The cultural connection between comics and music runs deep, from Kiss and their infamous 1977 stunt in which the band teamed up with Marvel to release a zine infused with each member’s actual blood, to My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, who worked at a comic book store and interned at DC Comics before he became a rock star (and later wrote the award-winningThe Umbrella Academy).
More recently, Tom Morello, Puscifer, and even the world’s greatest rock ‘n roll band, the Rolling Stones, have recognized the reciprocal relationship that fans have with both mediums. Earlier this month, the Stones released a limited edition of their latest album, Foreign Tongues, as a nostalgic Marvel collab package with inserts featuring Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Thor and Hulk.
Comics have inspired the biggest musicians in the world to create, to embody colorful characters, and to conquer worlds both real and imagined. So it was only a matter of time until someone with a passion for both sought to harness their undeniable superpowers into a fan-focused business model.
New York based Z2—which will have a huge presence at Comic-Con International in San Diego this week—has built an empire by creating partnerships with the biggest names in music, releasing graphic novels and collectibles with top-tier artists and pop-culture icons. Distributed globally via Simon & Schuster, their impressive roster reps every genre and era including Gorillaz, Blondie, Elvis Presley, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Primus, the Blues Brothers, Tori Amos, Type O Negative, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, the Grateful Dead, Machine Gun Kelly, Sublime, RZA, Mötley Crüe, the Doors, Kool Keith, Cypress Hill, Babymetal, Major Lazer, Sturgill Simpson, Poppy, and Yungblud.
“The first incarnation of Z2 was an independent comic publisher doing original content and stories,” explains co-founder and president Josh Bernstein by Zoom from his homebase in New York. “Around 2016 to 2017 we had a great blues-based project and there was a suggestion for a soundtrack to go with it, which would include music by Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys.”
The graphic novel, called Murder Ballads, was a noir-style tale about a record label owner who crosses paths with two blues musicians. The soundtrack featured a vinyl release as a companion, led by an undiscovered elder soul man Auerbach discovered named Robert Finley. Bernstein says it was “a lightbulb moment” and a new direction for the company.
“It was like, wait, this is what we’ve always wanted to do,” recalls Bernstein, who interned at Marvel Comics when he was 16 before going on to work in the music world, doing art direction for magazines including Guitar World, Revolver, Alternative Press, and Loudwire. “I had a lot of relationships with music artists already. That’s sort of the secret sauce here. I knew a lot of the musicians, so we were able to bring them over here. We already worked together and had built a trust.”
His work in music also included producing Revolver’s Golden God Awards and later, co-hosting the AXS interview show The Power Hour with Matt Pinfield and Caity Babs.
Bernstein cites certain titles as pivotal to Z2’s rapid growth—legendary groups known for their visual elements, including the Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead Origins), Gorillaz (The Gorillaz Almanac), which both came out in 2020, and Anthrax (Among the Living), which was released July 6, 2021.
Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante played a huge role in the latter. “I’ve known Josh for quite a while,” the drummer shares. “He’s a New Yorker. I’m a New Yorker. So we just kind of bonded over pizza, but then he knew I was a comic book nerd from when I was younger, and one of the first things that they did was the Anthrax book. All of a sudden all these other bands wanted to get involved with them.”
Benante, who currently plays with the reformed Pantera, says he always wanted to do a comic book about Anthrax, so the first Z2 project, which celebrates each song from their hit albumAmong the Living with different artists and writers (including famous fans like Rob Zombie, MCR’s Way and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor) was a great fit. “It was really cool the way the two things combined,” he says. “I remember when we were doing it and we said, ‘Here’s the list of artists we want and here’s the list of writers we want’… Josh and company went out and got everybody that we wanted on the list. It was incredible.”
Benante will be appearing at Comic-Con this week along with his wife Carla Harvey, also a comics obsessive and singer with acts like Lords of Acid and the Violent Hour. The couple say their relationship bloomed over their love of comic art.
She’s also contributed writing to a couple of Z2’s hottest current titles including graphic novelsPantera: Vulgar Display of Powerin 2022 and Type O Negative: Bloody Kissesin 2025,both 30th-anniversary releases translating each album’s individual tracks into dynamic packages. “I’ve been writing comics my whole life,” Harvey says. “I’ve put a few out myself and I never would have dreamed I could put two of my passions together when I was a teenager.”
The last six years have seen Z2’s growth skyrocket, making the company a post-COVID success story. “Every band we were working with lost their day jobs and couldn’t tour,” Bernstein remembers of the virus’ effect on the music industry. “So we just started deputizing bands on how to write books during the pandemic. And by the time it ended, we had over 50 titles ready to go, and all the books. Then these releases went out on the road with the bands when they started touring again.”
Z2 has more than 100 different artist collaborations in its catalog today. While not every book has a listening component, Bernstein is especially proud of what he calls “graphic albums”—squarebound comics with music. “People think comics are disposable, but we made a slipcase, and then the book lives in there,” he explains, showing off the Joan Jett “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” package featuring artist Tara McPherson’s work, on Zoom.
“We gravitate to any band that is completely in control of their design sense and their logo, and who knows who they are,” Bernstein says when asked what he looks for in partnerships. He also emphasizes avid fandom as a factor in terms of business decisions and marketing. For collectors, Z2’s releases are must-haves whether you’re looking for autobiographical reads, fictional stories inspired by your favorite band, or oral histories, which feature the band’s wildest memories animated on the page.
Anthrax’s follow-up book,announced last week, will take the latter approach. The Illustrated Oral History Of Anthrax, a new graphic album release coming in 2027, will offer personal stories from Benante, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna, and Jon Donais, from their early days “stalking” Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley to their raucous times hanging out and playing with the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.
“It’s experiences on the road, touring, hotels… we’d just start talking and then I’d bounce it off Scott, and then he would come up with a part of the story that I didn’t remember and that’s how this came about,” Benante explains of the process.
Benante and Harvey will be joined by some other big names this week in San Diego, which sees Z2 teaming up with TalkShopLive—the interactive live-streaming and social selling platform—to promote new products. Marc Maron (promoting a graphic novel about his WTFPodcast, which ended late last year), actor David Dastmalchian, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills, and many others will be in the company’s booth for signings and on various panels.
Z2 is also co-hosting one of the hottest parties at the event this year headlined by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s cover band the Coverups, co-presented by Xbox’s Halo: Campaign Evolved at Float at the SD Hard Rock Hotel.
And while SDCC’s big production parties and blockbuster movie activations have come to overshadow the DIY origins that brought cosplayers and comics artists together to begin with, Harvey points out that Z2’s music-minded ethos harkens back to the nostalgia and creative heart of the culture.
“It’s all larger than life,” she says. “I feel like as musicians, we kind of gravitate towards these things, especially when you’re young, before you’ve made it, you escape into these fantasy worlds where these characters are your friends. What Z2 does is really cool because it feels like old school Comic-Con. It’s grown so much, and it’s very movie-based. But back in the day, you would go to meet the artists that drew your favorite comic book, and at this booth, it’s music artists too.”
“We’ve really upped our game and gotten aggressive there,” adds Bernstein. “This is our Super Bowl.” Beyond Comic-Con, Z2 is sold at stores such as Target and Barnes and Noble, personal element that fans appreciate
“So many great people in music right now also grew up reading comics and they understand the medium,” Bernstein says. “We want to be this bespoke publishing house where they feel comfortable and find a home. And you know, every day a bookstore closes, a merch booth opens in a venue, so we always have a place to sell our books.”
More info athttps://z2comics.com/
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