The editorial is very clever. It starts out by mocking the plethora of Heavy Metal merchandise available – magazine, movie, “making of” book, booklet, poster, record, radio show, t-shirt, satin jacket, bibs with studs, event and shopping bag are all mentioned in a self-referentially mocking manner. It then goes on to talk about the recent history of the magazine and provides insight into recent scrutiny as a result of the movie. It ends on a demographic note: the average reader is 27-years old (my dad was 30) and has an annual income of $29,000. 65% have some college education and read Scientific American, Playboy and Omni.

Completely without irony, four of the first seven pages of the magazine contain full page ads for Heavy Metal merchandise, including the page opposite the editorial admitting that, yeah, they do have a lot of merch. And then you turn to this page, which features seven different kinds of shirts, hats, backpacks and yes, a satin jacket. Okay, nylon.

(Heavy Metal issue #56, November 1981 – Page 4 Editorial & 7 Merchandise ad)