerdy man from Earth, finds himself in a strange desert world where he is changed into a super buff, super athletic man. He also finds out that his uncle, Dan, was here too and that multiple factions are warring against each other for control over this mystical object called a Locnar which can help them control the world’s fate.
As with many “Heavy Metal” stories, this one is chock full of weird fantasy tropes featuring a desert world, strange creatures and LOTS of nudity. In fact, Den and 99% of the human characters spend the entire comic nude. Despite what anyone in this edition says about “Den,” nudity is the number one thing people remember about this comic. The story, not so much. The story itself is interesting for what it’s worth. It’s the classic 1970s/1980s Sword and Sorcery fantasy that’s more fast food than fine dining. Sometimes that’s fine, and the nudity is just the amazing 1000-calorie dessert you get at the end.
The art is Richard Corben’s usual weirdness where everything looks like it’s from an LSD trip. The colors are wild, the desert landscape is nightmarish, the buildings look like Aztec/Maya ruins, the creatures are monstrous-looking and the humans all have perfect proportions. As stated, Den has a perfect muscular body with a gigantic penis that flaps around all over the place throughout the comic. The women also have amazing physics with giant breasts. It’s what any prepubescent boy would love and try to hide from their parents.
“Den” is a weird fantasy story with crazy art and a story that is overshadowed by nudity which is what everyone truly remembers about this comic. It is worth checking out since it is a comic that proves that comics can be for adults and not for children despite most of its readers being prepubescent boys discovering sex for the first time.
Leave a Reply