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Joe Harris' Rock of Ages

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by Vince Brusio

For those of the faithful, the rock n’ rollers who never say die, we get it when someone like Lemmy from Motorhead passes away. You play music for 40 years, you live the rock n’ roll life by day and night, it’s going to eventually take its toll. One day, at a gig, the legend lifts the bass over his head, hands it to the roadie who steps out from behind the curtain, and that’s it. The show’s over. The legend has played his last note. He knows it. And then the obituary comes shortly afterward. But what about those musicians who died before their time? Was it just death by misadventure, or was there some other force at work that we never saw in the fan magazines. In Joe Harris’ Rockstars #1 (OCT160555) from Image Comics, we learn that the wild ride of rock n’ roll may be more perilous than just chain-smoking and bottles of Jack Daniels. In this candid, sit-at-the-booth, and off-the-cuff interview, Joe Harris relays the backstory on what forces may have their foot on the pedal when it comes to driving certain rock stars into a bus, or off the main highway.

Rockstars #1 (OCT160555) is in comic shops December 14.

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Vince Brusio: So what can you tell us about this latest ongoing series of yours from Image Comics?

Joe Harris: It’s a new supernatural rock n’ roll thriller that we announced at Image Expo back in April. I’m pretty excited by it.

Vince Brusio: “Excited.” That’s such a loaded term! C’mon give us some meat. Who should we love? Who do we want to see get stuffed into a wood chipper? Talk to us, Joe.

Joe Harris: Well, I love this music. It’s very much centered on rock history, but set in the present day. It’s about a young guy named Jackie Mayer who has this strange ability to recognize the supernatural undercurrent that connects all of the urban legends and untold crazy stories in rock n’ roll history, both ones you know about, and the ones he’s going to uncover that fit in the chronology of rock n’ roll. So everything from “Paul Is Dead” to how Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon syncs up with The Wizard of Oz.

The story really centers on a rash of groupie murders that are connected to one of the biggest bands of the 70s called Blue Rider. They’re featured in the book. Our hero Jackie determines this pattern as to why these women are turning up dead back then, and the pattern begins happening again today. So he gets involved deep in what turns out be this supernatural conspiracy that’s been underneath rock n’ roll since the beginning.

Vince Brusio: So there’s this poltergeist-type energy that’s just sucking the life out of people. Right?

Joe Harris: No, it’s more like there are reasons why some of the crazy unexplained things we know about happen. You know, like, why didn’t Waylon Jennings get on the plane that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper?

Vince Brusio: Meaning, why did the karma turn out the way it did?

Joe Harris: Right! You know, all these crazy little anecdotal things. What really happened in that nutty Led Zeppelin story you heard when you were a kid. Within it all there are players and shakers that people are not aware of that pull the strings, and elevate or advance some talent over others, and here’s this vast history that no one knows about.

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Joe Harris at this year's Baltimore Comic Con.

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Vince Brusio writes about comics, and writes comics. He is the long-serving Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, the creator of PUSSYCATS, and encourages everyone to keep the faith...and keep reading comics.

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