Marvel Music was a short-lived
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, introduced in 1994 to publish comics developed in collaboration with musicians.
The concept descended from previous Marvel collaborations with
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
(which starred in a ''
Marvel Comics Super Special
''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Beginning with issu ...
'' featuring the band portrayed as superheroes fighting Marvel villains), and
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
. In an effort to diversify beyond superhero works, Marvel introduced the Marvel Music imprint in 1994, with
Mort Todd
Mort Todd (born Michael Delle-Femine, November 9, 1961) is an American writer and media entrepreneur, best known as an editor-in-chief of ''Cracked (magazine), Cracked'' magazine, and later, Marvel Music. He is owner of Comicfix, a media company ...
as its editor. The imprint featured comics influenced by the life stories and music of various musicians and bands, having published works in collaboration with Alice Cooper,
Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...
, the estate of
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
,
Marty Stuart
John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...
,
Onyx
Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...
, and the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
.
The Marvel Music series was considered unsuccessful; Todd felt that Marvel did not market the series well, while only Marty Stuart took up Marvel's suggestion to sell the comics as concert merchandise. Marvel's president Terry Stewart felt that the imprint may have been "doomed at the beginning", and it was discontinued in 1995 in the wake of Marvel's descent into bankruptcy.
Background
Marvel had previously published some music-based comics; the premiere issue of ''
Marvel Comics Super Special
''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Beginning with issu ...
'', dated simply 1977, featured the rock band
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
in a 40-page
fictional adventure written by
Steve Gerber
Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight:' ...
,
penciled
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
by
John Romita Jr.
John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr.
Early ...
,
Alan Weiss,
,
Rich Buckler
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...
, and
Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as artist of ''The Spectacular Spider-Ma ...
, which saw the quartet battling Marvel
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are oft ...
s
Mephisto
Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition.
Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film
* Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...
and
Doctor Doom
Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
.
Issue 50 of ''
Marvel Premiere
''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...
'' (stand date of October 1979) featured a story, ''Tales From the Inside'', featuring
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
.
History
In 1991,
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
was approached by an
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
executive, seeking help in developing a
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
for Alice Cooper. Gaiman was interested in the project, having been familiar with Cooper, telling ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' that "when I was a kid 15 years earlier than that, I had read ''Marvel Premiere'' #50, ''Alice Cooper: Tales From the Inside'', and I also loved ''
Welcome to My Nightmare''. My cousins were the Alice Cooper fans; I was the
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
fan. But they had made me watch '
Teenage Lament '74
"Teenage Lament '74" is a song by Alice Cooper. It was released on the album '' Muscle of Love'', and was written by Cooper and Neal Smith.
The song reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1974. The song also reached #16 on the Ireland chart,< ...
' on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
''."
Marvel president Terry Stewart was seeking to diversify Marvel's output beyond superhero comics; noticing the popularity of
Revolutionary Comics
Revolutionary Comics was an American comic book publisher specializing in unauthorized profiles of entertainers and professional athletes, as well as a line of erotic comics. Its flagship series was ''Rock 'N' Roll Comics''. Founded by Todd Lor ...
' ''
Rock 'N' Roll Comics
''Rock 'N' Roll Comics'' was a comic book series published by Revolutionary Comics from 1989 to 1993. Revolutionary's flagship title, the series was notable for its unauthorized and unlicensed biographies of rock stars, told in comic book form ...
'' series, which featured unauthorized biographies of bands, Stewart felt that there was a market for comics based on musicians.
[ Marvel published '']Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
: Busted'' and '' Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E: Coming to Yaa'' as test runs in 1990. Stewart enlisted Mort Todd
Mort Todd (born Michael Delle-Femine, November 9, 1961) is an American writer and media entrepreneur, best known as an editor-in-chief of ''Cracked (magazine), Cracked'' magazine, and later, Marvel Music. He is owner of Comicfix, a media company ...
to serve as an editor for a music-focused imprint. The concept was met with some skepticism internally; assistant editor Karl Bollers recalled that "hen the
Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman.
Hen or Hens may also refer to:
Places Norway
*Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...
superhero heads in the office heard that we were doing rock comics, there was a feeling of, 'Oh my god, this is terrible!'", showing concerns that the idea would either be too kitschy, or follow in the footsteps of Revolutionary, which had been sued twice by musicians over their portrayals in ''Rock 'N' Roll Comics''.[
In contrast to ''Rock 'N' Roll Comics'', Marvel planned to grant creative control over its music comics to their respective musicians; ]Onyx
Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...
worked directly with Bollers (who was a fan of their debut album ''Bacdafucup
''Bacdafucup'' is the debut album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on March 30, 1993 by JMJ Records, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings. The album was produced by Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay and Kool Tee.
''Bacdafucup'' peaked at ...
'') to develop ''Onyx: Fight!'', a post-apocalyptic story which was written as a tie-in to their sophomore album ''All We Got Iz Us
All We Got Iz Us is the second album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on October 24, 1995 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels. The album was produced by Onyx. The album features guest appearances from rap group All City and rapper f ...
''. Group member Sticky Fingaz
Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx.
Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam ...
was supportive of their collaboration, as he was a fan of Marvel Comics himself.[ Alice Cooper's collaboration with Gaiman, " The Last Temptation", was adapted into a comic and released under the imprint in June 1994.][ ]KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
collaborated on ''Break the Chain'', a one-shot title that was bundled with an audio cassette that featured the story in the comic that also incorporated his music. Another entry in the series, ''Tale Of The Tuff Gong'', was a biographical story based on the life of Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
.
The titles were hampered by poor promotion. Todd felt that Marvel "didn't know how to sell anything that wasn't superheroes", recalling that, "I was talking with their marketing people, and they were like, 'You know, we just can't really sell Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
or Bob Marley.' And I was like, 'What? There are companies that sell Elvis tampons, and you can't sell an Elvis comic book? What? People love Elvis, people love comics!' So I was infuriated with Marvel and didn't renew my contract." To reach their target audience, Marvel suggested that the comics also be sold as concert merchandise. However, only Marty Stuart
John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...
took up this recommendation; subsequently, ''Marty Party in Space'' was among the best-selling titles under the Marvel Music imprint, alongside the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
' ''Voodoo Lounge
''Voodoo Lounge'' is the 20th British and 22nd American studio album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since th ...
''.
With Marvel heading into bankruptcy, the imprint was discontinued in 1995. In retrospect, Stewart felt that "Maybe it was doomed from the beginning, there just wasn’t enough of a market. Was it because we couldn’t get into the record stores? I don’t know." The Marvel Music brand has since been repurposed as a unit of Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
that publishes its film soundtracks
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...
.
Titles
These comics featured the life stories of famous musicians and bands, while some were album-oriented mini-dramas, drawn song lyrics or superhero fantasies. All of these comics were made with the performers' input.[ The imprint used the square, bound graphic novels as they were considered better price points for bookstores.]
* ''Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
: Tale Of The Tuff Gong'' #1–3 (1994–1995)
* ''Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
: The Last Temptation'' #1–3, by Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
[ and ]Michael Zulli
Michael Zulli is an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator.
Career
Michael Zulli's career in the comics industry began in October 1986 with ''The Puma Blues'', on which he collabor ...
, with Alice Cooper (1994) — based on The Last Temptation album by Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
[
** ''The Compleat Alice Cooper: Incorporating the Three Acts of Alice Cooper, The Last Temptation'', by Neil Gaiman; Michael Zulli; Alice Cooper (1995)]
* ''Break The Chain,'' based on the life of KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
— issue #1 included an audio cassette
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...
of its title track. (1994)
* ''Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
, 1969–1994'', by Mort Todd
Mort Todd (born Michael Delle-Femine, November 9, 1961) is an American writer and media entrepreneur, best known as an editor-in-chief of ''Cracked (magazine), Cracked'' magazine, and later, Marvel Music. He is owner of Comicfix, a media company ...
and Charles Schneider, illustrated by Pat Redding (1994)
* ''Marty Stuart
John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...
: Marty Party In Space'', by Paul S. Newman
Paul S. Newman (April 29, 1924 – May 30, 1999) was an American writer of comic books, comic strips, and books, whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s. Credited in the '' Guinness Book of World Records'' as the most prolific comic-book wr ...
, Marty Stuart
John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...
, and Pat Boyette
Aaron P. "Pat" Boyette (July 27, 1923 – January 14, 2000) was an American broadcasting personality and news producer, and later a comic book artist best known for two decades of work for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the character the Pe ...
(1995)
* ''Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...
'', by Paul S. Newman
Paul S. Newman (April 29, 1924 – May 30, 1999) was an American writer of comic books, comic strips, and books, whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s. Credited in the '' Guinness Book of World Records'' as the most prolific comic-book wr ...
, Dan Barry, and Gail Beckett
Gail may refer to:
People
*Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name
Surname
* Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar
* Max Gail (born 1943), American actor
* Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...
(1995)
* ''Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
: Voodoo Lounge
''Voodoo Lounge'' is the 20th British and 22nd American studio album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since th ...
'', by Dave McKean
David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculpt ...
(1995)
* ''Onyx
Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...
: Fight!'' by Karl Bollers Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...
and Larry Lee (1995)
References
External links
*
{{Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics imprints