Warning: contains a preview for Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance!
Screen Rant is excited to exclusively announce and reveal a sneak peek for Judas Priest's upcoming graphic novel, Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance. The band is partnering with Z2 Comics to release an original graphic novel inspired by their best-selling album of all-time, which celebrates its fortieth anniversary next year. This is the band's first project of this type, but the Metal Gods won't disappoint their fans.
Judas Priest formed in 1969 and is still active. They have yet to release their nineteenth studio album, but while fans await it, they can check out this new graphic novel. Screaming for Vengeance was first released in 1982 and it was the band's North American breakthrough album. It transcended the "new wave of British heavy metal" and ranked third on Rolling Stone's 2017 list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time." It has been certified double platinum and featured the hit song, "You've Got Another Thing Comin.'"
Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance - the graphic novel - will release in 2022. It has the creative team of Rantz Hoseley, Neil Kleid, and Christopher Mitten. Hoseley has written Comic Book Tattoo and The Heroin Diaries - which was based on the memoir written by Mötley Crüe's Nikki Six. Klied wrote Savor and Mitten has illustrated Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Check out the exclusive preview and synopsis here:
500 years from now, a ring of cities orbit high above the surface of a dead world, controlled by a ruling elite that maintains power through manipulation and brutality. When a naive engineer inadvertently threatens the status quo with his vital scientific discovery...A BLOODSTONE... he is betrayed by those he trusted and cast out to the broken planet below. In the wreckage and desolation of a broken world where every day is a battle for survival, he must choose between accepting his new life in exile...or SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE.
The preview for the graphic novel above showcases the science fiction city mentioned in the synopsis. It also includes a glimpse at "The Hellion" present on the hit album that inspired the story. This inclusion, paired with an extensive interview with the album's cover artist, Doug Johnson on its creation, is sure to peak the interest of fans, who likely never saw this coming.
Doug Johnson says,
At the time, art directors of record companies, they had everything coming through their system...and I always felt lucky if they handed it off to me. In other words, don't tell me what you're thinking, let me solve it. And I really enjoyed doing the cover. (The band) were just great guys...and I began to understand, like they understood their audience perfectly. They were professionals, but they had been working and touring for 10 years before Vengenace, so that was a big breakthrough for them. Business and art and ambition and determination to make their own mark... As I say, I've always enjoyed their company.
Hoseley, the writer of Judas Priest's graphic novel, says,
I cannot overstate what an inspiration Judas Priest has been to me, personally. I was already a fan of the band, when Screaming for Vengeance was released, but no one was ready for the impact it had. That incredible cover art? Those songs? That album became my daily soundtrack and creative fuel, to the point where I wore the cassette out in my car. To be able to contribute to a project inspired by these songs that mean so much to me? Well, that is an honor and a responsibility I take very seriously.
Z2 Comics has been pairing up with many musicians and creative minds to bring new stories to comics. Next year will also see the release of a horror comic anthology, The Last Comic Book on the Left. Z2 has additionally released graphic novels in collaboration with Blondie, Freddie Mercury, The Grateful Dead, and Anthrax. This is the latest in their collection for music lovers. In addition to being available in softcover and hardcover, this graphic novel will release with special limited deluxe and super deluxe version, which feature an exclusive anniversary vinyl LP, prints, and more (available via pre-order from Z2's website). Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance will be released in July 2022.