Z2 Revives Johnny Cash’s Forgotten 1976 Comic Book

Long before musicians routinely turned their lives into graphic novels, Johnny Cash was already telling his story in comic book form. Now, a largely forgotten artifact from the Man in Black’s career is getting a second life.

Z2 Comics, in partnership with the Estate of Johnny Cash, will reissue Hello, I’m Johnny Cash, a little-known comic book originally created and self-funded by Cash in 1976. The 50th anniversary edition arrives in comic shops Sept. 23, timed to Local Comic Shop Day, and will faithfully reproduce the original while adding new material and two newly commissioned covers.

Cash’s involvement went considerably deeper than lending his name to a licensed product. He wrote the comic with Billy Zeoli, financed its production and used the medium as a way to communicate directly with young audiences. The original Spire Christian Comics edition featured artwork and a cover by Al Hartley, the legendary Archie Comics artist.

“It was fairly unusual for musicians to have licensed comic books back in the late ‘70s,” says Cash’s son John Carter Cash. “Having it reissued 50 years later and coming out on Local Comic Store Day is pretty cool. Having people celebrate something as unique as this comic and the continued interest in my father says as much about the fans as it does about him.”

The comic also predates what has since become one of the better-known intersections of rock and comics. Cash’s project appeared a year before Gene Simmons and KISS’s much-publicized 1977 Marvel Comics promotion involving Simmons’ blood. But Hello, I’m Johnny Cash was something different: an autobiographical work conceived as a genuine creative project to explore his spiritual beliefs and social concerns.

Z2 president Josh Bernstein calls it “one of the earliest comics conceived from the creative vision of a major recording artist. Decades before music and graphic storytelling became a thriving medium, Cash recognized the power of sequential imagery to tell his powerful story.”

The new edition expands that history with a new interview and recollections from John Carter Cash, along with a historical examination of how the original comic came together by comics writer and journalist Alex Segura. Chip Kidd and Tim Bradstreet have contributed fresh cover variants.

As previously reported, Z2 has also teamed with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready for the graphic novel Farewell to Seasons, which will be out Oct. 6.