Music

Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson’s Phonogram is a very special comic where music is literally magic and the right song played at the right time can take you to new dimensions or ruin your life forever. There isn’t a single comic that has had as much of an effect on the shape and direction of my life as Phonogram, and as ComicsAlliance celebrates all things music and Phonogram heads into its tenth year, I wanted to talk a bit about how important this book has been over the last decade.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. In celebration of the unique relationship between comics and music, we've put together five of the best fictional musical acts in mainstream comics.

Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love is a superhero book, a haunted house story, and a romance comic. In assembling a playlist to accompany the comic, we've attempted to strike a similar balance, highlighting queer artists, and including a love song or two, while creating a spooky, haunted atmosphere. This playlist incorporates dark mansions, and perhaps forbidden love, and at least one dead man.

Steve Orlando, Fernando Blanco and Romulo Fajardo Jr's Midnighter and Apollo straddles a sweet spot between being one of the most brutal and visceral superhero comics on the stands, and also one of the most tender and heartfelt romance stories. That intersection is exactly where my musical taste lies, so this playlist reflects these two beating hearts of the series.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, by Ryan North, Erica Henderson and Rico Renzi is a vibrant, self-reflexive, upbeat and funny female-led comic --- and those happen to be all the qualities I enjoy in my pop music as well! So stick on your headphones, grab some nuts, and let me kick your ears' butts in this playlist inspired by Doreen Green.

Gosh! Don't ya ever wish you could go back to simpler times, where milkshakes and ascots and groovy tunes made life the cat's pajamas? Well, fold up your fictional feline fashion, friends, for decades past were never so simple for marginalized folk. Luckily, Kathleen Jacques' webcomic Band vs. Band captures years of ace aesthetic and kooky kitsch with none of the exclusion. There's just super style, boss band battles, and a killer crescendo of gay romantic tension. Tune in to ComicsAlliance's conversation with Jacques for more.

We at ComicsAlliance love comics, and we love music, so this week we’ve decided to combine those two loves and create playlist tributes to some of our favorite titles. Think of these as something to listen to while you read the comic, or an introduction to the vibe of a comic if you're not yet a fan. Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro and Cris Peter's Bitch Planet is one of the most important comics being published today. In addition to being an amazing sci-fi story with glorious butt-kicking women, it’s rife with feminist critique of patriarchy, while still maintaining an inspirational tone. Putting together this playlist, I thought I’d be choosing angry, riot grrrl songs, but what I ended up with feels more like a modern celebration of women. I think Bitch Planet itself is kind of the same thing.

Moonage Daydream is an art exhibition that describes itself as an "illustrated tribute" to David Bowie. Twenty-one artists from comics and beyond have taken on 21 different albums or singles, creating new cover art inspired by the music. That includes Iain Laurie of And Then Emily Was Gone covering Scary Monsters, Marc Laming of Planet Hulk tackling Station to Station, and Jamie Coe of Art Schooled taking on Changes.

Everyone loves trivia about their favorite animated features and series, but with over 100 years of animation history behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in cartoons in this continuing video series. You think you know cartoons? Well, here’s a few things you might not know! Hey, gang, it's Music Week, so today we're taking a look at the most popular cartoon band of all time, the Gorillaz!

Mondo, following the success of its vinyl soundtrack for Netflix and Marvel's Luke Cage, is publishing similar vinyl releases for Daredevil and Jessica Jones. The Daredevil Season One record features music by John Paesano, while the soundtrack to Jessica Jones Season One, a double album, is by Sean Callery. Both feature really striking cover art by Matthew Woodson.