Comics
11:59 by Blondie
I love setting the lyrics of my favourite songs to pictures. Like a video clip, but arguably better, comics allow the storytelling of the tracks to shine through. This is best experienced while listening to the song, of course!
Scroll down for the two-page mini-comic and a glimpse of the creative process
I consider Blondie a perfect band: they effortlessly mix New York punk cool, quality pop and an encyclopaedic mastery of Rock’n’Roll history. This particular song has the unbridled energy of young people recklessly pursuing the thrill of being alive, and I could see the images in my head every time I listened to it.
The lyrics evoke the dangerous 1970s New York of Scorcese movies, but I also wanted to represent it in the stark, noir style of my idols José Munoz and Eduardo Risso. The femme fatale is obviously based on singer Debbie Harry, right down to the actual dress from one of her TV appearances. The hustler is based on a character from the 1970s pastiche in the TV series Russian Doll. There is also a clear shout out to Thelma and Louise.
But I’ll just stop rapping and let you figure out all the other references yourself. Enjoy!
Character designs
Iconic NYPD Plymouth Fury studies
Sketch
Sketch
Blue pencils
Inks over blue line
Inks over blue line