DELMAR-Local metal band, The Clay People, have received an honor that only a few other musicians belong to as they are immortalized in a comic book.
Other musicians who have joined the honor include Alice Cooper, KISS and Rob Zombie. The band’s song, “Colossus,” became the muse of the EP1T0ME and Top Cow Production collaboration titled “The Clay People: Colossus.” This wasn’t the first collaboration for the two companies, but the process surrounding Colossus was probably one of the easier ones.
“Normally something like this would be a huge pain in the ass because of approvals and licensing but these guys were so easy to work with that I’ve already agreed to do two sequels,” Matt Hawkins, president and COO of Top Cow Productions said.
EP1T0ME’s Founder and Executive Producer Richard Leibowitz originally wanted to use the song as the backing track for a video game trailer; however, that deal fell through. Leibowitz couldn’t shake the song and made Hawkins watch the music video. Leibowitz had an idea to turn songs into comics, games and possibly film or television which Hawkins was completely behind and already wanted to write the comic.
Four years ago, EP1T0ME and The Clay People made a deal to use the song in multiple media with comics being first. The comic follows a biracial boy in the Midwest using a supernatural gift from his grandfather to fight back against bullies. The story also features themes of intolerance, drug addiction, and boredom only feuling the story of revenge for the main character.
“Their dark lyrics spoke to me,” Hawkins said. “I’ve had some issues with addiction and I felt something when I read the lyrics.”
Dan Neet, the band’s frontman, told Top Cow Productions that the comic interpretation wasn’t what he had in mind when writing the song, but was in full support of. Throughout the creative process the band also collaborated with the two companies. Neet also surprised Top Cow Productions with his developed knowledge of comics as the storyline or art direction was still being figured out.
“As a result, a lot of business people participate in the game-making process; that wasn’t the case with the comic,” Liebowitz said. “I suppose with the band when it struck gold with Colossus.”
The comic is now available on thetopcowstore.com for $4.99. Christian Dibari provided the art for the story. Simon Gough and Troy Peteri were the colorist and letter artist, respectively.
