Superstar artist Machine Gun Kelly will showcase his love of comics in HOTEL DIABLO.
The press release follows:
Media Release -- Z2 Comics leads off the year with news of one of the publisher's biggest collaborations yet, the first-ever graphic novel from musician and actor, Machine Gun Kelly. The young superstar brings his genuine love of comics to his first foray into four color fiction with the graphic novel tie-in to his 2019 album Hotel Diablo, which is available for preorder now!
Between Heaven and Hell lies a waystation for the soul--a place where your deeds in life are the keys to your eternity in the afterlife--at the Hotel Diablo. And it's Lidia Lopez's first night behind the front desk. Every guest has a story to tell and a lesson to learn...
Co-written by film and music superstar Machine Gun Kelly with Eliot Rahal (Archie Comics) and Ryan Cady (DC Comics). Art by Martin Morazzo (Ice Cream Man), Amilcar Pinna, Victor Ibañez, Nelson Blake II and more to be announced!
"Colson (Machine Gun Kelly) is a true comic book fan and brings his lyrical gifts to the printed page with a true sensibility and genuine love of the medium to back it up" says Z2 publisher Josh Frankel. "Not only that, we were able to marry him with a creative team that will help translate the vision of the album into a collection of stories that will universally satisfy his fans and comics readers alike."
Co-writer Eliot Rahal says "This project has me feeling incredibly lucky. Colson is an incredibly intense and passionate artist. It's the kind of energy I respond to. He's someone who wants to do something special, and as a result we have. Z2's editorial department has assembled together with an incredible array of artists to work with. Creators whose works I've respected for a long time. And last... I get to work with Ryan Cady. Not only is he an incredible writer, but also one of my greatest friends. And really... that's one of the biggest blessings of this entire process (don't tell him I said that though)."
"Horror anthologies are like catnip for me, so when Colson presented the Hotel Diablo concept to us, I couldn't help but latch on" says co-writer Ryan Cady. "And a chance to work with Eliot Rahal and a team of all-star artists? The raw intensity of the album, this idea of a vacation to visit the darkest corner of your soul--hell yeah, y'all, sign me up."
The Machine Gun Kelly's Hotel Diablo graphic novel clocks in at over 100 pages and will be released in a standard softcover edition in comic shops and bookstores alike in July 2021, as well as special deluxe and super deluxe editions available only through the Z2 website, which will include a special exclusive vinyl edition of the album!
About Z2 Comics:
Z2 is the premier destination for official music-related graphic novels, created by way of direct and authentic partnerships with top-tier artists, musicians, directors and pop-culture icons. Z2 has published the first-ever Gorillaz graphic album, as well as debut comic works by Grammy nominated artists Sturgill Simpson and Poppy, pop punk provocateur Yungblud, and many others. Additionally, the company has tapped top talent for official graphic biographies for such legends as Beethoven, Charlie Parker, The Grateful Dead, and Elvis Presley. In 2021, Z2 will publish graphic novel tie-ins to essential albums by The Doors, Anthrax, Dio, and many more to be announced
About Machine Gun Kelly:
Machine Gun Kelly is a multi-hyphenate talent with an impressive career that started in Cleveland and has made him a globally known star in both music and film. His fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall was released on September 25, 2020 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The album was the first rock album of 2020 to take the top spot and amassed over half a billion streams in under a week. In January 2021 he released his directorial debut DOWNFALLS HIGH, a "first of its kind musical film experience" set to Tickets to My Downfall starring Sydney Sweeney and Chase Hudson that amassed over 16 Million views in under a week.
In April 2020, the first single off the album "bloody valentine" was released. He and album executive producer Travis Barker appeared on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN to perform the song, and the official video starring Megan Fox garnered over 4,000,000 views in under 24 hours. In August he won his first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video for bloody valentine" and rocked the pre-show with an electric performance of both "my ex's best friend" featuring blackbear and "bloody valentine" with Travis Barker on drums. "bloody valentine" was certified Gold in September 2020. He is currently nominated for a 2020 Billboard Music Award for Best Rock Song for "I Think I'm Okay" and a 2020 MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) for Best Alternative. He appeared as musical guest on the 2021 season opener of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE performing "my ex's best friend" and an emotional stripped down version of "lonely."
His fourth studio album Hotel Diablo was released July 5, 2019 and was supported by three singles: "Hollywood Whore", "El Diablo", and "I Think I'm Okay" (featuring Travis Barker and Yungblud). "I Think I'm Okay" became a certified Platinum Single in 2020. In 2017, his album bloom went gold. The album track "Bad Things" featuring Camila Cabello, sold 8+ million worldwide, was nominated for a 2017 Billboard Music Award and owned the Billboard 100 list for 16+ weeks in 2017. The song has had more than 245m+ streams with a radio audience of 145m, becoming RIAA certified 3x platinum (domestic) and 8x worldwide. "Machine Gun Kelly" was one of the top ten most searched artists of 2018 according to Google. Spotify released that his songs were streamed 1.1 Billion times in 92 countries in 2020.
Machine Gun Kelly burst onto the music scene with the release of his first album Lace Up via EST 19XX/Bad Boy/Interscope Records. The album debuted at number two on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. He won "US Artist About to Go Global" at the 2012 MTV EMA's and MTV's 2012 "Breaking Woodie" Award. The following year he was awarded "Woodie of the Year" beating out A$AP Rocky, Fun, Grimes and Kendrick Lamar. His 2015 sophomore album, General Admission clinched a #1 spot on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts. He's performed on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE VOICE, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON, THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, ELLEN, BET's 106 AND PARK, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE NICKELODEON KIDS CHOICE AWARDS and several other programs and award shows. His songs have appeared in soundtracks for the feature films BRIGHT and WHY HIM?.
MGK, who acts under his real name Colson Baker, received critical acclaim as the lead role as Tommy Lee in the Netflix's THE DIRT, a biopic based on the rise of the band Motley Crue directed by Jeff Tremaine. He also starred opposite Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich and Trevante Rhodes in Netflix's thriller film BIRD BOX. In its first week of streaming, 45,037,125 Netflix accounts watched the film, making it Netflix's most streamed film at the time. He appeared in BIG TIME ADOLESCENCE from writer/director Jason Orley, also starring Pete Davidson, Griffin Gluck and Jon Cryer, which premiered in competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released by NEON on Hulu in March 2020. He was last seen in Netflix's PROJECT POWER from Henry Joost and Ariel Shulman also starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt which premiered globally in August 14, 2020. Upcoming roles include a lead opposite Sam Worthington in THE LAST SON OF ISAAC LEMAY from a Blacklist script and a lead opposite Kevin Bacon and Travis Fimmel in the drama ONE WAY.
Previously, Baker starred on Cameron Crowe's Showtime series ROADIES, playing Wes, a recently fired Pearl Jam roadie who joins his twin sister Kelly Ann (Imogen Poots) on tour for the fictitious Staton-House Band. The series also starred Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino and was executive produced by Cameron Crowe, JJ Abrams, Winnie Holzman and Bryan Burk. He appeared alongside Dave Franco and Emma Roberts in the Henry Joost/Ariel Shulman Lionsgate film NERVE, opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Gina Prince-Bythewood's BEYOND THE LIGHTS, and in James Merendino's PUNKS DEAD: SLC PUNK 2. Additional films include the Rupert Wyatt directed film CAPTIVE STATE with Ashton Sanders, Vera Farmiga and John Goodman.
