The Heavy Metal media property rose to popularity after its debut in 1977 with a print magazine tapping into a rich vein of science fiction, horror and fantasy graphic art and illustrations that led to a commercially successful 1981 movie by the same name.
Now, the re-fashioned Heavy Metal Enterprises is teaming up with cannabis cultivator, wholesaler and retailer Berkshire Roots to launch a line of 20-plus cannabis products starting April 1 in Massachusetts with initial presence in 12 stores and plans to expand to other states.
Two of the leading executives behind the effort see an overlap between cannabis culture and Heavy Metal and an opportunity to offer a window into the magazine’s world of adventure and weird encounters through cannabis.
Promotional poster for Heavy Metal Cannabis featuring Taarna, a character in the 1981 movie and in the company’s other media properties
Heavy Metal Enterprises
It’ll start with the packaging and promotional items for Heavy Metal Cannabis featuring artwork and other media content from the publication.
Taarna, the blonde, scantily-clad warrior straddling a giant bird and featured on the poster for the 1981 film, will be a central figure in some of the upcoming stories.
The packaging will include QR codes and trading cards that offer links to a variety of video, music and other content through the Heavy Metal website.
“Heavy Metal is a perfect fit with cannabis,” said James Winokur, CEO of Berkshire Roots, which is licensing the Heavy Metal brand from Heavy Metal Enterprises. “In the Northeast at least, there aren’t as many fun brands of cannabis so we saw an opportunity there.”
Berkshire Roots is introducing three new strains for the launch: platinum garlic, strawberry fritter and tropicana banana, priced roughly in the premium category for cannabis.
While Heavy Metal magazine and its overall brand remain popular among the ComicCon crowd and 25-to-40-year-old males, Winokur sees Taarna and other characters as empowered women that could grow the product’s appeal to a female audience.
Tommy Coriale, president and head of studio at Heavy Metal Entertainment, said, “cannabis made a lot of sense” to the company as it looked for ways to leverage its content.
“Berkshire Roots is giving us a quality product that helps us expand our reach,” he said. “We’re going to give consumers a 360-degree experience” with media content.
The overall experience will be inspired by Pokemon, which offered trading cards along with a universe of interactive games and video.
The five cannabis collections under the Heavy Metal Cannabis brand include the 1981 Collection of flower; the Never Never collection of blunts; the Taarna collection of vapes, the ColdDead War collection of concentrates and the Dark Wing collection of edibles.
Back when Heavy Metal launched in the late 1970s, Heavy Metal magazine was owned by National Lampoon magazine. It’s changed hands since then.
Coriale was named president of Heavy Metal in 2021 when it announced an intellectual property deal with Range Media Partners. Coriale previously worked at DIGA Studios, producer of the “Scream” movies and “Teen Wolf”.
Heavy Metal is led by CEO Matthew Medney and David Erwin, the publisher, and is currently printed on a quarterly basis. They’ve been in their current jobs since 2019.
In 2014, Heavy Metal was sold by publisher Kevin Eastman for an undisclosed price to David Boxenbaum and Jeff Krelitz. Eastman, who is also co-creator of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, retained a minority stake.
Also Read: Cannabis exec Adam Bierman wins MedMen arbitration settlement and eyes pot biz again
