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Alice Cooper #1. Cover art by David Mack.
Joe Harris is the popular writer of such comics as The X-Files: season 10, great Pacific, Vampirella vs. Dracula, Ghost Projekt, and lots of more. Now, he’s writing a comic featuring a rock icon in Dynamite’s Alice Cooper. Westfield’s Roger Ash contacted Harris to learn a lot more about this upcoming book.
Alice Cooper #1 preview page 1. Art by Eman Casallos.
Westfield: What attracted you to the Alice Cooper comic?
Joe Harris: I’m a rock n’ roll guy. It’s one of my passions, and there aren’t enough music comics today, or historically. Speaking, specifically, to Alice Cooper… he’s one of the enduring personas in rock with a killer visual hook and fantastic mythos and cast of characters to draw from.
Alice Cooper #1 preview page 2. Art by Eman Casallos.
Westfield: What challenges are there in bringing a musician to a comic?
Harris: Well, you can’t hear the music for one. and that’s a big one. even writing this series, where there are scenes on stage, it’s a struggle to convey what’s happening musically at all. So you need to focus on other things, and not linger on the band as it goes through its paces. Fortunately, Alice Cooper supplies some rich stuff to dig into around the musical numbers.
Alice Cooper #1 preview page 3. Art by Eman Casallos.
Westfield: What can you tells us about the story and who are some of the characters we’ll be meeting?
Harris: It follows Alice Cooper in both the form we’re a lot of familiar with, that of a rock n’ roll icon, with one we’ve never seen before — namely, as “The Lord of All Nightmares” a supernatural role in which the same identity who thrilled kids and horrified parents over the decades is also, it turns out, in charge of managing our darkest dreams. Only, by the time we pick up with Alice in issue #1, it’s all fallen into disrepair and disarray while Alice has gone missing from his realm. Our opening story arc follows Alice as he escapes one form of imprisonment, at the hands of these unscrupulous demon excursion managers called “Clan Black” only to find himself stuck in a new one, helping a young kid deal with bully tormentors. Somehow, he’s going to have to reestablish control over his realm, and his rock n’ roll career, while not making a lot more of a mess than the one he’s stepped into.
Oh, and Alice’s famous, original python, Kachina, is a famous member of his supporting cast.
Plus, there will be kid bands… and not in a good way, if there ever is a good way.
Alice Cooper #1 preview page 4. Art by Eman Casallos.
Westfield: You’re working with artist Eman Casallos on the book. What can you tell us about your collaboration?
Harris: Eman is doing a great job! The book looks great, and maintains this great balance of dark and fun.
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Alice Cooper #1