Giving Credit to Mogel

In the article about the “Heavy Metal” movie (“Cult Favorite ‘Heavy Metal’ Once Again Making Noise,” Calendar, March 9) writer Donald Liebenson has achieved the equivalent of covering “Gone With the Wind” with barely a mention of David O. Selznick and Margaret Mitchell.

Heavy Metal magazine, and its animated film spin-off, were the brainchildren of publisher-producer Leonard Mogel, whose company published National Lampoon and produced the National Lampoon movies. It was Mogel who recognized the potential in the French magazine Metal Hurlant, and brought it to America’s Heavy Metal in 1977.

Metal Hurlant was founded in 1974 by renowned French artist Moebius, who worked on “Alien,” “Tron,” “Willow” and other films and whose imagery forms the basis of most of the “Heavy Metal” movie--i.e.: the popular Taarna and Harry Canyon segments.

JEAN-MARC LOFFICIER

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