When he was a child, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D avidly drew his own comic books. At New York Comic Con 2021, he and Anthrax did a panel celebrating the 30th anniversary of their iconic "Bring The Noise" collaboration and their respective graphic novel releases through Z2 Comics. Chuck D's early passion had come full circle in a way, and he is among a growing legion of rockers and rappers who are seeing their music serve as springboards for comic book series and graphic novels.
According to a June 2022 report, comic book and graphic novel sales were up 60 percent in 2021, hitting $2.075 billion — the highest industry mark since 1993. Superhero movies and TV, as the popularity of anime and manga, have likely helped those numbers. Now, musicians want to get in on the action with an increasing number lending their names and catalogs to comics and graphic novels.
Companies including Z2 Comics and Opus Comics are heading the charge, creating stories inspired by iconic musicians; and, once in a blue, even penned by them. But unlike past efforts — Marvel Comics featured Alice Cooper and KISS in issues back in the ‘70s, or the unauthorized biographies of the Rock ‘N Roll Comics series in the ‘90s — today's artists don’t always need to be in the stories.
"My goal originally was to bring something fresh to our current fans who connect with my lyrics or wish to delve further into the world I created within those lyrics," says Spiritbox singer Courtney Plante, who worked with writer Jim Krueger and artist Amilcar Pinna on the upcoming Z2 book Eternal Blue. "I think this story has the potential to be exciting to someone who knows nothing about my band."
Outside interpretations of a musician’s work are also in the mix.
When asked to come up with a comic to include in the limited edition package of Ozzy Osborne’s new album, Patient Number 9, Image Comics President and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane wanted to shirk tradition, and the Ozzy camp trusted in his vision. Instead of creating panels and word balloons, McFarlane published 20 pages of artist Jonathan Glapion’s pin-ups and a novel he wrote around the character Patient 9. He hopes the resulting "horror novella" will appeal to fans that might not normally read comics.
"I didn't want to do an Ozzy autobiographical thing," says McFarlane, who recently directed a semi-animated video for Patient's title track. "It’s almost like a storybook… It’ll be worth taking a look at it to [see] whether people find it interesting, odd, or a failed experiment."
At their two recent San Diego Comic Con signings, McFarlane and Ozzy met around 1,000 fans with hundreds more waiting in line.
Meanwhile, musicians such as Coheed and Cambria's Claudio Sanchez and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance have created original, long-running comic book series inspired by their music. Sanchez's comics, a series called The Amory Wars, expand upon his band's mythology album by album. Way has written or co-written and created a number of comic series (the adaptation of his Umbrella Academy became a Netflix hit), and co-founded the DC Comics imprint Young Animal.
Making Rock Collectible In A New Form
Opus Comics have been creating comics inspired by artists including Disturbed, Evanescence and Joe Satriani since 2018. Like Z2, Opus let the music inspire the stories, as with their adaptation of Helloween’s Keeper Of The Seven Keys trilogy into the comic Seekers Of The Seven Keys. "We’re using that [original music] as inspiration for a new saga [that] has all the characters you know and love from Keeper," explains Publisher Llexi Leon. "But now there's something new happening and new characters coming in. We're able to mix it up a bit."
Opus' American and European releases are limited edition with higher quality paper, sold direct-to-consumer with a higher price point. In May 2022, they began putting individual issues and will publish trade paperbacks with bonus material beginning in spring 2023. Releasing material in three stages exposes bands to new audiences, Leon tells GRAMMY.com.
Leon first delved into a comics/games/toy crossover with his 2010 music-oriented series Eternal Descent, and Opus’ parent company handled Iron Maiden’s comics and collectibles between 2015 and 2020. Leon adds that Opus sold 250,000 comics in the first quarter of 2022, and all of their series will also feature special action figures.
Z2 Comics are also playing on the predilection modern rock fans have for merch. In the way that Rhino Records used to get very creative with their box set packaging — such as a mini-Marshall amp replica to house a heavy metal collection — Z2 have been offering deluxe editions of their graphic novels.
Chuck D's comic bundle| Z2 Comics
For example, Z2's super deluxe edition of Chuck D’s book (priced at $199.99) includes colored vinyl of Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Black album plus four exclusive art prints — one illustrated by Chuck himself. The horror-oriented King Diamond book has an Abigail baby hearse; the forthcoming Melissa Etheridge and Halestorm books will feature an acoustic and electric guitar, respectively; the latter of which will go for $4,999.99.The "Weird Al" Yankovic release will include a mini-accordion, Judas Priest will have a Hellion statuette, while Spiritbox will get a functioning spiritbox (ghost hunting device) that will also play a key role in their comics story.
Making Fans Of The Bands
Z2 made its first forays into music-based graphic novels in 2020 with Murder Ballads, which featured an accompanying soundtrack by multi-instrumentalist Dan Auerbach (the Black Keys) and blues singer Robert Finley, and The Ghost Of Ohio by Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack.
Josh Bernstein, Z2's Chief Business Officer and Partner, says no one declined the opportunity to do a graphic novel. But when lockdown forced artists to find new revenue streams, Z2 offered them a solution that lured many otherwise dubious musicians into the fold. While they could tout early successes, industry word of mouth also helped propel new projects.
"The artists that we signed were our biggest advocates," says Bernstein. "Mikey Way called All Time Low. Anthrax definitely called Pantera. Anthrax’s licensing team spoke to Judas Priest. The Doors' management were so happy they gave us the Charlie Parker and John Lee Hooker projects. Now, he says, "there's not enough time in the day to do all the books that are being offered."
Where Z2 once published 12 books a year, they now release between 20 and 40 titles.
"I know how comic books and graphic novels resonated with me," says Dee Snider of Twisted Sister. His forthcoming illustrated Z2 life story, which he co-wrote, includes his appearance at the infamous PMRC hearings in 1985. "I'm now a pretty avid book reader, but it was comic books and graphic novels of actual novels that led me there. I hope this book on my history does the same for others."
Artist involvement with comics makes them feel attached to the work, which can involve significant collaboration with artists and writers. Melissa Etheridge, whose Z2 title Heartstrings: Melissa Etheridge & Her Guitars will publish in October, was inexperienced in the world of graphic novels. She mostly let the artists do their thing.
"It does fictionalize some of the stories, and I let that be because it’s a graphic novel," says Etheridge. "This is not my life’s memoir, this is a cartoon. I’m really pleased. The artwork is just phenomenal and so interesting and it moves the story along. The story just flies by and it’s a really beautiful, touching way to tell my story."
Speaking about the differences between comic books and music videos, Evanescence singer Amy Lee told Comic Book Resources that "there are no limitations as to what is possible, special effects, creating an entire world." Evanescence's anthology series Echoes From The Void was released through Opus and focused on imagination rather than her personal experience. "It's been about what ideas they spark in other people's imaginations," she said."I've always loved hearing fans' interpretations and experiences with our music. This is like giving some of those alternate realities a moment to shine."
Fantoons' offerings for rock fans include band coloring books, lithographics and buttons, as well as graphic novel biographies on Lemmy, Motörhead, and Billie Holiday. In an interesting twist, they have an illustrated Where Is Alice Cooper book in the vein of Where’s Waldo?, and a Rush graphic novel about the making of their album A Farewell To Kings. That latter concept may be a first in rock comics.
There are still some fans who want a straight-up rock bio in four-color form. TidalWave Productions does single issue biographies that explore specific aspects of their subjects’ lives. In 2008, the company started "doing female empowerment biographies," says TidalWave Publisher Darren G. Davis, "which led us to our first musician comic book on Michael Jackson in 2009. We ended up working with Rock 'N Roll Comics in 2010 to bring their Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin comic books into graphic novel form."
TidalWave sells mostly through Amazon, and moves some units through distributor Ingram. Davis says their top selling titles are always related to the Beatles, Metallica, David Bowie and Prince. Recently, Dolly Parton has been their biggest seller so they did a second book this year. Dave Grohl, Elton John and Lorretta Lynn issues are in the works.
Still More Tales To Tell
The comics medium offers musicians a chance to see their work be interpreted in exciting new ways and explore new horizons. Comics companies, meanwhile, are showing no signs of slowing down.
Z2 is bullish on the K-pop and Latin markets, having found success with pop punk/emo (All Time Low), female singers (Poppy), and underground hip-hop (Czarface, Flatbush Zombies). Bernstein says that artists with dedicated fanbases — who may not be the biggest names — sell the most books: Z2's top seller is the first Gorillaz Almanac at 75,000 units sold, while Yungblud hit 25,000 and Babymetal did 22,000. Other top sellers include books from Machine Gun Kelly and Anthrax, along with big pre-orders for Tori Amos and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Sales of Z2 comics are rising as retail re-opens and touring has resumed, bands are taking their books and merch on the road. "We're just speaking to this whole other audience of music fans that would love to read more about their favorite bands but otherwise wouldn't know how to go into a comic store or where to start," Bernstein says. "I'm hoping it's a gateway drug into much more reading and interest in these bands."
"People love their fandom," notes TidalWave's Davis. "As a kid I used to collect anything with Duran Duran and Olivia Newton-John on it. Whether it was magazines, buttons or t-shirts I wanted it all. What is out there now is amazing and we are proud to be a part of the memorabilia that gets the fans excited."
Ultimately, the success of these projects comes back to the followers who made the artists beloved and famous in the first place.
"So long as there is a dedicated fan base, that is the secret [to success]," asserts Bernstein. "And who is more dedicated than a music fan and a rock 'n' roll fan?"