Elvis Presley gets a comic book origin story

Elvis: The Graphic Novel — (Image credit: Z2 Comics / Authentic Brands Group)

Marvel has their King in Black, and at Z2 Comics the King is back, as in the legendary King of rock 'n' roll Elvis Presley, who still maintains a hold on pop culture over 40 years after his death.

Z2 Comics and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand development, marketing, and entertainment company and owner of the Elvis Presley Estate announced a new, official original graphic novel celebrating the life and career of the music icon.

"Elvis: The Graphic Novel will follow the King of Rock 'n' Roll's humble beginnings in Memphis as a young artist struggling to find his voice and break into the music industry," reads the official description. "From the history-making Sun Studio to television sets across the nation, the trials and tribulations of Elvis Aaron Presley are illustrated in graphic detail by author Chris Miskiewicz (Grateful Dead: Origins, This Is Where We Fall) and Marvel Comics artist Michael Shelfer."

"Elvis is one of the most universally celebrated names in entertainment," says Z2 publisher, Josh Frankel. "His name transcends music itself as one of the larger-than-life figures in the history of pop culture. We hope to make this graphic novel an origin story for Elvis fans akin to what Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is for the Son of Krypton."

Elvis: The Graphic Novel will be available in softcover at bookstores and comic books shops in August 2021 in both standard and a deluxe 'Blue Suede' edition that includes an exclusive vinyl compendium and prints from artists Chris Hunt and Erik Rodriguez.

It will also be available in a limited-edition oversized hardcover accompanied by a new compilation album from Sony Music, "mirroring the story through the musician’s own early output that came to define American rock and roll."

Lots of famous people have comic book biographies. Some have even crossed over with comic book characters. Check out Newsarama's countdown that includes some of the more unexpected real-life/comics crossovers.

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.