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Sitting on a hip hop and comics panel at last year's New York Comic Con, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels -- one third of iconic hip hop group Run-D.M.C. -- spoke about his love of comics, and how they informed his approach to rap. Now his celebrated career is informing his approach to comics. Yesterday at Midtown Comics McDaniels announced the launch of "Darryl Makes Comics," his new comics imprint under which he'll be producing a 48-page graphic novel with contributions from creators Damion Scott, Dexter Vines and Ronald Wimberly.

With the comic focusing on hip hop culture, McDaniels has brought on music executive Rigo “Riggs” Morales as senior editor of "Darryl Makes Comics," and Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez as editor-in-chief. McDaniels and his team are making a point to emphasize that this project, which they'll be launching on Kickstarter, will be solely funded by fans. In an interview with the The Source, Miranda-Rodriguez described the endeavor, comparing it to the origins of hip hop:

“We’re putting it into the fans hands, just like hip-hop pushed CDs out of trunks. There’s no corporate backing behind the comic, we’re looking for the fans to [enjoy the comic and] push this for us.”

 

In terms of creators, McDaniels has a talented and experienced crew attached to the project. Scott, perhaps best known for his work on Batgirl, Robin, and his issue of Solo, has a graffiti-influenced style that lends itself very well to the project; Vines is a veteran inker who's worked with several notable artists on titles such as Batman, Wolverine and Civil War; and Wimberly, the writer and artist behind Prince of Cats -- one of our picks for the best comics of 2012 -- will help write the story, which features Darryl, a superhero fighting injustice in an alternate universe. During the announcement, McDaniels stressed that the project will celebrate the artist and writer just like hip hop celebrated the MC and the DJ during its genesis.

In the video below, McDaniels talks about his life long love of comics and desire to make one of his own: “This graphic novel will entertain, educate and inspire all who enter into the DMC universe and empower all cultures the same way I did with my music.”

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