The Godfather of Shock Rock himself, Alice Cooper returns for an upcoming new comic book from television, film, and comics superstar Rodney Barnes (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Killadelphia) is taking on a rock legend as he teams with artist Edu Menna (Army of Darkness, The Twilight Zone).
“The Graphic Novel medium is perfect to give new angles to the fans,” Cooper said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “There is so much more you can do in the form of a comic than you can do onstage, and the Dynamite team help take ideas to new levels. It’s just a great vehicle for storytelling, and it really has almost limitless possibilities. I had such a great experience with Dynamite on our last story, that I’m looking forward to working with them on more. We’re hoping to stretch the existing boundaries of the comic medium again, and doing it with the same theatrical, sinister sensibility that comes with the name ‘Alice Cooper.’ What else can I say but Welcome to my new nightmares!”
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer whose career spans over 50 years and who specializes in a theatrical stage show that features pyrotechnics, guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, and dueling swords. But the singer of hits like “Poison,” “School’s Out,” “Hey Stoopid,” “Feed My Frankenstein,” and “No More Mister Nice Guy” is no stranger to the comic book world. He made his first appearance in four-colored print in the pages of Marvel Premiere #50 in 1979. He’s also been the star of Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare written by Joe Harris and Brandon Jerwa and of course he co-created the graphic novel The Last Temptation with legendary writer Neil Gaiman and artist Michael Zulli.
“I’m honored to be adding a tale to the storied history of Alice Cooper in comics,” said writer Rodney Barnes. “Excited to see how the fans react to Alice facing his most powerful opponent to date!”
“Alice Cooper is a living legend, who has not only been a trendsetter, but has inspired musicians the world over,” said Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and Publisher. “Our first series was an incredible one, and we needed the right creative team before tackling a new one. That team began to come together when Rodney Barnes agreed to be the writer on the series. Rodney is an extremely talented writer both in comics and in TV and movies, from Image Comics’ Killadelphia to HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. And Rodney put his all into this great series! We were able to bring in Edu Menna to illustrate, which complements Rodney’s scripts perfectly. The icing on the cake is we were able to bring in Rodney’s Killadelphia partner and incredible cover artist Jason Shawn Alexander, with Stuart Sayger, and Andrew Mangum. It’s a great series, and we can’t wait for fans to read it!”
With his background as a screenwriter and producer in Hollywood, Barnes has contributed to The Boondocks, My Wife and Kids, Everbody Hates Chris, Marvel’s Runaways, American Gods, and is currently an executive producer/writer on HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty which follows the 1980s “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers. Within comics, Barnes is the creator of the Eisner Award-nominated Killadelphia, and has written Falcon and Lando (Star Wars) for Marvel.
Rodney’s co-creator and collaborator on Killadelphia, Jason Shawn Alexander, joins on for the lead cover, alongside other other artists like Stuart Sayger and Andrew Mangum set to contribute.