The "Am I Evil? Graphic Novel" print campaign went live on the evening of June 6, 2023 (6/6 at 6), and is set to run through the first week of July.
Author Jack Mangan (MetalAsylum.net, The Metal Hall Of Fame) has worked with Aurora Award-winning cover artist, James F. Beveridge, and interior artist, Kyle Burles, to create a 58-page "Am I Evil?" graphic novel, based on the classic Diamond Head NWOBHM song, famously covered by Metallica as well as the thrash Big 4 (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth).
The "Am I Evil?" graphic novel is fully completed and ready to go to the presses. A small number of promotional print books have been released, including copies sent to original songwriters and Diamond Head co-founders, Brian Tatler and Sean Harris. If the project turns any kind of a profit, then Tatler and Harris will receive a portion of the proceeds, as the story creators.
A 2020 IndieGoGo campaign succeeded in raising funds to pay the artists and generate an Am I Evil? e-comic (Jack Mangan also wrote and released an accompanying 17,000 word novella to the supporters). The goal of the 2023 campaign is to raise funds for a high-quality print run for readers and fans worldwide. Initially, the book will only be available to IndieGoGo backers, but a successful campaign will lead to greater availability options in online and local comic book retailers. Jack Mangan will autograph each copy that is sent through the crowdfunding campaign, and is offering a number of other perks and extras at varying contribution levels. He's also planning to release the novella as an episodic audiobook to YouTube, to accompany the campaign.
The Am I Evil? comic has already received positive reviews from Pete Pardo of Comic Book Geezers and Sea of Tranquility, as well as The Metal Voice:
“A very fun read!” - Pete Pardo
“Walnut Approved” - Jimmy Kay
Dobber and Cammie Beverly of the Houston-based band, Oceans Of Slumber, posed with the book in two photos on the IndieGoGo page.
The initial Am I Evil? campaign also received support from such luminaries as Bobby Blitz (Overkill), Michael Alago (author, artist, former Elektra Records executive), Jack Frost (Seven Witches, Aldo Nova), Pat Gesualdo (CEO and founder of the Official Metal Hall of Fame), Scott Sigler (NYT Bestselling Horror author, bassist for Superweapon), and more.
A photo gallery of images from the book and further information can be viewed on the "Am I Evil?" IndieGoGo campaign page, here.
