Brisbane, Australia Metal Lover, Aaron Sammut has launched a labour of heavy metal love into the world. His creation, brought to life in partnership with US comic artist Jesse Hamm is MAURICE AND THE METAL – The journey of a young metalhead in the mid ‘80s who unwittingly discovers he has impossible strength whenever he listens to Heavy Metal. Charged with a HEAVY burden and with nothing but his Walkman, which has been possessed by the spirit of a Black Sabbath roadie, Maurice is fighting to keep metal alive.
The first issue is available for digital purchase now at comixology (available on the same virtual racks as all the superheroes from Marvel and DC Comics!) and if a tactile experience of reading a physical comic is preferred, a limited edition glossy version is available at maurice-and-the-metal.com.
Being a hometown Brissy lad, Sammut wanted to celebrate the launch – and is throwing a launch party at Brisbane’s home of heavy, Crowbar on Saturday June 1 from 2pm for a Heavy Metal Market day – sponsored by Maurice and The Metal, Young Henrys and Brisbane’s Metal Radio station The Faction – where punters will be able to crate-dig through mountains of heavy metal and punk vinyl provided by Sonic Sherpa, play pinball and arcade machines in Crowbar Church, meet up for a comic book swap meet, headbang to old-school thrash bangers playing all arvo and sip on Maurice and the Met-Ales. Attendees will all receive a copy of Maurice & The Metal #1! Entry is free.
Aaron Sammut has worked in the music industry in Brisbane, Australia, as a performance photographer and magazine designer for the past 15 years. He has not worked on comics for Marvel or DC… He has read some though. He simply has an overactive imagination, an unhealthy reliance on music to get him through any situation, seemingly crazy amounts of naivety, mixed with an insatiable determination to see one of his crazy ideas make it all the way to print.
Jesse Hamm has illustrated comics for such publishers as Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, Boom!, and Dynamite, drawing the adventures of characters such as Batman, Hawkeye, Flash Gordon, and The Phantom. Jesse has taught cartooning in the past, and currently writes a monthly column for Comicon about cartooning, in addition to maintaining a Twitter account and Patreon about cartooning. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, and is a member of Helioscope, America’s largest comic art studio.
Maurice and The Metal #1 is available for digital purchase now at comixology and the physical a limited edition glossy version is available at maurice-and-the-metal.com.
