based. has been appointed by the legacy sci-fi/fantasy brand Heavy Metal to lead strategy, creative, and campaign development in Q3 2025.
Heavy Metal – best known for its illustrated magazine and genre-defining visual storytelling – has tapped based. to reimagine how the brand shows up for new generations of readers, art collectors, comic fans, and subcultural tastemakers.
“Heavy Metal defined the visual language of sci-fi, fantasy, and dark counterculture for over 40 years,” said Alex Khlopenko, CEO at based. “We’re thrilled to help evolve that mythology and bring it into a new commercial era, without losing an inch of what made it dangerous in the first place.”
The first campaign will be the launch of Artwear: Series One, a line of three limited-edition t-shirts featuring original, hand-drawn artwork from underground illustrators. Each design is capped at 666 units, never to be reprinted.
This partnership follows based.’s growing portfolio of culture-driven brand work in the media and entertainment niche.
