Another onboarding day for Comics HR, as the Beat has learned that Fabrice Sapolsky has just joined Heavy Metal as editor. He’ll be handling the material in Heavy Metal magazine as well as their growing line of comics and graphic novels.
Sapolsky brings a wide-ranging knowledge of comics to the task, including helming his own comics imprint FairSquare Comics, and a previous stint as Senior Editor at Humanoids. He also co-created Spider-Man Noir for Marvel Comics (later seen in Into the Spider-Verse), and has edited or packaged comics for Albin Michel, Delcourt, Soleil, Panini, Jungle Comics and DC Comics. At Humanoids, he developed the H1 Comics, Life Drawn and BiG imprints. His knowledge of French and global comics will doubtless come in handy at Heavy Metal — among the projects he’s handling is the first English language serialization of Juan Giménez and Richard Malka‘s Segments, which launched in July.
Sapolsky was recruited to the position by HM Executive Editor Joseph Illidge and it didn’t take him long to say yes. “I started my journey in comics with magazines! Being French and living in the United States, I’ll be able to bring both sides of my cultural background to the magazine, reconnecting the present and future of Heavy Metal with its European roots. For an immigrant like me, this is a fantastic opportunity. I’ll be in charge of editing global stories, so I’ll not only be working on legendary foreign stories that will be translated into English for the first time, but also expanding Heavy Metal’s relationship with publishers and cutting-edge talent from all over the world.”
He added, “Heavy Metal is a world-class premium brand and being part of this team is an immense honor. I want to thank Joseph Illidge, Matthew Medney, David Erwin, Tim Seeley, Kris Longo, Morgan Rosenblum, and the whole team for their warm welcome. My door is open at Heavy Metal to creators from all around the world. Let’s build the future together.”
“We couldn’t possibly be more excited to have Fabrice on board as a member of Heavy Metal Editorial! His vast experience, high standards for art, and deep knowledge of the global comics industry make him the perfect person to bring more of the world’s best illustrated stories to The World’s Greatest Illustrated Magazine,” said Executive Editor Joseph Illidge.
Added Heavy Metal CEO Matthew Medney: “Bringing in extraordinary talent from international publishers such as Fabrice is what makes running Heavy Metal so fun. I am delighted to welcome him into the family.”
At FairSquare, Sapolsky successfully crowdfunded Noir Is The New Black, an anthology of 16 noir stories from 40 black creators, and Mutiny Magazine.
