10. Aerosmith Guest-Stars In Shadowman
Back in the title’s first run, Steven Tyler and Aerosmith teamed up with Shadowman in Valiant Comic’s Shadowman (1992) No. 19 to fight Master Darque. Not sure if it was that the band was promoting their album ‘Get A Grip’ at the time, or that Steven Tyler bore a striking resemblance to Shadowman himself, but this issue has been a collectible for Aerosmith fans for two decades.
9. Glenn Danzig Starts His Own (Porn) Comic Label
Heavy metal punk rocker Glenn Danzig started his own comic book publishing company, Verotik, in August 1994. An adult-oriented label, Verotik (a combo of ‘violent’ and ‘erotic’, get it?) has actually had as many film adaptations as the more mainstream Image Comics. ‘Grub Girl’ and the forthcoming ‘Ge Rouge’ are both porn flicks adapted from Verotik titles.
8. Coldplay Releases ‘Mylo Xyloto’
Created by Coldplay and Mark Osborne, ‘Mylo Xyloto’ ties into the Coldplay album of the same name, further explaining the album’s stories and themes. To promote the release of the six-issue limited series that began in July 2012, Coldplay’s ‘Hurts Like Heaven’ music video was issue No. 0. Chris Martin and Coldplay are comic book fans? Who knew?
7. Prince Does The Batman Soundtrack
Not an obvious choice to theme the caped crusader’s first major motion picture in 1989, Prince nonetheless was a fan of DC Comic’s Dark Knight, even donning duel Batman and Joker costumes for several of the soundtrack’s music videos. The album hit No. 1 on Billboard for six consecutive weeks, selling nearly 3 million copies in the U.S. thanks to the wacky ‘Batdance’ single and Batman mania that was sweeping the country.
6. Queen Rocks The Flash Gordon Soundtrack
Released in February 1981, the Flash Gordon Soundtrack is pure Queen; scorching guitars and just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek musical drama. Despite having one of rock’s greatest frontmen of all time in Freddie Mercury, the album only features two songs with vocals.
5. Silver Surfer On The Cover Of Joe Satriani’s ‘Surfing With The Alien’ Album
One of Joe Satriani’s most successful albums, ‘Surfing With The Alien’ featured John Byrne’s art from Silver Surfer (1982) No. 1 on the cover. Byrne has said his image of Silver Surfer and the hand of Galactus was used without his permission, and he never received payment for its use.
4. KISS Guest-Stars In Howard The Duck
KISS’s first appearance in the Marvel Universe (or any comic universe) was in Howard the Duck No. 13 back in 1977. Over the years, KISS has starred in their own comics published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Platinum Studios, Archie Comics, and IDW Publishing, with unlicensed stories published by Revolutionary Comics. Ironically, according to Gene Simmons, he’s the only member of the band that enjoys the medium … His bandmates all hate comic books.
3. Spider-Man’s TV Theme Song
Probably the most popular comic book song of them all, Spider-Man’s TV Theme Song has been covered by Michael Bublé, Aerosmith, The Ramones and countless others. It was originally created for the 1967 cartoon by Academy Award winning composer Paul Francis Webster and Robert Harris. Aerosmith’s Joe Perry also performed a newer version of Spidey’s theme song for the 1994 cartoon with references to this original.
2. KISS Puts Their Blood In Comic Ink
KISS were the stars of their very own Marvel series in 1977. To put the rock and roll cherry on top of this project, the band mixed samples of their blood into the red ink used to print the comic. Considered rumor for years, the story is in fact true. A notary public was present, and a promotional photo of the band pouring vials of their blood into the ink was taken. Does it get anymore rock and roll than that?
1. Revolutionary Comics Brings The Noise
Taking a page from the rebellious nature of rock and roll itself, Todd Loren founded Revolutionary Comics in 1989 and began publishing unlicensed comic book biographies of some of the biggest names in rock. Some of the musicians featured were supportive. Others considered Revolutionary’s comic books not that far removed from bootlegs and sued. Lawsuits claiming copyright infringement were plenty, but in the end Loren won on the grounds his comics were protected as satire and biography. Revolutionary Comics was among the top three selling independent comic companies in the United States until its end in 1994. Rock on.