Altamont a graphic novel written by Herik Hannah, with art by Charlie Adlard, is out now in English from Image Comics. It’s available from all good comic shops now, including Forbidden Planet (Affiliate Link), so go grab yourself a copy. It will be released in bookshops next month.
“It was a real passion project for me,” says Charlie, best known for his work on The Walking Dead but whose credits span much more, “so would love to know what you think.”
Charlie Adlard returned to Forbidden Planet TV earlier this week to talk to Andrew Sumner about the graphic novel, and look back on his amazing 16 year ride as the illustrator of The Walking Dead. Watch it here
After the peace & love of Woodstock, the fury and disaster of Altamont…
December 1969. Woodstock and the Flower Power wave have swept the East Coast and in response, the West Coast turns up the decibels with a festival of their own on the Altamont racetrack in Northern California. The biggest bands are booked, The Rolling Stones are headlining, and 300,000 people are expected for this peace, love, and rock’n’roll event.
Jenny and her friends hop in their Volkswagen van and road trip from Los Angeles, the smell of marijuana trailing behind them, the promise of good music and good times ahead of them. Shortly after their arrival, tensions rise, a fight breaks out in the crowd, and pandemonium ensues. Hired to ensure security and paid in beer, the Hells Angels begin moving the crowd away from the stage with bats and chains, but the poorly organized event quickly spirals out of control and the dream of a ‘Woodstock West’ takes a deadly turn.
Altamont follows the story of Jenny and each of her friends as they navigate love, friendship, and their own personal demons all while trying to make it out of the concert alive. It was supposed to be a beautiful, free festival – a celebration of love and sharing. Instead, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival became the symbol of the end of an era.
Illustrated by the artist of The Walking Dead in a vintage style borrowed from pop art of the 1960s, Charlie Adlard and Herik Hanna mix fact with fiction as they explore this infamous moment in cultural history by giving us a disenchanted portrait of a free and dreamy youth, marked by the Vietnam War.
Herik Hanna is a French comic book writer best known for his work on the Le Casse series. He’s also worked with Eric Canete, Sean Phillips and Bruno Bassadi, and is the author of the successful “Bad Ass” comic series.
Charlie Adlard is the Eisner award nominated artist and co-conspirator on The Walking Dead. In his spare time he’s co-created books such as Rock Bottom, Codeflesh, White Death, and many more in his twenty plus year career to date. He’s drawn the French album Breath Of The Wendigo and plans to continue working for that market with more bande dessineés planned. He also plays the drums in his band, Cosmic Rays.
• Altamont is available now from Local Comic Shops and in bookshops from 17th February | Publisher: Image Comics | ISBN13: 978-1534331723 | Forbidden Planet Affiliate Link
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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