Famous actor John Cusack has a new graphic novel out, and Friday at New York Comic Con he revealed that it was inspired (in part) by the true story of Richard Nixon and Jackie Gleason flying out to look at what might have been aliens.
The book is called Momo. It’s written by Cusack (no co-writer) and illustrated by Ignacio Noé with lettering by Taylor Esposito. Mad Cave Studios published the book late last month, and it’s a wild one.
Here’s the cover:
And here’s the synopsis:
Acclaimed actor John Cusack and celebrated international artist Ignacio Noé deliver a wild, genre-bending road trip with cosmic stakes. Two fugitives form an uneasy alliance on a mission tied to none other than Jackie Gleason—yes, that Jackie Gleason—and quickly find themselves in way over their heads. What follows is a surreal collision of pulp sci-fi, occult mystery, and dark humor, packed with bizarre encounters, buried secrets, and forces far beyond their control. As reality starts to crack and loyalties fray, one thing becomes clear: this trip could save the world… or end it in spectacular fashion.
I found this all pretty intriguing and made a point of checking out the panel at NYCC. I had actually heard about it a while ago, in the context of Cusack had written a movie, decided to turn it into a comic, and bankrolled the whole thing without a publisher, just because he wanted it to exist.
“I just wanted to make something that’s cool and fun and isn’t parsed through an algorithm, that’s made by people,” Cusack said at the panel.
This struck me as pretty different than the usual celebrity comic, which is generally co-written by a comics pro.
The entire thing struck me as a bit different and a lot eccentric, and I went to the panel hoping to have that validated. Friends? I was not disappointed.
In a conversation with Daily Dead head honcho, Jonathan James, Cusack shared a lot of the usual early comics-making revelations, noting that comics artists are super-talented magicians who translate complex narratives into art while also finding the exact right visual language to convey emotion and feeling.
He also caught the bug and plans to make more comics, specifically already working on another book with Noe, this one about alchemy.
And he also talked about how much of his book was informed but odd corners of true history, including the time Richard Nixon and Jackie Gleason went to look at aliens. Okay, or at least rumored to be true stories.
“Is it getting weird enough?” Cusack asked the panel audience. “Aliens, time portals, 1972, Jackie Gleason, Richard Nixon … criminals on the run.”
Anyway, the panel was a good time, the art from the book looks great, it’s a pure vision from one of Hollywood’s best eccentrics, and I for one am excited to check it out.
Let’s end on a gallery of pages from the book and the spot where you can order it from Mad Cave: Buy Momo here
Stay tuned to The Beat for more news from NYCC ’26.
