New York Comic Con often features an interesting mix of creators. Remember the announcement at NYCC ’11 that Stan Lee and Neal Adams would be affiliated with the NHL? There are some equally interesting mashups happening this year. Film music expert Bear McCleary, singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, writers Matt Groom and Kyle Higgins, artist Ramon K. Perez, and other artists and musicians collaborated on a graphic novel and concept album. .
The Singularity, an album and graphic novel of the same name, was released this spring, but some of the creators behind it, including the driving force behind McCleary, Higgins, and Groom, came to New York CC. was promoting and signing. A special deluxe edition released by Mondo.
I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with most of the members of this group to find out how such an ambitious project came together.
Singularity was Bear McCleary’s pandemic pet project. It didn’t start out as a concept album or have elements of a graphic novel, but it grew into those things over time. “It started out as a lean, mean rock record. But then I looked at it and felt like we’d made a concept album,” Baer explained. However, he hesitated to call it a concept album, adding, “When I hear the word concept album, there are tracks that I just skip over.” It was a concept album that set young Bear McCleary on the path to a career in music. “For me, it started with Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I saw a movie with Alan Parker’s kid and thought, ‘What the hell is this?’
As the album progressed, McCleary approached longtime friend Kyle Higgins with the idea of producing a graphic novel. The two have known each other for 15 years and became friends shortly after Higgins gave McCleary a copy of his student thesis film one year at SDCC. Higgins said when McCreary contacted him about Singularity. “When Bear called me about Singularity, I was so excited and it was so easy to say yes.”
Next to join the lineup is comic book writer Matt Groom. Bear McCleary had one hard and fast rule when it came to graphic novels. Bear explained: “The biggest challenge with this album is changing the singer for each song. The only rule I gave Matt is that we don’t want an anthology.” Matt tells me about the story he came up with. I did. “This is the story of a man who keeps reincarnating into different lives in different universes.” McCreary didn’t just hand over the graphic novel, though. Matt said, “We had a lot of back and forth with Bear to understand the details of the script. You know how they build bridges and meet in the middle? It was something like that.” He explained. “This story is about the trauma that has accumulated over various lives. It was deep, but it also featured spaceships and zombies, which was fun. It had steampunk and fantasy.”
Each track on the album features a different singer, and each chapter of the graphic novel is illustrated by a different artist. Ramon K. Perez said Kyle Higgins approached him after Deep Cuts and Jim Henson’s Tale of Dan. Both are music-driven works. Mr. Perez said Mr. Higgins told him, “We don’t have an artist who can bring it all together.” Could you please bring that energy into the Singularity? ” Perez described Singularity as “This is an amazing metal opera.” When asked how he prepared for the production of Singularity, Perez replied: Also, listening to Ghosts. I had some metal playlists and was looking through them. There are also many European ones. ”
Matt Groom wouldn’t mind future collaborations. He said, “A sequel? That would be great. I tell people this is my favorite thing I’ve written. It should be of the same quality and high concept.”
Rufus Wainwright may not be the singer you associate with metal, but the singer-songwriter was more than happy to help his longtime friend Bear McCreary. He sings on the track titled Type III. Wainwright described McCleary’s induction into the Singularity as follows: It’s not an obvious resemblance, but it’s similar. I wrote two operas. He came over and said he had a heavy metal song he wanted me to do. I had to use my background in opera. We held a meeting of certain worlds that should and should meet. ” He went on to explain: There are many high notes and heavy moments, making it a very stately prayer. ”
This was Rufus Wainwright’s first time attending a comic book convention. After spending some time exploring NYC, he said: “Wow, there’s a real passion here. There’s a desire to move forward and make the world a better place. The things that unite us are so important right now.”
And while NYCC was Wainwright’s first concert, he’s no stranger to the world of comics. “I started drawing comics. I went to art school. I was part of the zine culture in the early ’90s. There was one called Bella von Herzgel (sp?) I created an outcast Argentine alter ego.
Wainwright said he tends to black out while performing. I asked him to explain it further. He replied: I am very grateful. Because I can present to the heavens an idea, a note I want to hit, and even if I black out afterwards, it usually hits. I know this letter will arrive, so I will say a prayer. ” He is very big on self-care and went through regiments to maintain his voice for years. “I don’t really drink. Alcohol isn’t good for singing. I gulp a lot. Hot salt water. Everyone should do it for their overall health. I used to think that listening to very intense opera is… I loved it, so at least I can say I don’t have to.”
“Some of the things that have come out of the Singularity are very unrealistic for the creators,” Matt Bloom said. “What was his life like?” he recalled.
Stay tuned for more coverage of NYCC ’24 from The Beat.
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