Kid Cudi makes comic book debut with “Moon Man”, calls it one of the 'coolest things' he's ever worked on
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Kid Cudi is known for being a multidisciplinary artist. Beginning with his first mixtapes, he combined rapping with singing in a way that proved influential in pop music. In subsequent years, he moved into other genres, such as rock and avant-garde, and last year his album Entergalactic was accompanied by an animated Netflix special of the same name.
Now he's unveiling a new venture. The musician (real name: Scott Mescudi) revealed at New York Comic Con on Saturday that he's releasing a comic book, Moon Man, due out next year from Image Comics, Black Market Narrative, and Mad Solar.
Co-written by Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black), with art by Marco Locati and Igor Monti, Moon Man tells the story of astronaut Ramon Townsend, who becomes a celebrity after saving his crew from a near-disastrous moon mission. But certain moments during that mission weren't captured by cameras, and they will change Ramon into something the world has never seen before.
"This might be one of the top three coolest things I've ever been a part of," said Mescudi at the event. "This story is something that took a lot of love from everyone involved. I promise you this comic will be unlike anything you've read before. To each and every person that picks up a copy and shows support in January — I love you more than you can imagine."
Rod Reis Variant cover for 'Moon Man' #1, by Rod Reis
Marco Locati The main cover for 'Moon Man' #1, by Marco Locati
Higgins compares Moon Man to Alan Moore's classic comic Miracleman, which explored the effects a superhero might have on the real world. With his popular series Radiant Black and the whole "Massive-Verse" it has spawned, Higgins and his creative collective Black Market Narrative have been reimagining superhero comics for the modern era. Though it is not technically part of the Massive-Verse, Moon Man is the latest example.
"What we specialize in and pride ourselves on is building very relatable, contemporary superheroes for the 2020s with great aesthetics and style that have something to say and push the boundaries of the medium," Higgins tells EW. "As Ramon's powers grow and he tries to change the world, readers will watch what that means and what happens as a result. This is very much our Miracleman for 2024."
Mescudi's interest in comics dates back to his 2009 debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, which boasted cover art from legendary comics artist Bill Sienkiewicz. Moon Man reunites Mescudi with Sienkiewicz, who provided a variant cover for the series' debut issue along with other big artists like Rod Reis and Christian Ward.
Christian Ward Variant cover for 'Moon Man' #1, by Christian Ward
Matt Taylor Variant cover for 'Moon Man' #1, by Matt Taylor
Just as Mescudi has a history with comics, Higgins has experience with music — he played trumpet for years. "I played until I was about 25, and to this day I have such a love and appreciation for singular artists," he says. "Scott is very much a singular artist, for an entire generation. That is the type of collaborator I love to work with, because it means they're going to be on board with trying to push forward, and [offer] the most exciting version of an original superhero."
Mescudi told EW last year ahead of Entergalactic's release that at one point he'd been worried he was running out of new things to say. But that doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. "Time has proven that not only am I never going to run out of things to talk about, but I'm always going to be inspired to try new things and put myself out there."
Moon Man #1 hits stores on Jan. 31, 2024. Check out some of its covers above.
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