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THE ILLUSTRATED AL is what if Weird Al songs but comics

By Zack Quaintance — Z2 Comics will publish The Illustrated Al: The Songs of Weird Al in late November, and the new book will feature visual interpretations of more than 20 Weird Al songs, the publisher has announced.

With that many songs, there is a long line of artists working on the book, including Bill Plympton, Aaron Augenblick, Peter Bagge, Steve Chanks, Danny Hellman, Felipe Sobreiro, Gideon Kendall, Michael Kupperman, Wes Hargis, and more. The book — which will be available in both softcover and hardcover format, as well as in an oversized format — will also feature a pair of covers, one by Drew Friedman (MAD Magazine) and another by Mike and Laura Allred.


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In addition, the book will feature a foreword by legendary comic Emo Philips along with an accompanying illustration by another MAD Magazine figure, Sam Viviano. For the biggest of big (or weirdest of weird?) Weird Al fans, some the deluxe editions of the book will come with a wax package of collectors cards by Danny Hellman, a 3-piece art set by Jesse Philips, a vinyl slipmat, coasters, and, for the super deluxe editions, signed books along with a Weird Al mini accordion.

Weird Al had this to say in a statement that came with the announcement:

It’s such an incredible honor to see my song lyrics brought to life by some of my all-time favorite cartoonists and illustrators. I’ve actually been playing the long game—the only reason I spent four decades in the music business is so that one day I could have my very own graphic novel.

Oh hey, and here are those goodies mentioned above:

THE ILLUSTRATED AL is available for pre-order now

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.



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