ROCK OPERA The Weirdest “Star Wars” Story Ever Told (A Heavy Metal Classic!)
The Weirdest “Star Wars” Story Ever Told (A Heavy Metal Classic!)
So apparently there’s a few Star Wars movies out— perhaps you’ve heard of . Everybody’s all nostalgic and teary about what Star Wars meant to them, and when they saw their first Star Wars movie, and how many Star Wars toys they owned, and how many sexy dreams they had about Princess Leia—you know the deal.
But who remembers the time Star Wars was mashed up with The Beatles, and Princess Leia was a groupie, and C-3PO cavorted with naked ladies and then won a Paul McCartney lookalike contest? It happened in “Rock Opera,” a recurring feature in the pages of Heavy Metal. “Rock Opera” kicked off in 1978, but we pick it up M, with some help from Rolling Stone:
Here are the actual pages, click ’em to embiggen ’em:
Rock Opera II from Heavy Metal, March 1985, by Rod Kierkegaard Jr.
About Heavy Metal
First published in 1977, Heavy Metal Magazine, the world’s foremost illustrated magazine, explores fantastic and surrealistic worlds, alternate realities, science fiction and horror, in the past, present, and future. Writers and illustrators from around the world take you to places you never dreamed existed. Heavy Metal Magazine was the first publisher to bring European legends like Mœbius, Philippe Caza, Guido Crepax, Philippe Druillet, Tanino Liberatore, Milo Manara, Enki Bilal, and Pepe Moreno to the U.S. while showcasing non-mainstream American superstars like Richard Corben, Berni Wrightson, Arthur Suydam, Vaughn Bode and Frank Frazetta. The magazine continues to showcase amazing new talent along with established creators. Heavy Metal Magazine features serialized and standalone stories, artist galleries, short stories in prose and interviews.
About Heavy Metal (film)
Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian adult animated science fantasy anthology film directed by Gerald Potterton (in his director debut) and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, which was the basis for the film. It starred the voices of Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Martin Lavut, Marilyn Lightstone, Eugene Levy, Alice Playten, Harold Ramis, Percy Rodriguez, Susan Roman, Richard Romanus, August Schellenberg, John Vernon, and Zal Yanovsky. The screenplay was written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum.
The film is an anthology of various science-fiction and fantasy stories tied together by a single theme of an evil force that is "the sum of all evils". It was adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and original stories in the same spirit. Like the magazine, the film features a great deal of graphic violence, sexuality, and nudity. Its production was expedited by having several animation houses working simultaneously on different segments.
Its soundtrack was packaged by music manager Irving Azoff and included several popular rock bands and artists, including Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Don Felder, Cheap Trick, DEVO, Journey, and Nazareth, among others.
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ROCK OPERA The Weirdest “Star Wars” Story Ever Told (A Heavy Metal Classic!)
The Weirdest “Star Wars” Story Ever Told (A Heavy Metal Classic!)
So apparently there’s a few Star Wars movies out— perhaps you’ve heard of . Everybody’s all nostalgic and teary about what Star Wars meant to them, and when they saw their first Star Wars movie, and how many Star Wars toys they owned, and how many sexy dreams they had about Princess Leia—you know the deal.
But who remembers the time Star Wars was mashed up with The Beatles, and Princess Leia was a groupie, and C-3PO cavorted with naked ladies and then won a Paul McCartney lookalike contest? It happened in “Rock Opera,” a recurring feature in the pages of Heavy Metal. “Rock Opera” kicked off in 1978, but we pick it up M, with some help from Rolling Stone:
Here are the actual pages, click ’em to embiggen ’em:
Rock Opera II from Heavy Metal, March 1985, by Rod Kierkegaard Jr.
About Heavy Metal
First published in 1977, Heavy Metal Magazine, the world’s foremost illustrated magazine, explores fantastic and surrealistic worlds, alternate realities, science fiction and horror, in the past, present, and future. Writers and illustrators from around the world take you to places you never dreamed existed. Heavy Metal Magazine was the first publisher to bring European legends like Mœbius, Philippe Caza, Guido Crepax, Philippe Druillet, Tanino Liberatore, Milo Manara, Enki Bilal, and Pepe Moreno to the U.S. while showcasing non-mainstream American superstars like Richard Corben, Berni Wrightson, Arthur Suydam, Vaughn Bode and Frank Frazetta. The magazine continues to showcase amazing new talent along with established creators. Heavy Metal Magazine features serialized and standalone stories, artist galleries, short stories in prose and interviews.
About Heavy Metal (film)
Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian adult animated science fantasy anthology film directed by Gerald Potterton (in his director debut) and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, which was the basis for the film. It starred the voices of Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Martin Lavut, Marilyn Lightstone, Eugene Levy, Alice Playten, Harold Ramis, Percy Rodriguez, Susan Roman, Richard Romanus, August Schellenberg, John Vernon, and Zal Yanovsky. The screenplay was written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum.
The film is an anthology of various science-fiction and fantasy stories tied together by a single theme of an evil force that is "the sum of all evils". It was adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and original stories in the same spirit. Like the magazine, the film features a great deal of graphic violence, sexuality, and nudity. Its production was expedited by having several animation houses working simultaneously on different segments.
Its soundtrack was packaged by music manager Irving Azoff and included several popular rock bands and artists, including Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Don Felder, Cheap Trick, DEVO, Journey, and Nazareth, among others.
The Definitive brand in fantasy, science fiction, and horror.
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The Weirdest “Star Wars” Story Ever Told (A Heavy Metal Classic!)
So apparently there’s a few Star Wars movies out— perhaps you’ve heard of . Everybody’s all nostalgic and teary about what Star Wars meant to them, and when they saw their first Star Wars movie, and how many Star Wars toys they owned, and how many sexy dreams they had about Princess Leia—you know the deal.
But who remembers the time Star Wars was mashed up with The Beatles, and Princess Leia was a groupie, and C-3PO cavorted with naked ladies and then won a Paul McCartney lookalike contest? It happened in “Rock Opera,” a recurring feature in the pages of Heavy Metal. “Rock Opera” kicked off in 1978, but we pick it up M, with some help from Rolling Stone:
Here are the actual pages, click ’em to embiggen ’em:
Rock Opera II from Heavy Metal, March 1985, by Rod Kierkegaard Jr.
About Heavy Metal
First published in 1977, Heavy Metal Magazine, the world’s foremost illustrated magazine, explores fantastic and surrealistic worlds, alternate realities, science fiction and horror, in the past, present, and future. Writers and illustrators from around the world take you to places you never dreamed existed. Heavy Metal Magazine was the first publisher to bring European legends like Mœbius, Philippe Caza, Guido Crepax, Philippe Druillet, Tanino Liberatore, Milo Manara, Enki Bilal, and Pepe Moreno to the U.S. while showcasing non-mainstream American superstars like Richard Corben, Berni Wrightson, Arthur Suydam, Vaughn Bode and Frank Frazetta. The magazine continues to showcase amazing new talent along with established creators. Heavy Metal Magazine features serialized and standalone stories, artist galleries, short stories in prose and interviews.
About Heavy Metal (film)
Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian adult animated science fantasy anthology film directed by Gerald Potterton (in his director debut) and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, which was the basis for the film. It starred the voices of Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Martin Lavut, Marilyn Lightstone, Eugene Levy, Alice Playten, Harold Ramis, Percy Rodriguez, Susan Roman, Richard Romanus, August Schellenberg, John Vernon, and Zal Yanovsky. The screenplay was written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum.
The film is an anthology of various science-fiction and fantasy stories tied together by a single theme of an evil force that is "the sum of all evils". It was adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and original stories in the same spirit. Like the magazine, the film features a great deal of graphic violence, sexuality, and nudity. Its production was expedited by having several animation houses working simultaneously on different segments.
Its soundtrack was packaged by music manager Irving Azoff and included several popular rock bands and artists, including Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Don Felder, Cheap Trick, DEVO, Journey, and Nazareth, among others.
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