Darryl “King of Rock” McDaniels rocks comic book shops this fall with the ‘DMC’ graphic novel

Since 1983 (wayyy back in the day), when the cover of Afrika Bambaataa's "Renegades of Funk" 12-inch single hopped from record shop shelves with the pop art-influenced style of a Marvel comic book, and the fictional graffiti writer Ramo explained to the young b-boy Lee in 1984’s Beat Street that he learned to draw by tracing from the pages of DC comics, it's been ‘overstood’ that the hip-hop generation grew up reading, and loving, comic books.

From memorable lines in the 1984 song “Jam On It”, which vividly detail a make-believe sound system battle between Superman and the funk-rap group Newcleus, to comic book and graffiti artist Lamour Supreme (Zen the Intergalactic Ninja) applying his distinctive art style to the cover of 2013's Wu-Tang affiliated album Czarface, it seems that hip-hop has never passed up on the chance to 'show and prove' its love of the comics genre. And this never-ending love affair comes full circle again this fall with the release of the much-awaited graphic novel DMC.

DMC is the inaugural title slated for fall release from Darryl Makes Comics, the upstart publishing imprint founded by Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of the pioneering rap trio Run-DMC. The book is the realization of a childhood dream for the legendary rapper who once proudly boasted in a verse “I’m DMC, I can draw!” (The lyric can be heard in its proper context, along with its rhythmic, back-and-forth rhyme components, in the closing verse of the title song on 1985's platinum-selling album King of Rock.)

DMC, however, didn't dust off his pencils to illustrate the eponymous graphic novel he wrote with Damion Scott (Batgirl) and Ronald Wimberly (Prince of Cats). The art for each of the book's five chapters were neatly divided between the skilled drawing hands of Chase Conley (Black Dynamite), Jeff Stokely (Six-Gun Gorilla), Felipe Smith (Peepa Choo), Mike and Mark Davis aka the Mad Twiinz (Black Dynamite, Boondocks) and Shawn Crystal (Uncanny X-Men). Chris Sotomayor (Birds of Prey) handled the coloring, and the cover was drawn by comic book legend Sal Buscema with graffiti legend MARE 139, and inks by veteran inker Bob Wiacek.

The all-star lineup of talent pooled from the old school and new school worlds of comic book art, graffiti writing and TV animation ensures that DMC will be a one of a kind graphic novel worthy of the iconic name of a hip-hop legend. To learn more about the project, including a detailed synopsis and a glimpse at preview pages from each chapter, scoot over to the Previews website by clicking here. And if that link isn't enough to quell your excitement until DMC finally hits the shelves on October 29th, make sure to visit the official Darryl Makes Comics website by clicking here.