My first viewing of 1981’s HEAVY METAL was at the probably too young age of 14. The music was gold to my ears having been brought up on Heavy Metal; the gore and bare-chested women were perfect for my teenage mind. As I have gotten older though, the reverence and love I have had leaned heavily towards my appreciation of the animation.

Love of that animated style of 80s cartoons and films like HEAVY METAL and the works of Ralph Bakshi and Don Bluth, has birthed NOVA SEED.

Director, writer, animator, and voice actor Nick DiLiberto spent four years drawing NOVA SEED frame by frame alone. Driven by his own desire to see the hand drawn animated style of the 1980s, he drew over 60,000 drawings in order to create NOVA SEED.

The plot itself is pretty simplistic, an evil Dr Mindskull (love the name) plans to take over a post-apocalyptic world using a girl who can bring nature back from extinction. A weary lion-man warrior called NAC (Neo Animal Combatant) does battle with the Doctor to stop him from using the titular Nova Seed to control the decaying world.

There is sheer dedication in DiLbierto’s work in every frame. The creature design, the world, the set pieces are all minutely thought out, not a single moment is wasted. This itself is a testement to the hard work and talent of Nick DiLiberto.

Appreciation can also be given to the score by Stephen Verral, taking inspiration from the synth driven era of the 80s. The music and sound effects compliment the visuals, not over powering them, by simply helping the animation work away beautifully.

I really do hope that this gets seen by more than a select few, if only as a showcase for the talent of the director.

NOVA SEED is out now via the methods listed here.