Rock 'N' Roll Comics
Rock 'N' Roll Comics #1, featuringGuns N' Roses (June 1989)
Publication information
Publisher	Revolutionary Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Underground
Publication date	June1989 – November1993
No. of issues	63
Creative team
Written by	Todd Loren,Dean Hsieh,Jay Allen Sanford, Robert V. Conte, Michael K. Willis
Artist(s)	Lyndal Ferguson,Greg Fox,Stuart Immonen, Scott Jackson,Ken Landgraf, Larry Nadolsky, Blackwell, Johnny, Joe Paradise, Childish, Scott E. Pentzer
Editor(s)	Todd Loren (issues #1–51) Jay Allen Sanford (issues #52–65)

Rock 'N' Roll Comics was acomic book series published byRevolutionary Comics from 1989 to 1993. Revolutionary's flagship title, the series was notable for itsunauthorized and unlicensed biographies ofrock stars,^[1] told in comic book form but well-researched and geared to adults, often with adult situations (nudity, drug use, violence, etc.).^[2]

Some musicians featured in the comics, likeFrank Zappa^[3] andKISS, were supportive; while others, like theNew Kids on the Block, considered the comic akin to abootleg recording and sued the publisher. PublisherTodd Loren's legal victory in theU.S. District Court established that unauthorized comic book biographies were entitled to the same protections as other unauthorized biographies.

Rock 'N' Roll Comics originally contained straight biographies in comics form andMad magazine-style parodies (all written by Loren). The parodies were dropped after about 18 issues. Early issues also featured the Loren/Larry Nadolsky character Stan Back in a series of humorous one-page strips. Loren wrote many of the early lead stories;Jay Allen Sanford took over as lead writer with issue #22.^[2] The stories were illustrated by a grab-bag of artists without many other credits in the industry.^[1]

The series sported cover slogans reading "Unauthorized and Proud of It"^[3] or "100% Unauthorized Material".Rock 'N' Roll Comics was published in a typical 6½" × 9¾" comic book format. Issues were typically 32 pages in length, printed mostly inblack-and-white with a color cover. Many covers were painted by Scott Jackson. Theletters page — which often featured spirited editorials by Loren — was known as "Revolutionary Comments." Although the series is numbered through 65 issues, a total of 63 issues were released due to two issues, numbers 8 and 61, never being published due to legal challenges.

Revolutionary Comics publisher Todd Loren was inspired to launchRock 'N' Roll Comics in part by the success of an unauthorizedBruce Springsteen parodyone-shot comic calledHey Boss (Visionary Graphics, 1986).^{[citation needed]}

Hey Boss artistLarry Nadolsky was hired to draw the first issue ofRock 'N' Roll Comics, profilingGuns N' Roses. Upon the comic's release, cover-dated June 1989, Guns N' Roses lawyer Peter Paterno sent Revolutionary acease and desist order. This was reported in aRolling Stone story^[4] that directly resulted in the entire 10,000-copy print run selling out in two weeks, thanks to buyers who thought Guns N' Roses would sue Revolutionary Comics out of existence. In actuality, no lawsuits were ever filed, and the comic went into multiple new printings, eventually totaling over 150,000 copies.^[2]

Rock 'N' Roll Comics #3 and #4, onBon Jovi andMötley Crüe, respectively (cover-dated Sept. 1989 and Oct. 1989), did result in legal challenges. Both bands had exclusive merchandising deals with Great Southern Productions/^[5]Winterland Productions, which threatenedcomics distributors over carrying the issues and got a court injunction prohibiting Revolutionary from distributing them.^[6] This forced Revolutionary to build its own distribution network outside traditional comic shops, eventually getting them into music and gift retail outlets which had never carried comics before. This independence from the comic book marketplace served the company well, as sales continued to rise from issue to issue, with theirMetallica comic going into multiple print runs totaling over 75,000 copies.^[7]

Issue #8 (cover-dated Feb. 1990), featuringSkid Row, was never published, due to an injunction prompted by Great Southern.^[3] It was skipped in number sequencing; issue #9 (Kiss) was cover-dated Mar. 1990.

Issue #12 (cover-dated June 1990), featuringNew Kids on the Block, resulted in a number of legal battles. (see:Litigation, below) Ironically, this and the other lawsuits garnered Revolutionary worldwide press, eventually resulting in record-breaking sales for an indie comic publisher.^[8]

Beginning with issue #19 (Public Enemy /2 Live Crew),Rock 'N' Roll Comics was released on a biweekly basis^[9] from Jan. 1991–Mar. 1992, comprising 25 total issues.

Issue #61 (cover-dated July 1993), scheduled to be about the bandYes, was never published, and ultimately was skipped in number sequencing.

The series' final issue, #65, on "Sci-Fi Space Rockers" (Pink Floyd,Genesis,Marillion,Hawkwind, and others) was cover-dated Nov. 1993.

The popularity ofRock 'N' Roll Comics led Revolutionary to publish other music titles, most notablyRock 'N' Roll Comics Magazine (a reprint title featuring stories from past issues ofRock 'N' Roll Comics),Hard Rock Comics (a title dedicated tohard rock,heavy metal, andpunk bands), andStar Jam Comics (a title dedicated to pop acts as well as actors from the television showBeverly Hills, 90210). Additionally, Revolutionary published a line ofExperience limited series focusing entirely on one band or musical artist. The titles wereThe Beatles Experience,TheElvis Presley Experience,TheLed Zeppelin Experience, andThePink Floyd Experience.

In September 2009, 15 years after the demise of Revolutionary Comics, publisherBluewater Productions announced it would be reprinting Revolutionary's line of music comics (including stories fromRock 'N' Roll Comics) in ten monthly volumes, averaging 250 pages each.^[10] The first collections wereThe Beatles Experience andHard Rock Heroes, released in early 2010.

Many of Revolutionary's original creators participated in updating and modernizing the contents of the musical comic bios. The reprints and updates were supervised by long-timeRock 'N' Roll Comics writer/editorJay Allen Sanford. Ultimately, Bluewater released seven titles from 2010 to 2012:^[11]

• The Beatles Experience (Feb. 2010), 240 pp.ISBN 978-1-4276-4227-1
• Hard Rock Heroes (Apr. 2010), 240 pp.ISBN 978-1-61623-924-4 — withAC/DC,Metallica,Guns N' Roses,Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath,Van Halen,Megadeth,Vanilla Fudge,Queensrÿche,Motörhead,ZZ Top
• The Runaways:Joan Jett –Lita Ford (Aug. 2010), 32 pp.
• The Pink Floyd Experience (Sept. 2010), 150 pp.ISBN 978-1-61623-930-5
• The Led Zeppelin Experience (Nov. 2010), 150 pp.ISBN 978-1-61623-939-8
• The Elvis Presley Experience (Mar. 2011), 210 pp.ISBN 978-1-4507-0021-4
• Stan Lee: the Biography! (Feb. 2012), 32 pp.ISBN 978-0-9855911-2-0

Two other projected volumes,Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Sixties; andRock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Seventies, remain unpublished.^[11]

Rock 'N' Roll Comics #12 (cover-date June 1990), an unauthorized biography ofNew Kids on the Block, resulted in Revolutionary being sued again.^[3] Publisher Loren claimed theFirst Amendment protected the journalistic rights of his "illustrated articles" and he took the matter to theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California.

Loren set up a900 number, "Nuke the New Kids," to raise money for the company's defense ($10.00 per call, billed by phone company). In April 1990, U.S. District JudgeJohn S. Rhoades declared thatRock 'N' Roll Comics #12 could legally be distributed because it is "part biography and part satire." The judge's twelve-page ruling stated that "bookstores are filled with biographies — both authorized and unauthorized — of public figures. And, while the subjects of such biographies may be offended by the publication of their life stories, they generally have no claim for trademark infringement."

Rhoades' ruling also stated "It appears that the First Amendment may trump any claim that the plaintiffs have for trademark infringement." The resultant order stated that Winterland Concessions Co. failed to show that the case met the standards required to issue a preliminary injunction. This dissolved the temporary restraining order prohibiting distribution. Nonetheless, the New Kids responded by filing suit fortrademark infringement since their logo appeared in the comic.^[12] A settlement between the New Kids and Revolutionary was reached in August 1990. It permanently enjoined Revolutionary from "advertising, manufacturing, distributing and/or selling or otherwise commercially exploiting any publication displaying the trademark and/or logo of the New Kids on the Block, either as a group or individually." Loren promptly reprinted the New Kids story in magazine format (Rock 'N' Roll Comics Magazine), without depicting the band's logo anywhere in the story.

In 2005, BulletProof Film released a documentary film titledUnauthorized and Proud of It: Todd Loren's Rock 'N' Roll Comics. The film features interviews with Loren's family, surviving "Revolutionaries," comic book colleagues, adversaries, supporters and past and present rock 'n' roll stars featured in Revolutionary's comics. Appearing in the film areAlice Cooper, publishersGary Groth (Fantagraphics) andDenis Kitchen (Kitchen Sink Press), famed groupieCynthia Plaster Caster, underground painter and RevCom cover artistRobert Williams (known for his controversial album art for the first Guns N' Roses LP),Jay Allen Sanford,Gene Simmons (audio only), and more.

The film also details the San Diego police department's investigation into Todd Loren's 1992 murder; interviews with Loren's coworkers and family members suggest that the police failed to follow up on all available leads. The film was released on DVD in April 2012 by Wild Eye Releasing, under the titleUnauthorized: The Story of Rock 'N' Roll Comics. The DVD includes over two hours of bonus footage, interviews, news footage, and art galleries, and liner notes by long-timeRock 'N' Roll Comics writer-editor Jay Allen Sanford.

• Behind the Music

• Rock 'N' Roll Comics at theGrand Comics Database
• Rock 'N' Roll Comics at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• "Todd Loren's Rock 'N' Roll Comics,"Bay Area Reporter (May 11, 2006)

• Rock 'N' Roll Comics at ComicVine
• Rock 'N' Roll Comics tribute site
• Unauthorized and Proud of It: Todd Loren's Rock 'n' Roll Comics atIMDb
• Jay Allen Sanford interview,Cosmic Book News (2010)
• "Rock 'N' Roll Comics: The Inside Story,"San Diego Reader blog (September 12, 2007).

• Comics publications
• Cultural depictions of rock musicians
• 1989 comics debuts
• Comics based on musical groups
• Underground comix

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