Coheed and Cambria - a post by Deborah

With comic books becoming increasingly popular due to the obsession of film makers and their determination to convert, what it feels like, every comic ever written into a major motion picture, other comic type mediums are left in the dust. The graphic novel, defined by dictionary.com as “a novel in the form of comic strips” has been grossly overlooked by film makers, with of course the exception of Sin City, which lets be honest folks, watching that film made me want to lock my self up in an institution. It’s a daring subject to address, the graphic novel, but I knew I had to after I received, in my opinion, one of the greatest works of art I have ever read or seen.

Hailing from New York, Claudio Sanchez, is both the lead singer and creator of Coheed and Cambria, a concept band whose music is also in the form of a graphic novel. With their latest release, Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV came the incredible work of art of the same name. It’s a 124 page graphic novel written by Sanchez, and tells a tale of love and murder through lyrics and beautiful abstract art.

I received it in the mail and twenty minutes later I had it completely read through, being in awe the entire time. I had been waiting for quite some time for this novel and when it finally arrived I was ecstatic. I was like a child on Christmas morning, and when I was finished I was like a child after they had opened their presents and had time to play with them. The novel, sucked me into the world of Coheed and Cambria in the first page, with the only utterances from me being, “oh my gosh”, “wow”, and “this is incredible”. After months of listening to the story in the form of a progressive rock/ punk sound, being able to hold the novel, seeing the art work, and reading further into the story made it that much more enjoyable. Being a fan of the music first allowed me to have a greater appreciation for what the story had to offer. I recommend both the music and the novel, however, I do extend a disclaimer that there is a little bit of swearing in both, but don’t over look incredible music and an amazing story for something as petty as that!