Z2 Comics, who recently worked with bands such as Poppy, Skillet, and Yungblud to produce original graphic novels, are doing it again, this time with the Dance Gavin Dance.
Where most bands erroneously claim wholly distinct identities, Dance Gavin Dance, the Sacramento based outfit, truly defies categorization. The group possess the kind of artistic compass shared with broadminded but heavy metal & hardcore-punk rooted iconoclasts like The Mars Volta and Coheed & Cambria but use it to diverge wildly, charting a new course that incorporates the melodic screamo of Thursday or Taking Back Sunday, with a taste of the earnest pop melancholy of Death Cab For Cutie.
The current & most definitive incarnation of Dance Gavin Dance is responsible for half of the band’s albums, including their most recent effort, Artificial Selection. The band is made up of Tilian Pearson, who possesses the R&B infused highs of the sweet voice; the unhinged guttural growls & chaotic screams of cofounder Jon Mess; the dizzyingly unpredictable arpeggio-led guitar crunch of cofounder Will Swan; the soulful poly-rhythmic backbone of longtime bassist Tim Feerick; & the mind-blowingly powerful, nuanced foundation laid by drummer and cofounder Matt Mingus.
As the group prepares to kick off their next tour and release their brand-new album Afterburner on April 24, Z2 Comics has announced the new original graphic novel from the band.
Robot’s Tale: A Dance Gavin Dance Graphic Novel, which brings together the comic book wit of writer Eliot Rahal and artist Ian McGinty, who utilize the band’s animal imagery to tell a story with heady themes of existence, as experienced through the perceptions of its anthropomorphic antagonist, upon the discovery that the universe is merely a simulation in which all living things are trapped.
Z2’s Josh Frankel described working with the band in a press release:
“Dance Gavin Dance is perfect for the world of comics. Their album art is every bit as interesting and inspired as their music, so visual storytelling suits them perfectly, and is guaranteed to be as rewarding to graphic novel readers as to the band’s fans. Eliot and Ian are the perfect team to bring this story to the page, and I can honestly say this is one of the most bats#@t crazy fun books we have published yet!”
Robot’s Tale: A Dance Gavin Dance Graphic Novel will include 30 pages by Poppy: Genesis 1 artist Masa Minoura and clock in at just over 100 pages.
The OGN will be released in a standard edition ($19.99) in comic shops and bookstores alike in May, as well as a limited deluxe edition ($99.99) directly through the Z2 website.
The deluxe edition features an exclusive cover by album artist Matthias Adolfsson, paired with an exclusive colored vinyl edition of the band’s upcoming album, Afterburner, both strictly limited to 1,000 copies only and unavailable anywhere else!
The standard edition rocks into comic shops and bookstores alike in May with a $19.99 price point
The limited deluxe edition will sell directly through the Z2 website for $99.99.