Tag Archives: music

Radiant Black Gets an Original Orchestra Track from Walking Dead Co-Composer Sam Ewing

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This week’s Radiant Black #3 by Kyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa will treat fans to a creative departure for the series and focus on main character Nathan’s writing process. As a special treat for Radiant Black fans, Sam Ewing (co-composer on The Walking Dead) composed and recorded a live orchestra track to tie-in with the recent issue’s story—one of the six planned to accompany each issue of the first story arc in the series.

Image Comics is pleased to reveal a video clip of the recording session for the piece, which is performed by a 59 piece orchestra (The Budapest Scoring Orchestra) and designed as “an exploration of a theme,” just like the issue is designed to capture the creative process. Fans can listen to the full track.

Ewing is the co-composer of the recent seasons of The Walking Dead, and has composed music for TV shows, movies and games prominently in the thriller, sci-fi and drama genres, including the Emmy winning music for series Da Vinci’s Demons and the BAFTA winning score for video game God of War.

Ewing is known for his talents composing orchestra tracks augmented with solo textures and instruments that he performs, particularly strings, woodwinds, and analog synths.

Radiant Black #3 will be available at comic book shops this week, Wednesday, April 21:

  • Cover A by Costa – FEB210200      
  • Cover B by Becca Carey – FEB210201      
  • Cover C 1:25 copy incentive by Goni Montes – FEB210202      
Radiant Black #3

Z2 and Teddy Swims Team for Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song

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Z2 Comics has announced their newest collaboration, this time with singer-songwriter Teddy Swims. The book portrays an imaginative adventure through the lens of a teddy bear, a format that will appeal to all ages!

Teddy Swims: Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song follows the adorable anthropomorphic Teddy Bear version of Teddy and the elephantine versions of his bandmates. Get ready to meet the Bear behind the band! In this all-ages graphic novel collaboration between Teddy Swims and Z2 Comics, Swimmy the Bear and his fun-loving friends get an opportunity to take their act from small-time to worldwide, but is a laidback bunch of critters ready for the pressure that comes with big agents, big deals, and big dreams? Swimmy the Bear and his fun-loving friends get an opportunity to take their act from small-time to worldwide, but is a laidback bunch of critters ready for the pressure that comes with big agents, big deals, and big dreams?

Teddy Swims: Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song has been brought from the mind of the artist himself to the printed page by writer Grace Thomas, Illustrator Fred Stresing, and editors Camilla Zhang and Ryan Cady, with an exclusive limited deluxe version to include prints by artists Ian McGinty, Michael Lee Harris, and Sarah Stern. This inspiring and charming new story for music fans of all ages arrives in finer comic shops and bookstores everywhere this fall, with all editions, including the exclusive deluxe hardcover available to preorder directly from Z2 now!

Teddy Swims: Swimmy and the Valley of the Last Song

Z2 and Jimmy Eat World Teams for an Oversized Comic

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Z2 Comics spring fever continues with news that Jimmy Eat World has joined their roster of beloved bands expanding their mythos into comics and graphic novels with the announcement of Jimmy Eat World: 555, a brand-new oversized issue, available to order now!

Random Shock Studios, the team behind other successful Z2 releases teams up with Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins for an original slab of science fiction inspired by the music of the platinum-selling artists behind such massive hits as “The Middle,” and “Pain.”

Klaarg took the job at the edge of known space to be as far away from the Asano Pact – from people – as possible. As the overseer of a factory that produces Kudj Kram, the cloned slave labor that keeps the corrupt system he represents running, his days are exactly as he wants them: empty and without incident. However, when his factory is targeted for closure, Klaarg discovers that he is as expendable to his superiors as the creatures in his charge. 

Jimmy Eat World: 555 is released today exclusively on Z2’s webstore in three versions, a 60 page oversized softcover comic, a hardcover, and only 100 hand signed hardcovers. The comic is co-written by Adkins and Random Shock Studios and features art by Koren Shadmi. Order your copy direct from Z2 today!

Jimmy Eat World: 555

Composer Stories: The Evolution of Music in Video Games at WonderCon 2021

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WonderCon 2021 Composers

BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) and White Bear PR present the “Composer Stories: The Evolution of Music in Video Games” panel during this year’s special edition of WonderCon @ Home. The virtual discussion will feature composers Christopher Tin, Ilan Eshkeri, Nami Melumad, Inon Zur (courtesy of Top Dollar PR) and Bobby Tahouri, whose award-winning music is behind some of the most popular video games today, including Civilization IV, VI, Ghost of Tsushima, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, Fallout and Marvel’s Avengers. The panel will be moderated by BMI’s VP, Creative, Film, TV & Visual Media Natalie Baartz and White Bear PR’s Chandler Poling.

The “Composer Stories: The Evolution of Music in Video Games” panelists will give viewers insight into scoring award-winning gaming soundtracks and the challenges that come with recording live instruments for video games. The panelists will also discuss how music in video gaming has come a long way from the days of 8-bit MIDI to full sweeping orchestral scores and will elaborate on the music creating process and the  differences between scoring for film/TV and video games. 

The panel takes place Friday, March 26, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
Ilan Eshkeri (@IlanEshkeri)

Ilan Eshkeri is an award-winning composer, artist, songwriter and producer. Amongst his extensive catalogue of film and television works are multiple Oscar® and BAFTA winning films such as Still Alice, Stardust and Shaun The Sheep. Eshkeri’s video game works include music for The Sims and Ghost of Tsushima. He has been nominated for an Ivor Novello for The Young Victoria, as well as a BAFTA for The Snowman & The Snowdog.

Nami Melumad (@NamiComposer)

Nami Melumad is an Israeli-Dutch film and video game composer, known for her work on the video game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, HBO Max’s An American Pickle and the Amazon thriller-drama series Absentia. She also scored the Oscar® nominated documentary short, Colette, and landed an upcoming Star Trek series, making her the first female composer for the franchise. Melumad won the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) for Best Original Score for a Video Game for Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond in 2020, earned a Jerry Goldsmith Award Nomination for her work on Over the Wall in 2019, and won the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Passage in 2018.

Bobby Tahouri (@BobbyTahouri)

Bobby Tahouri is known for his bold and dramatic scores ranging across a variety of genres and multimedia. His video game soundtracks include the superheroic score to 2020’s Marvel’s Avengers and the critically-acclaimed Rise of the Tomb Raider, as well as contributing additional music for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Shrek the Third. Tahouri has also scored Nickelodeon’s highly rated animated series Shimmer and Shine, composed the main title theme for the Biography Channel/LMN show The Haunting Of and Netflix’s Girlfriend’s Day, as well as award-winning documentaries Best Worst Movie and The American Scream.

Christopher Tin (@ChristopherTinMusic)

Christopher Tin is a two-time GRAMMY-winning composer of concert and media music. His song “Baba Yetu”, originally written for the video game Civilization IV, is the first piece of music written for a video game ever to win a GRAMMY Award. His debut album, the multi-lingual song cycle Calling All Dawns, won him a second GRAMMY in 2011 for Best Classical Crossover Album, and his follow-up release The Drop That Contained the Sea debuted at number one on Billboard‘s classical charts, and premiered to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. His third album To Shiver the Sky also debuted at number one on Billboard’s Classical Crossover Albums chart.

Inon Zur (@InonZurOfficial)

Inon Zur is an Emmy award-winner and three-time BAFTA nominated composer, internationally renowned for his original music scores for film, television and video game franchises including Fallout, Dragon Age, Prince of Persia, Syberia and The Elder Scrolls. Zur’s award-winning scores have generated numerous best-selling soundtracks, including his original scores for the video games Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, which earned him two BAFTA nominations for “Best Original Music” as well as nods from The Game Awards and Spike TV.

Mondo Reveals the SHAZAM! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2XLP

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As part of is Music Monday, Mondo, in partnership with WaterTower Music, presents the premiere vinyl pressing of Benjamin Wallfisch‘s triumphant score for the 2019 superhero comedy SHAZAM!

Ben Wallfisch is one of the most incredible composers working today. He is a master of genre, but also impossible to pin down. His work on Blade Runner 2049 is a masterclass in modern sci-fi. He redefined the sound of terror with his scores for IT Chapters 1 & 2 and last year’s Invisible Man. To round the trifecta, though, he also has a playful side, which is no more present than in his ode to Williams and Goldsmith in SHAZAM! Just like the film, it is an immediate burst of energy, excitement, and full of 80’s filmmaking sincerity.

Pressed on 2x 180 colored vinyl (Disc 1 Shazam Red with yellow splatter, Disc 2 Smokey 8-Ball) and featuring all-new original artwork by Cathy Kwan.

All new releases go on sale on Wednesdays at Noon Central.

Jim Lives Hits Stores Ahead of the 50th Anniversary of Morrison’s Death

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Paolo Baron and Ernesto Carbonetti re-team for an all new original graphic novel—Jim Lives: The Mystery of the Lead Singer of The Doors and the 27 Club—a speculative fiction thriller that riffs off the conspiracy theory that Jim Morrison never died. This is the second standalone graphic novel in the trilogy, following last year’s release Paul Is Dead, and will be out from Image Comics in June 2021.

Amid the intense colors of a foreign land, Jim Lives is the story of a man searching for his son—a correspondent for a popular American newspaper—who vanished into thin air after sending one last, enigmatic message: “Jim Morrison isn’t dead. He’s hiding out in Italy. I saw him with my own eyes.”

A fascinating new vision of the most mysterious legend in the history of rock that envisions what happened “When the Music’s Over.”

Jim Lives original graphic novel (ISBN: 978-1-5343-1963-9) will be available on Wednesday, June 16 and in bookstores on Tuesday, June 22.

Jim Lives

Heavy Metal Entertainment, Incendium, and Evanescence Debut ‘Echoes From The Void’

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Evanescence, Incendium, and Heavy Metal Entertainment announce the launch of Echoes from the Void, an Evanescence Graphic Anthology Series, under Incendium’s all-new music-focused OPUS imprint.

Echoes from the Void is a fantasy Graphic Anthology Series, comprised of 48-page deluxe comic books, each featuring two or more story adaptations from the Evanescence catalogue. Beginning with story themes based on songs from their upcoming March 26th release The Bitter Truth (BMG), and culminating in revisiting iconic material from throughout the band’s career, the project is comprised of a series of short stories created by an all-star cast of graphic artists, animators, illustrators, fine artists, screenwriters, novelists, and more.

Combining bandleader Amy Lee’s love of visual arts, fantasy-inspired graphics, and graphic novels with the narrative power of Evanescence’s music, the series is being developed in close collaboration with Amy as she oversees the creative direction of the art and stories. Echoes from the Void begins as a 5-issue series, with each issue containing stories based on two or more of Evanescence’s songs, presented in a variety of visual styles and mediums. Issue #1, available in limited-edition, includes two stories inspired by the songs “Better Without You” and “Wasted On You,” from the forthcoming Evanescence album, The Bitter Truth, with tales written by Carrie Lee South and Blake Northcott. The issue will feature illustrations from Hugo Award-winning artist Abigail Larson and highly-esteemed painter Kelly McKernan.

The first print edition of each issue will be released as a prestige format limited-edition collectible comic book, with cardstock covers, specialty foil treatments, glossy pages, and individual numbering. Each first printing will be limited to 3,000 copies priced at $18.95, and available to order. The first issue is available to order now and ships in June 2021.

The art of Echoes from the Void will also be made available to purchase through a series of archival fine art prints, the first of which is illustrated by Kelly McKernan. Incorporating symbols and themes from across the band’s discography into an intricate traditionally painted work that also debuts a mysterious original character, the print features a blue tint glow in the dark base with a luminous pink UV active overlay, as part of an individually numbered 500-piece collection. Kelly’s print is available now.

Cypress Hill Gets Insane in the Membrane with Z2 Comics

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Cypress Hill: Tres Equis

Multi-platinum hip-hop group, Cypress Hill, announces a partnership with Z2 Comics to relive their classic self-titled debut with this original graphic novel! Extending the relationship between Los Angeles street culture, hip hop, and art, Cypress Hill: Tres Equis is available to preorder now!

1991: XXX years ago, a trailblazing trio made music history blending East Coast hip-hop fundamentals with West Coast chicano swagger to form a sound all their own. Before they became icons, Louis and Senen were just a couple teenage cholos from around the way, trying to stay out of trouble–Until a series of chance encounters with both sides of the law changed their path forever. Guest-starring Officer O’Malley, Sister Maggie, and many more!

Cypress Hill: Tres Equis is written by Noah Callahan-Bever and Gabriel Alvarez and illustrated by Felix Ruiz, Jefte Palo, Juan Gedeon, Damion Scott, Angel Hernandez, and Paris Alleyne.

The landmark graphic novel event will be available in three formats: a standard 160 page softcover, a deluxe hardcover edition, and a strictly limited super deluxe edition. All are available to preorder now, in both English and Spanish language editions with the deluxe and super deluxe editions packaged an exclusive LP edition of their self-titled debut on green vinyl with all-new cover art by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, special edition art prints by Ortiz, Scott and Gedeon; and much more! The standard edition will be released in finer comic shops and bookstores everywhere in August, with deluxe and super deluxe editions ONLY available directly from Z2! Reserve yours today!

Cradle of Filth Goes Heavy Metal with a New Comic Anthology Series

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Incendium and Heavy Metal Entertainment have announced the launch of Maledictus Athenaeum, a Cradle of Filth comic book anthology series, under the all-new music-focused OPUS imprint.

In the ruined halls of the Maledictus Athenaeum lie occult histories, sealed records, and cursed artifacts – this unholy archive explores the far corners of Cradle of Filth’s musical legacy, a vast universe of Ageless Vampires, Mythical Creatures and Vengeful Gods. The Countess, The Huntress, Lilith, The Manticore, and many more, will be revisited in stories from an all-star roster of comics talent from the pages of Heavy Metal Magazine and beyond.

Maledictus Athenaeum begins as a 5-issue series. The first print edition of each issue will be released as a prestige format limited edition collectible comic book, featuring cardstock covers, specialty foil treatments, glossy pages, and individual numbering. Each first printing will be limited to 2500 copies at $16.66, and available to order. The first issue is available to order now and ships in May 2021.

The cursed tales of Maledictus Athenaeum will extend beyond the printed page into toys and collectibles. Dani Filth and the iconic Succubus of Cradle of Filth’s 2001 album Bitter Suites to Succubi make up Wave 1 of the Cradle of Filth action figure range, also available to pre-order for $29.95, shipping June 2021.

Z2 Comics and All Time Low Team for Young Renegades

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Young Renegades

Z2 Comics continues to roll out news of the best in music-related comics and graphic novels for the coming year with news that platinum-selling Fueled By Ramen band All Time Low will be collaborating on a brand new storyline inspired by their 2017 album, Last Young Renegade, which took home Rock Sound’s ‘Album of the Year’ award upon release!

To celebrate their comics debut, the band will release a vinyl edition of their 2017 album in a brand-new colorway available ONLY with the deluxe graphic novel package, exclusively through the Z2 website, and available for preorder now!

Who needs a high school reunion when your favorite band is playing a secret show the same night? That’s what Connor and Becca, two classmates who never crossed paths until their ten-year reunion, decide when they hear about a secret All Time Low show in town. As they follow the clues to the secret location, they begin to realize that larger forces are pushing them together and learn the power of hearing the right song in the right place at the right time

The All Time Low Presents: Young Renegades graphic novel pairs writer Tres Dean with Heartthrob co-creator Robert Wilson IV, and artist Megan Huang and will be released in a standard softcover edition in comic shops and bookstores alike in June 2021, as well a special deluxe edition available for preorder now only through the Z2 website, which will include a special exclusive new vinyl edition of the band’s 2017 album Last Young Renegade in a strictly limited edition! 

Young Renegades Deluxe
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