Vault Comics has announced that they will publish Rockstars: The Complete Series, the long-awaited collection of the hit series (originally published under Image Comics) about the secret histories and mysteries of rock ‘n’ roll.
Written by Joe Harris, the title features art by Megan Hutchison-Cates, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, letters by Michael David Thomas, and designs by Tom Muller and Tim Daniel. If that’s not enough for you, the collection will also include the hit, never-before-collected second arc, Children of the Beast.
Read details below:
“ROCKSTARS is full of murder, magic, and mayhem. Rock fan Jackie Mayer possesses an uncanny, almost unearthly talent: he’s able to connect the legends, secrets, curses, whispers, mysteries, and conspiracies in the music world. He knows musicians hunger for fame and fortune—making them easy marks. When the music-scene murders start happening again, Jackie is ready. He knows the secrets of the past. Or, at least he thinks he does. But the gods of rock are darker than he thought, and the conspiracy he uncovers is more insidious than he could have imagined. Jackie is drawn into the underbelly of the music world—and he’s going to have a devil of a time getting out alive.”
Harris said in a statement:
“Ever since we began working on Rockstars, people have approached me at conventions and comics store signings looking to talk about their favorite rock ‘n’ roll conspiracy theories. Some of them are pretty well known, like the ‘Paul is Dead’ rumors that sent Beatles fans scouring lyrics and album cover art in search of clues to support the theory Paul McCartney had been killed in a car accident and replaced by a lookalike. Or salacious stories of Led Zeppelin conquering their way across America, the infamous ‘groupies’ scene that proliferated around them and other artists, and whether or not a deal with the devil was responsible for the band’s meteoric success and tragic fall.
Some of the stories involve gifted but doomed songwriters whose early, tragic deaths only bolstered their immortality while offering just enough MAYBE room for speculation of foul play. We’ve talked about syncing up Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz, and whether or not the band intended it that way (though, for my money, the real Pink Floyd movie sync trick you want to try is lining up Echoes, from their Meddle album, against the trippy climax of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey). ‘Backward messages’ both real and imagined which scared our parents. Ozzy Osbourne biting the heads off bats, birds, or whatever else. It could be classic rock, thrash metal, or old-school hip hop — every genre has its mysteries and they all seem to tie together in some communal space that transcends preference and taste in music.
Music history is filled with the kinds of super-powered beings and colorful characters I was awed by growing up, and bringing that mystique, glamour, pageantry, and power to comics is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This is my love letter to the bands, era, and music I adore and which has captured my imagination like little else for what feels like forever. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been writing this series, in my head and heart, since I was 8 years old. I’m thrilled that Vault Comics wants to see the original Rockstars series collected in one volume as much as we do!”
Rockstars: The Complete Series will hit store shelves on October 17, 2021. Check out the trade’s cover art here!
