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Option38.com > Comics > Modern : You Is HERE
Comics that...rock? One thing that amuses me is running into overzealous fanboys who proclaim that the last comic book they read "totally kicked ass" or "rocked". Dude...it's a frickin' COMIC BOOK... it's impossible for them to kick any amount of rear-end. Any medium that consistently features men wearing underwear on the outside of their pants can't be "cool" or "bad-ass". The closest thing to exterior underwear "rocking" would be the band Cameo ("Word Up!")...and I don't think they're on anybody's top list of skullcrushing rock. You may LIKE your comic books, but trust me...no matter what Coheed & Cambria might tell you... they do not "kick ass" or "rock". They're frickin' COMIC BOOKS. But that's never stopped the two mediums from intersecting. Sure, everyone knows about the Beatles appearing in DC comics in the 60's, but a wide majority of comic book fans are into hard rock/heavy metal. I'm not sure what started this, but a Ven diagram of comic fans and hard rock fans would display an overlapping, shared, audience. So, presented here are 6 Various Comic Book/Hard Rock tie-ins. It works both ways, as some are comics based on songs...while others are songs based on comics.
Defenders #45 (1977)
In the midst of the 70's, it wasn't surprising to open "Defenders #45" and see a caption
on the splash page, dedicating to story to "Alex, Geddy and Neil of RUSH". Yes, the seminal
trippy Canadian band who sang about By-Tor And The Snow Dog
This issue steamed with ambition, as the Defenders fought a foe named The Red Rajah, whose motives
paralleled the anti-collective Ayn Rand themes that RUSH preached about in their
magnum opus "2112 ROCK power rating: 3/10. Loosely based on the musical inspiration and the story itself is rather ordinary. Similar to a bar band trying to cover "2112", then ending up with "What You're Doing".
Anthrax- "I Am The Law The rest of the song is filled with nothing but Dredd references. Iso-cubes, the Cursed Earth, The Apocalypse War, Judge Anderson and even arch-foe Judge Death. Along with the common Dredd/2000 AD expletive of "Drokk It!" It's amazing that the Angel Gang or even the famous line "Gaze into the fist of Dredd" were left out.
The song became a staple of the band and is still performed at most of their concerts. Dredd was even
featured on several Anthrax T-Shirts ROCK power rating: 9/10. A case where both the comic AND the song helped one another. The two are forever tied together. It can be a bit cheesy, but it's essentially the Breakfast Club and Simple Minds for 80's headbangers.
Entombed- "Wolverine Blues Sorry X-fans, but this was not a Wolverine concept album. Even though the entire album was named in his honor, only the title track actually concerns Wolverine. Yet it's only a passing reference, as the lyrics sound like they're celebrating Frankenstein's Monster rather than the ol' Canucklehead. "I'm a misanthropical breed. Insatiable in my need to feed! Pound for pound, I am the most vicious around!" The song actually seems to be about caging wild animals and trying to rid them of their wild nature. In that regard, it makes a direct connection to the accompanying mini-comic...but little to the overall character of Wolverine.
ROCK power rating: 5/10. The exclusive comic was a nice touch, but the album could have been named "Wild Boar Blues" and had the same effect. Additionally, the song isn't even the best track on the album, as that recognition goes to
"Hollowman
Defenders #58-60 (1978, Introduction of Devil-Slayer)
Even though the Cult was not prefaced with the Blue Öyster moniker, there was no mistaking just what the connection
was to Long Island's famous rockers. It was a case where BOC's music heavily influenced the storylines,
yet the character of Devil-Slayer didn't come off as a gimmick. Devil-Slayer recently popped up
in "Avengers: The Initiative", without "Burnin' For You
But just for the record... to the best of my knowledge, Devil-Slayer never visited the Blue Oyster Bar ROCK power rating: 8/10. Devil-Slayer's not an inconic character by any means, but the BOC connection is always fun, yet not a hindrance. You can enjoy either on their own, but it you like BOTH, then this story is a must-read.
Rollins Band- "Ghostrider" (1994) I usually enjoy Henry Rollins--- even some of his music-- but his mid-90's work was pretty damn awful; with the likes of the wretched "Liar" and this tune. The lyrics start out screaming about Ghostrider, the motorcycle hero, riding into town in a blue jumpsuit with his head on fire. It doesn't help that the music and singing are both incredibly grating, and about as appealing as jamming your ballsack into a Cuisinart. "The Crow" was probably the best movie soundtrack of the 90's, with the sole exception being this track. After a few minutes of screeching, the lyrics babble about how "America is killing its youth!" Now either that means Ghost Rider comics were rotting our minds, or that maybe this song was. I'm inclined to believe the latter. ROCK power rating: 1/10.
KISSNation #1
The results weren't as successful this time. In a story with the wildly popular X-men, the superpowered members of KISS fought demons and other junk in a rambling mess of a story that evoked comparisons to "Phantom of the Park". The sole highlight (if you can call it that) was Gene Simmons putting the moves on Psylocke. With Psylocke providing no opposition to Gene's lecherous ways, saying he was "preaching to the choir". Sexual references in comic books are always a little creppy, but this called for a shower and a rabies shot. Gene has long claimed that he took pictures of every woman he slept with, so now here's another; depicted in a comic book. Several celebrities, political figures and others have appeared in comics, but Gene was probably the only one to put the moves on a superheroine. Pure class. It also did not help to slap the 48 paged book with a $14.00 cover price. Or to saddle it with crappy art and typography, either. Still, it sold a few copies to rabid KISS fans of 1996. Most bought it as a novelty. Keep in mind that this was shortly before KISS began slapping their name on everything from condoms to caskets. ROCK power rating: 3/10. For KISS fans only. Yet further proof that Marvel's X-men never met a crossover or team-up that they didn't like. So, while ROCKING is involved, these connections are still not enough to prove that your comic books "kick ass".
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Marvel's Defenders were sorta' like the Avengers. On drugs. They routinely faced some of
the weirdest cornballs in the Marvel U. In addition to facing guys like the Headmen or Lunatik, they visited
other dimensions like Tunnelworld. Two of their members were, respectively, a sorcerer supreme (Dr. Strange) and
a Norse "chooser of the slain"....so they had an instant avenue for all sorts of weird shit.
, plus the trouble with 
.
". The Rajah wanted to assimilate the Defenders (and ideally, the entire world)
into his massive collective consciousness. But the plot didn't work too well... and
it came off as only a mild connection to "2112". It's similar to dedicating any
superhero and his girlfriend to any top 40 love song. To further complicate matters, the
Rajah proclaims: "Truth is false and logic lost, seek the Rajah at all cost." Similar lyrics
can be found on the somewhat lesser-known second side of the "2112" album in the song "
".
A song that had nothing to do with the famous title track. Even worse, Dr. Strange instantly discounts the line
as gibberish, which instantly strips the reference of any relevance. But who knows... maybe, there's like,
2,112 words in this comic book, man?!
" (1986)
was about as subtle as a bulldozer. Titling the song after Dredd's
catchphrase was similar to naming your song "Faster than a Speeding Bullet" or "My Spider-Sense is Tingling".
From the first line to the last, there is no
mistaking what the song is about. "They call him JUDGE...his last name is DREDD". Okay, so while
that's not technically correct (any Dredd-naut knows Dredd's first name was actually "Joe"), it
told any clueless t-shirt n' Converse-wearing headbanger what the song was about. Besides, re-working
your song to mention "Joe Dredd" just doesn't have the appeal of shouting "JUDGE Dredd".
in the 80's. Humorously enough, many "uninformed" Anthrax fans believed
that Dredd was simply a character created by the band. Similar to Eddie the 'Ed (Iron Maiden) or
Vic Rattlehead (Megadeth). But the band was never shy about their love for comic books, often speaking
about them in interviews or mentioning them in liner notes. So
it safe to say that even the dimmest mosher eventually picked up the connection. Since Judge Dredd
comics weren't sold on US newsstands with Superman or Spider-Man, curious fans would then have to enter...
gasp... their Local Comic Store!
" (1993)
".
While Eric Simon Payne (ESP) was introduced in the pages of "Marvel Spotlight", he was really developed
in "Defenders". He first met 
and her mysterious "Cult"...all of whom wore the colors of
the 
, signifying 
. The 
was
also involved. Devil-Slayer was soon developed as a Grim Reaper of sorts... yet we 
" or "
" being referenced. The inspiration from
the character grew out of Blue Oyster Cult, but he was cultivated somewhat independently. If Devil-Slayer had been
equipped with laser-lights stolen from a BOC stageshow, then it would've been a problem.
and
danced the tango.
". A movie based on an independent comic
book character.
(1996)
They were no strangers to comic book crossovers, either. They had teamed up with Marvel Comics
in their 70's heyday to produce two oversized KISS comics (along with an appearance in "Howard the Duck").
The band even donated their own blood to the printing process. So it was no surprise that they
returned to Marvel, once again, in 1996.
