The Singularity | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
Sunday, November 3rd, 2024  

The Singularity

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Bear McCreary, Mat Groom

Aug 01, 2024 Web Exclusive

The Singularity is a fascinating graphic novel collaboration between Emmy Award-winning composer Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead) and writer Mat Groom (Mighty Morphin). The book tells a story of love, loss, and redemption that spans thousands of years, but feels intimate and identifiable. It tackles weighty philosophical issues with dazzling illustrations from Ramón K. Pérez (Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand), Danilo Beyruth (Deep Cuts), Rod Reis (New Mutants), John J. Pearson (Mindset) and many more, all organized by creative director Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black).

The Singularity is also the comic book companion to McCreary’s sprawling concept album of the same name, including music from Slash, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Joe Satriani, Serj Tankain (System of a Down), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), and Rufus Wainwright, just to name a few. The album contains spoken-word monologues taken from the graphic novel, performed by Lee Pace (The Hobbit), Danai Gurira (Black Panther), and Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy).

When you consider the mind-boggling number of voices involved, The Singularity easily ranks among the most ambitious comic/music hybrid releases in history. It must have been a daunting task to weave a cohesive narrative out of all these individual contributions. Thankfully, McCreary, Groom, and Higgins really stuck the landing. The book is episodic in nature and mirrors some of the construction of the record but, ultimately, this graphic novel stands on its own as a beautiful, thoughtful, and singular piece. And, when combined with the album, together they create a rare immersive experience that recalls pouring over the artwork of a late ‘70s/early ‘80s prog rock concept record.

Nobody else is doing work like this right now. The staggering list of artists who gave their time and talent to this project is a real testament to McCreary’s incredible skill and taste. He’s a natural leader and gifted storyteller. Hopefully, he and Groom will find another opportunity like The Singularity to work on in the future. (http://www.imagecomics.com/comics/releases/the-singularity-ogn-tp)

Author rating: 8/10

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Average reader rating: 10/10



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