GWAR Returns To Comics With “Orgasmageddon”

GWAR, if you’re not familiar with them, is a particularly theatrical metal band that’s been around since 1984.  They wear elaborate costumes (see video below), style the band’s characters as intergalactic barbarians, throw a LOT of fake blood at the audience at shows, and generally carry on with a tongue-in-cheek mix of extreme violence, off-color humor and political satire.  If you haven’t heard of them, this announcement may well have you scratching you’re head, but GWAR is definitely a thing and this is probably closer to KISS having comics than it appears at first glance.  In fact, GWAR did have some comics in the mid-to-late 90s.  Including Slave Pit Funnies.  Which is to say, everything is over the top and utterly committed to staying in character.

GWAR’s members are collaborating on the writing and… you know, it’s really best to let GWAR speak in their own voice.  Here’s the official announcement:

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT AND GWAR UNLEASH ORGASMAGEDDON!

The First New Comic Book Series from the
Bloodied Barbarians in Twenty Years!

March 20, 2017, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Following up on an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign late last year, GWAR will bring the blasphemous, blood-soaked series that fans demanded to print in June, courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment!

GWAR has released an official video announcing the Dynamite partnership, which can be viewed here:

From the depths of outer space to the frozen wasteland of Antarctica, punk rock and heavy metal’s most shocking band of intergalactic blood-spewing alien monsters has returned to kill everything and respect nothing in the pages of GWAR: Orgasmageddon! Banished to the past by the cold and calculating Mr. Perfect, the heroes of GWAR trample through time like a deranged Bill & Ted on bath salts. Antics ensue as they stomp and smash and shape human history to what we accept as our current reality. Co-written by GWAR themselves and Matt Miner (Toe Tag Riot, Critical Hit), and featuring art by Jonathan Brandon Sawyer (Welcome Back, Critical Hit), GWAR: Orgasmageddon is a love letter to comics, grindhouse movies, and heavy metal, sure to appeal both to the most die-hard fan and the comics fanboy/fangirl intrigued by the prospect of social awareness drowned in geysers of blood and alien goo.

“It’s awesome to have a comic coming out! We had some in the 90’s, but it’s about time we got back into the comic book world,” says Matt Maguire, better known in the band lineup as Sawborg Destructo. “When Matt Miner and I first talked, everything clicked and I knew we were going to do a cool project. It was really cool to see all the support from the fans who pledged money to Kickstarter. We knew people wanted to see more GWAR comics, so it was great to reach our goal. We can’t wait to show all of the amazing work that is being generated for this comic! With Dynamite in our corner, it’s gonna be a big book!”

Regarding what GWAR fans will love most about the series, Maguire adds, “The blood… maybe the story… but mostly the blood. Oh, did we mention that Slymenstra Hymen is gonna be in it? And oh yeah — blood!”

“I always wanted to be the guy to help bring GWAR to modern-day comics,” says writer Matt Miner. “Most people when they get into comics want to do Batman or Spider-Man or write the next great Punisher story, but I really, really wanted to write my favorite scumdogs of the universe… the all-mighty GWAR! (Although working on that other stuff would be cool, too). At 16 years old, I fell in love with this band of alien monster rockstars and their tongue-in-cheek style of blood-soaked and irreverent social commentary, so when I started making comics a few years ago, I just felt the calling: I MUST MAKE GWAR COMICS! Taking the book to Kickstarter was a great first step for us because we got a ton of amazing press and lots of love and support from fans. It’s sure to be the greatest — or, at least, the bloodiest and funniest — comic book series of 2017!”

Regarding the concept and audience for the new series, Miner says, “People who love fun comics are gonna dig this crazy story that dives into the past and shows how GWAR not only created humans, but shaped our history to what we now know as our actual modern day reality. GWAR fans are going to love that all the creators on the book are fans — every single one, from me and artist Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, all the way to every single variant cover artist — and GWAR themselves are contributing art and co-writing the book, to boot. This isn’t a case of us getting the license and then running with it; we collaborate very closely with the band and are in almost constant contact during the creation. Fans of comics with a deeper meaning may have to dig through the blood, the guts, and the sometimes off-color jokes, but they’re gonna find what they’re looking for; GWAR has always been a mirror held up to the worst aspects of humanity, so that social satire and consciousness is there, although it may be splattered with politician brains and alien bile. You do not need to be a GWAR fan to have a ton of fun with this comic!”

“Anyone who is familiar with GWAR’s theatrical performances, and over their thirty-year history will agree that this band is perfectly suited to the comic book page,” says Dynamite CEO and publisher, Nick Barrucci. “It seems only fitting that these masters of gore find their published home alongside the comic book adventures of the original shock rockers, KISS!”

GWAR: Orgasmageddon #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ April 2017 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in June.  Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of GWAR with their local comic book retailers. GWAR: Orgasmageddon will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, DynamiteDigital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.

And now, some of those variants Sawborg Destructo was talking about: