Who knew Tom Morello wrote comic books? His debut comic series Orchid was unveiled at San Diego Comic Con last night, and it's an “epic fantasy story set in a dystopian future infused with Morello's class conscious worldview and the politics of street terrorism.”
Morello says “It's like Lord of the Rings meets Battle of Algiers…I wanted to craft a story that has the same visceral impact and political clout as the music I've been involved in.”
And here are even more comparisons: Orchis is a 16-year-old street walker who is part Suicide Girl, part Joan of Arc.
Shepard Fairey did the cover on the left, and interior art was done by Scott
Hepburn (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic). It's a 12-part series, and the first one will be out on Oct. 12, 2011.
Morello has also written a score for the series as a soundtrack; the songs will be free when you buy each issue.
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The storyline is pretty geeky: “When the seas rose, genetic codes
were smashed. Human settlements are now ringed by a dense wilderness
from which ferocious new animal species prey on the helpless. The high
ground belongs to the rich and powerful that overlook swampland
shantytowns from their fortress-like cities. Iron-fisted rule ensures
order and allows the wealthy to harvest the poor as slaves. This is the
world of Orchid.”
