Heavy Metal magazine and Hal Hefner, have announced the debut of its very first digital comic franchise, Heavy Metal Presents: Gates, available for free.

The first five pages are available now, and a new page will be released each week, with plans for the comic to run through the end of 2011, with a digital and printed format available for purchase shortly following the run of the first series. Detailed instructions are posted on the website what to expect in terms of a publication schedule, how to use the interface the soundtrack and more.

The first song on the official soundtrack to Gates was also released this week. Gates Theme (Spaced), by ambient rocker LoveKrafty, accompanies the first five pages and gives readers a moody and atmospheric taste of what is, the negative Utopian world of Gates. Hefner will be dedicating the soundtrack to late metal God, RONNIE JAMES DIO (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF).

Readers can also post in the site's forum, comment on the blog, discuss the comic with others, download free content such as desktop wallpaper, watch videos relating to the franchise and more.

Heavy Metal Presents: Gates centers on a specially-conceived young man, named Gates, living a wretched existence in an isolated negative utopian society, deep within the caverns of an industrial mountain complex. When he breaks free from his colony he is thrust onto a lush alien world filled with strange creatures, and ruled by Soloman—a nightmarish, god-like overlord. With his organic plant based technology, Soloman captures the humans and is instantly obsessed with the extermination of mankind and all life on the world. With the help of a tribe of intelligent creatures, Gates must learn to use Soloman's organic technology to defeat him and take back a planet which is rightfully his. Gates is an epic tale of discovery and adventure addressing ideas of identity, society, politics, and philosophy, as well as modern concerns, including environmentalism, evolution, and the unintended consequences of scientific and technological experimentation.

On the official website, fans can get some great information about what is to come with the franchise including character bios, a detailed synopsis, how Hefner's creative process works, soundtrack information and a lot more.

“The online debut of Gates will provide fans of Heavy Metal magazine another way to enjoy the kind of high-quality sci-fi content they expect from us," said Kevin Eastman, owner and publisher of Heavy Metal magazine. “The online format will allow anyone to read the comic whenever and wherever they want, as well as be able to share and discuss it with others, all for free. This marks the beginning of a new era for us here at Heavy Metal and Hal.”

Hal Hefner adds, “I'm looking forward to sharing this new franchise with fans of Heavy Metal magazine, especially in an online format. It will be exciting to see the reaction to and anticipation of each page in real time. This is the first series in a rich universe deeply rooted in sci-fi and will pack a lot of action, smart storytelling and some fun surprises--especially exciting to those familiar with Heavy Metal. I really wanted to capture the magic of the original movie, in comic form and accompany it with a lot of great transmedia pieces. I'm a HUGE fan of Heavy Metal, so I really am doing this for the fans because at heart, and creatively without Heavy Metal, I wouldn't be where I am today. We are going balls to the wall!"