Z2 Comics Showcases Music Partnership Model at Comic-Con With 100-Plus Artist Collaborations
New York-based Z2 Comics will appear at Comic-Con International in San Diego this week The publisher brings more than 100 musician collaborations to its booth, blending graphic…
Autumn Wingate
Published Jul 24, 2026 1:36 PM EDT
New York-based Z2 Comics will appear at Comic-Con International in San Diego this week The publisher brings more than 100 musician collaborations to its booth, blending graphic novels with collectibles. Acts include Gorillaz, Blondie, Elvis Presley, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, the Grateful Dead, Machine Gun Kelly, and Mötley Crüe
Z2 started as an independent comic publisher. The shift happened around 2016 to 2017. Co-founder and president Josh Bernstein worked on a blues-based project called Murder Ballads, which included a soundtrack with music by Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys.
“It was like, wait, this is what we’ve always wanted to do,” Bernstein said to Spin. “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.”
Bernstein interned at Marvel Comics when he was 16. Then he moved into the music world, doing art direction for Guitar World, Revolver, Alternative Press, and more.
Key titles that helped drive growth included Grateful Dead Origins and The Gorillaz Almanac in 2020, plus Anthrax’s Among the Living on July 6, 2021. The company expanded over the last six years as bands lost touring income during the pandemic.
“Every band we were working with lost their day jobs and couldn’t tour,” Bernstein said to Spin. “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.”
Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante will appear at Comic-Con this week. His wife Carla Harvey comes, too. She contributed writing to Pantera: Vulgar Display of Power in 2022 and Type O Negative: Bloody Kisses in 2025.
Z2 announced The Illustrated Oral History of Anthrax last week. That graphic album will come out in 2027 with stories from Charlie Benante, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna, and Jon Donais.
Marc Maron, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills will be at the booth for signings. Z2 is co-hosting a party headlined by Billie Joe Armstrong’s cover band the Coverups at Float at the SD Hard Rock Hotel.
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