Following Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay and R.L. Stine, Marvel Entertainment has lined up Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am as its next celebrity writer — but unlike earlier newcomers to the company, he won’t be contributing to the Marvel superhero universe. Instead, get ready for hip-hop-themed zombie action.
The new graphic novel, Black Eyed Peas Present: Masters of the Sun — The Zombie Chronicles, will be created by will.i.am in collaboration with Benjamin Jackendoff and Damion Scott, and feature a character called Zulu-X dealing with a future Los Angeles that isn’t just under attack by aliens, but is also facing a plague that turns regular people into zombies. On the plus side, the traffic situation has probably improved significantly as a result.
Talking to Billboard about the new project, Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said, “Few artists have done more to embed hip-hop in popular culture than will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas. So we are thrilled to present this deeply personal story that speaks directly to hip-hop aficionados, comic book fans and the intersection of those communities.”
The project continues Marvel’s attempts to specifically target the hip-hop market, following a series of alternate covers parodying classic hip-hop album covers and a monthly series of recaps of the Black Panther series, soundtracked by a number of hip-hop acts.
Black Eyed Peas Present: Masters of the Sun — The Zombie Chronicles will be available in July.
