10 Rock Stars Who Are Also Comic Book Writers

Make no mistake about it: despite their intimidating looks and stage presence, some of the world’s biggest rock artists actually have a thing for comic books.

Yes, these musicians have achieved tremendous success in the industry but as it appears, music isn’t their only way of expressing their creativity. Check out this cool list of 10 rock stars who also write their own comic book stories!

1. Gerard Way

My Chemical Romance’ Gerard Way isn’t only a charismatic vocalist, he’s also done comic book writing and illustration.

Before he started singing for the band, he worked as a cartoonist intern for Cartoon Network and DC Comics.

He would eventually draw covers for Rex Mundi #15 and Neverboy #1. Under DC Comics, he co-created the character Mother Panic while he also introduced Peni Parker and her biomechanical robot SP//Dr in the pages of Marvel’s Edge of the Spider-Verse. The latter would eventually appear in the animated movie Into the Spider-Verse.

And of course, there’s the award-winning comic The Umbrella Academy which is now officially a hit Netflix series.

2. Corey Taylor

Slipknot and Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor is also another rocker who had a shot at penning comics. Dark Horse gave him the break and he beams with enthusiasm whenever he’s asked about his project.

He said in an interview:

“When I was writing the story, I made a conscious effort to make it very visual, very evocative – something that the audience could grasp between the music and the story itself, regardless of visuals.

“I loved seeing things and people who had been solely in my head come to life in colour on paper. Richard [Clark, artist] did such a great job of pulling my crude descriptions into amazing visuals – it was the sweetest part of this whole process.”

3. Ryan Key

Writing issue #4 for Marvel’s Edge of Venomverse series was a dream come true for the former Yellowcard frontman.

“I was beyond excited when I found out I was going to get to work with Venom for my first ever attempt at writing a comic.

“I don’t know if you can count the comics I wrote and drew during class as a kid. Spider-Man was a huge part of my childhood and Venom has always been, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite villains in the Marvel Universe.”

4. Rob Zombie

The former White Zombie vocalist is a self-declared comic geek straight from his childhood days.

He reflected:

“I started collecting comics in the early 70’s. I remember the first book I ever bought was a Fantastic Four. Growing up, my comic tastes were pretty limited to either Marvel or DC. It seemed like there were only about ten titles, so it wasn’t hard to collect everything.”

Among the titles he wrote include Rob Zombie’s Spookshow International, The Nail, Bigfoot, Whatever Happened To Baron Von Shock?, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.

5. Tom Morello

Best known for his distinct sonic noises as the guitarist for Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage, Morello dove into comic book writing by collaborating with artist Scott Hepburn in 2011 for a 12-issue comic series published by Dark Horse.

As any fan would expect, the book has a strong political message. In a Rolling Stone interview, he shared:

“My goal for Orchid was that it would combine the epic story arc of stories like Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Stephen King’s The Stand or Tomb, but inject it with class-consciousness.

“That’s something I’ve always thought was missing from those stories, where it’s always, ‘Let’s get the king back on the throne,’ ‘Let’s get the princess back in the castle,’ you know? And all these poor serfs and peasants are getting mowed down on the battlefield to try to get that king back where he belongs. That element always sort of rang hollow with me, and that has been corrected in the story of Orchid.”

6. Gene Simmons

Perhaps no other rock group is as closely associated with comics as Kiss. They’ve had numerous cameos in different titles (such as in Howard the Duck in 1977) and even had their own series under Dark Horse.

Long-tongued bass player Gene Simmons would later release his own comic Gene Simmons’ House Of Horrors under IDW Publishing and Simmons Comic Group.

Simmons shared:

“I loved the anthology horror and sci-fi canvas and wanted to re-introduce the format into comic books.

“The fact that I’m powerful and attractive will only add to the stunning effect of the stories.”

7. Tom Delonge

With the help of co-writer Ben Kull and comic artist-slash-animator Djet, Tom Delonge of Angels & Airwaves (also formerly of Blink 182) managed to release Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker, which would later become a short animated film also co-directed by Delonge.

8. Courtney Love

Teaming up with co-writer Stuart Levy along with illustrators Ai Yazawa and Misaho Kujiradou, Hole’s Courtney Love wrote a TokyoPop manga that’s loosely based on her own life.

Love said:

“I have always loved the Japanese culture and the people. Princess Ai is a great character because she feels like my alter-ego, but in a fantasy setting.”

9. Scott Ian

Meanwhile, Anthrax’ Scott Ian has written a 2-part story for DC Comics aptly entitled Lobo: Highway To Hell.

“I understand Lobo’s attitude very well, having been in a metal band almost my whole life. And I thought that writing it was going to be hard, but it felt more natural writing Lobo’s dialogue than lyrics.”

10. Claudio Sanchez

According to Claudio Sanchez, his lifelong relationship with comics began because of superhero shirts he and his brother used to wear when they were kids.

Said the hairy Coheed & Cambria frontman:

“I think my comic-book origins story started with kiddie clothes. I remember a picture of my brother and I when we were toddlers, I think I was wearing an Incredible Hulk shirt and he was wearing a Superman shirt. I think my dad had an interest in it and they bought a shirt and put it on us, so that’s kind of the beginning.”

In 2000,he wrote his own comics with The Bag.On.Line Adventures. Fast forward to the present, Sanchez is now the owner of Evil Ink Comics and he has already released multiple titles The Amory Wars, Key Of Z, Translucid and Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, and Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, among others.