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Gerard Way Says New Comic Series Is "Very Different" To Previous Killjoys Material

The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem will go "back to the original concept for the series that could have been, many years ago", according to Gerard Way.

Gerard Way Says New Comic Series Is "Very Different" To Previous Killjoys Material

Following the announcement of his brand-new six-part Killjoys comic series, Gerard Way has teased that The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem is going to be "very different" from anything that came before it.

The My Chemical Romance frontman's beloved story with co-writer Shaun Simon is set to go "back to the original concept for the series that could have been, many years ago, before it became an MCR concept record and subsequent comic series, now known as TLFK: California," Gerard explains.

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"The first thing to know about National Anthem is that it’s very different from any Killjoys material you have seen, read, or heard before," he says. "You may recognize some visual elements of the characters, but these are completely different characters from the gang we saw in California 2019. These are the original characters: Mike Milligram, The Codes – Red and Blue, Animax, Kyle 100%, and a ton of others, as well as changes these characters go through years later, and an eventual new member of the gang.

"This story is set in the 1990s and the 2000s, in a world as its was back then. All these years later, Shaun and I couldn’t get this story out of our heads, and thought it was powerful, unique, and different enough from what we had done before to warrant actually making the thing, and I’m really happy we did. The first issue was written in one and a half weeks, about 44 pages long, and it was dying to get out. So, try and come to this with a fresh brain and unlearn everything you know about the Killjoys."

After thanking his creative team behind the project in his personal announcement (co-writer Shaun, illustrator Leonardo Romero, colourist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Nate Piekos, plus variant cover artists Becky Cloonan and Paul Lentler), Gerard then reveals that everyone involved "is doing something they've never done before, and operating from a new and experimental place". Sounds very interesting indeed.

Issue one of The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem is published on October 14 via Dark Horse Comics.

See Gerard's full post:

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Yesterday, we announced a new True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys series: National Anthem. We’re really excited about this book, because we take everything back to the original concept for the series that could have been, many years ago, before it became an MCR concept record and subsequent comic series, now known as TLFK: California. The first thing to know about National Anthem is that it’s very different from any Killjoys material you have seen, read, or heard before. You may recognize some visual elements of the characters, but these are completely different characters from the gang we saw in California 2019. These are the original characters: Mike Milligram, The Codes— Red and Blue, Animax, Kyle 100%, and a ton of others, as well as changes these characters go through years later, and an eventual new member of the gang. This story is set in the 1990’s and the 2000’s, in a world as its was back then. All these years later, Shaun and I couldn’t get this story out of our heads, and thought it was powerful, unique, and different enough from what we had done before to warrant actually making the thing, and I’m really happy we did. The first issue was written in one and a half weeks, about 44 pages long, and it was dying to get out. So, try and come to this with a fresh brain and unlearn everything you know about the Killjoys. It’s also a mature readers book. The creative team is one of the best I have ever worked with, some old friends and new friends. Shaun Simon co-writes with me, @leo_romero11 handles the line art, @whoajordie handles the colors, @natepiekos handles the letters, @beckycloonan as well as @prentler and others, handle the variant covers. And everyone is doing something they’ve never done before, and operating from a new and experimental place. It hits shops and digital on October 14th, published by @darkhorsecomics. We can’t wait for you to check it out. #tlfk #thetruelivesofthefabulouskilljoys #TLFKnationalanthem #nationalanthem #darkhorsecomics #booksontape

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Before National Anthem arrives, series two of Netflix's awesome adaptation of The Umbrella Academy will premiere on July 31.

Check out the official trailer – featuring Gerard's new song Here Comes The End – below:

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