Z2 Comics has announced their latest collaboration project with up-and-coming artist Teddy Swims for Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song, an all-ages graphic novel starring Swimmy the Bear coming in Fall 2021.
Teddy Swims: Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song will feature an all-ages anthropomorphic version of Teddy (or ‘Swimmy’) and his band as they prepare to hit the big time with all the pressures that go with it.
Adapting Teddy Swims’ tale of a little bear’s band going big will be writer Grace Freud and illustrator Fred C. Stresing. Freud’s most recent work includes the Rick and Morty Presents: Jerryboree comic that came out earlier this month from Oni Press. Fred C. Stresing is a colorist and cartoonist that has done work for the Invader Zim comic book (also from Oni).
The Teddy Swims comic will be available in standard and deluxe editions. The exclusive limited deluxe hardcover edition will include prints by artists Ian McGinty, Michael Lee Harris, and Sarah Stern.
Versions of Teddy Swims: Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song will land in comic shops and book shops in fall 2021 but you can also preorder the primo limited edition stuff direct from Z2’s online store as well.
An up-and-coming musician, Teddy Swims is the stage name of Jaten Dimsdale from Atlanta, Georgia. He is a vocalist that has built a strong following on YouTube via his music covers (and by “strong”, we mean over 1.76 million subscribers). He signed to Warner Records in January 2020. He previously was the frontman for rock band WildHeart.
On being granted the opportunity to tell a story in comics form Teddy Swims says:
“Ever since I was a kid I’ve dreamed of building my own universe of characters and stories that everyone can enjoy, especially children. I believe so strongly that the job of a musician or anyone with a platform should use it to guide and influence the upcoming generation in a positive way! And for the adults I always want to do anything I can to preserve that child in all of us because it’s the most important part of us! That being said, developing a comic book has always been a dream of mine! I hope you fall in love with Swimmy’s adventure as much as I have. Here’s to dreaming even bigger and making this a series!”
Z2 Comics is a New York based publisher that specialises in bringing comic books and the music industry together, with music artists working with creative teams to produce graphic novels based on their oeuvre or based on a story idea of their own. Z2 also gets writers and artists together for graphic biographies or anthologies inspired by classic musicians of yesteryear like Beethoven, Elvis, and The Doors.
