10 metal bands who brought their aesthetic to comic books

Metal bands inarguably have the best aesthetic of any genre, with many musicians looking like characters in real life, so it’s not surprising many have their own comics. From the iconic space alien costumes of the GWAR musicians to Rob Zombie or Alice Cooper’s horror vibes, metal musicians achieve the perfect aesthetic for artists to bring to life in comic books. 

Take a look below for 10 bands with their own comic books. 

1. GWAR

GWAR have developed a ridiculously thorough storyline in their three-decade long history about the origins of the crack-smoking murderous alien musicians. They’ve created movies to build their story, written plots for various tours to follow and eventually landed a comic book. The storyline for the GWAR comics builds on their lore and features some art and words from members of the band.  

2. Iron Maiden

Classic heavy-metal heroes Iron Maiden have adorned their album covers and merch with their iconic mascot Eddie for ages, and his look is as legendary as any in metal. The character finally made his way on to the pages of a graphic novel with the release of the Legacy Of The Beast series, which follows Eddie pairing with a mysterious alchemist to journey through London’s East End in search of a killer. 

3. Stone Sour

Stone Sour took a creative approach to adding comics to their repertoire, generating a story to coincide with their double album House Of Gold & Bones. The limited-edition four-part mini-series created by Corey Taylor shows the actual characters and plotline the album follows while delving into concepts only hinted at on the albums. 

4. Slayer

Slayer are nearing the end of their career, and in their three-pus decades as a band, they’ve cemented their status as one of the greatest metal acts of all time. Along with that placement in history, they’ve created merch for pretty much every situation you could think of, including comics when they dropped their 2017 story, Repentless. The story initially developed in their music video for “Repentless” shows what they always have: the dark side of how humans treat each other in society.

5. Butcher Babies 

The leading women of Butcher Babies have skills to flex beyond their vocal abilities as they’re both talented artists. Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd both contributed to their comic book with words and illustrations alongside visual artist Anthony Winn, which coincided with the release of their first EP. The comic has become iconic enough among fans that some have even gotten the drawings tattooed on themselves. 

6. Coheed And Cambria

Coheed And Cambria fans shouldn’t be shocked about this, but the band’s entire discography is based on a comic series titled The Amory Wars written by frontman Claudio Sanchez. Each album tells the story of a chapter in the series, which follows a sci-fi story about two character’s struggles with a Supreme Tri-Mage set in the midst of a collection of 78 planets connected through beams of energy. 

7. Alice Cooper

Shock-rock king Alice Cooper received the ultimate comic world honor of having his name and face published with Marvel. He originally appeared in a 1979 special issue and has since had numerous comics made in collaboration with him, including a Simpsons special-edition comic and a full mini-series. 

8. Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie has had a pretty fantastic career in terms of diversity, with him getting to try his hand at all of his major interests. Not only has he built a massive career as a musician and horror movie director, but he’s created numerous comics, including ones that develop the lore of some of his incredible characters from House Of 1000 Corpses and other films. 

9. BABYMETAL

If you’re keen on Japanese kawaii-metal band BABYMETAL, you probably know they have a pretty wild story created about the three members. The lore surrounding the teen metal stars has spawned countless pieces of fan art and comics, but now they have their own official graphic novel exploring the entire myth the band are based on. 

10. Cannibal Corpse

If you ask someone what some of the most shocking and gory album covers are in metal, the majority of Cannibal Corpse’s discography should come to mind. Their work with artist Vince Locke has become legendary after getting banned from performing in multiple countries, which eventually led to a full comic for their record Evisceration Plague. Locke also created a fantastic zombie comic series called Deadworld, which would be right up any death-metal fan’s alley if the Cannibal Corpse comic isn’t enough.