The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys Launches in June 2013
Image via Dark Horse Comics
It’s been just over three years since Grammy-nominated frontman turned Eisner-winning comics writer Gerard Way has graced our comic book racks with his unique take on superheroes.
Well, finally Way has returned to Dark Horse and he’s bringing Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan with him to present a new sci-fi epic: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys!
My Chemical Romance’s album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys told a story of the Killjoys who fought against the tyrannical megacorporation Better Living Industries in the attempt to rescue a mysterious girl. They managed to save the girl but it cost the Killjoys their lives.
The comic picks up where the music videos ended. Today, the BLI has resurfaced, systematically stripping citizens of their individuality while the followers of the original Killjoys are feeling sad and sorry for themselves in the desert. Freedom is being crushed and no one is doing a thing about it.
The mysterious girl is the only one who will stand against BLI. Will she take them down or will she too become one of the mindless ranks of Bat City?
My Chemical Romance’s front-man Gerard Way spoke about the project:
The original idea for the comic informed the record. The record helped refine the idea, and then Becky had done a drawing of the Girl for the single The Only Hope for Me Is You and I saw it and thought, this is the comic. It’s basically the last video, it’s the last part of the Killjoys story, while at the same time being totally its own thing.
Cowriter Shaun Simon also had a bit to say:
I think we have created a broad range of characters here. A lonely teenage girl hiding from her past in the desert. A couple of android call girls wanting nothing more than to be together. An aging assassin with a secret that could destroy his life… Even though these characters are living in a bizarre sci-fi world, their struggles are the same we face in our own.
Series artist and comics superstar said Becky Cloonan discussed her enthusiasm for the project:
The world of the Killjoys is full of visual opposites—from sprawling deserts to urban junkyards—and a cast of characters to match. It’s been a challenge to encompass all of this in my art, but woven into the world building is a human spark that lights this story on fire and gives me so much to draw from.
An early look into The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys will be published as part of Free Comic Book Day 2013, followed pretty quickly with the first issue scheduled to hit stands around the world on June 6!
Way has proven himself as a writer and visionary with two volumes of Umbrella Academy, and I for one am looking forward to seeing what he has in store with The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.
