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This Damned Band
Motherfather are 1974's biggest rock act. They strike a pose of "worshipping the devil" only to find that they're actually... worshipping the devil. It's one heavy trip. Man. As told to a documentary camera crew, this is the story of their world tour... with the band's souls at stake.
From Paul Cornell ( Wolverine, Action Comics ) and Tony Parker ( Mass Foundation ) comes a darkly hilarious adventure of classic black magic and classic rock!
From Paul Cornell ( Wolverine, Action Comics ) and Tony Parker ( Mass Foundation ) comes a darkly hilarious adventure of classic black magic and classic rock!
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2016
2 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Paul Cornell
617 books1,505 followersPaul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.
via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...
via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 5, 2016
Follows the well walked path of a Rock band mockumentary.
You can feel a bit of the humour and tongue in cheek similar to that of This is Spinal Tap.
The stereotypes and dynamics of the bands and groupies are well setup.
The role of the camera crew filming the whole thing morphs throughout the story and its interesting to see the move from passive to active on their part.
The band itself is perfectly over the top, it just wouldn't make sense otherwise.
Added to all the above is the occult, statanism(or Santaism depending on reading ability of the band memeber) and nasty murderous twists and turns.
Artwork is very good and has moments of great quirkiness for little alternate sections.
All around decent story with a bit of fun for a dark plot.
You can feel a bit of the humour and tongue in cheek similar to that of This is Spinal Tap.
The stereotypes and dynamics of the bands and groupies are well setup.
The role of the camera crew filming the whole thing morphs throughout the story and its interesting to see the move from passive to active on their part.
The band itself is perfectly over the top, it just wouldn't make sense otherwise.
Added to all the above is the occult, statanism(or Santaism depending on reading ability of the band memeber) and nasty murderous twists and turns.
Artwork is very good and has moments of great quirkiness for little alternate sections.
All around decent story with a bit of fun for a dark plot.
September 20, 2017
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
This is a hard one to review: I didn't enjoy reading any of it and thought it was a hot mess. But there are touches of cleverness (both in story and illustrations) that make it so hard to rate this low. The characters are thoroughly unlikable, the story jumpy/feeling so random in so many places, and the art is all over the place. I should have been the perfect audience for this and so I have to admit to some disappointment.Story: A very "Led Zeppelin" type of archetype 1970s rock band is the subject of a documentary. But during the filming, it is becoming increasingly obvious that something disturbing is going on beyond the sex, drugs, and rock and roll. With the aid of their groupies, the band will stumble upon a satanic plot - one involving someone in their midst.
As straightforward as the plot summary sounds, the story is anything but; it meanders around very stupid people doing very stupid over-the-top pointless things. From the Lemmy guitarist to the Robert Plant lead singer - they are all a bunch of complete idiots doing really pathetic things. And therein lies the problem since all are caricatures of archetypes of the era. From the 'fat cat' band manager to the over-sexed bassist, hippie and earth mother roadies, and clueless documentary crew. Everything is too nebulously defined to really gel or make the story interesting. Not one piece of this felt authentic.
The art, though inconsistent, is brilliant in places and sub-Bazooka gum comics in others. The scenes capturing drugged stupor hallucinations especially fell flat; a disappointment considering the fantastic depictions of band posters that really capture the era beautifully. The unevenness (some character designs were spot on and others questionable) really exacerbated the story and plot issues.
Monty Python (which is even referenced in the book) made stupid funny. Not so much here - stupid is just stupid and we don't have a lot of reason to follow these oafish louts. If anything, one kinda began to hope that Satan would hurry up and end them sooner rather than later and spare the read. I know that sounds mean but I honestly felt that way after the first 25%.
As an era piece, it is quirky and there are some hidden gems. But I can't say it was worth slogging through the entire book to get to them. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
June 11, 2025
A true hidden gem in the vein of something like Noroi the Curse, but with Rockstars in the 70s.
January 4, 2017
"This Is Spinal Tap" where the band might really have sold their souls to the devil. Tony Parker's art is fantastic. It's a bit hard to care for anyone in the band because they are all a bunch of a-holes. I wish they had focused more on what was going on behind the scenes instead of how big of dicks these guys are. I felt like the end happened very abbruptly because all of a sudden in the last issue there's this big upheaval in the plot.
Received an advance copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Received an advance copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2023
I've had this book checked out for a looong time. I have 26/100 renewals left. 74 renewals x 3 weeks = 222 weeks or 4 years? Clearly should have gotten to this much sooner, but at least I'm clearing through my physical TBR during this readathon!
Anyway, the idea was good. The execution didn't really work for me. Hard to follow.. and I think some further editing would have helped?
I shuffled this title, Paper Girls vol 1, and Ascender vol 3.. and I pointed to This Damned Band. Surprisingly not my lowest rated book this month LOL.
Anyway, the idea was good. The execution didn't really work for me. Hard to follow.. and I think some further editing would have helped?
I shuffled this title, Paper Girls vol 1, and Ascender vol 3.. and I pointed to This Damned Band. Surprisingly not my lowest rated book this month LOL.
November 14, 2019
What happens when a band fakes Satanism to be popular but then find out Satan is real? This is good, dumb fun, knowledgeable satire with enough plot twists to keep it interesting. If you don't both love and hate '70s classic rock, you probably won't both love and hate this, either.
January 10, 2017
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.5 of 5
This graphic novel took me on a roller coaster ride of liking it, not liking it, liking it again, then not liking it again.
The book takes on the quirks of rock music and publicity in the pop culture market during rock's hey-day - 1972. In what might be a cross between The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Motley Crue (who admittedly came through a decade or so later), and band called MotherFather is out on tour and have a video team following them everywhere to document the iconic band. Is their devil worshiping attitude just a gimmick to sell records, or does the band actually spend time worshiping the devil? There's plenty of hedonism, with drugs and sex and greedy publicists lurking about.
There's a really interesting concept here, but it's lost in its search for a story.
The question that the story revolves around is: are the band members really devotees of the occult? It's a question the documentary hopes to answer as the film crew follows the band around. From a reader's perspective, the question is: why do we care? Once presented with the question, we trust that there will be an answer and a reason to care what the answer is. Author Paul Cornell does attempt to give us an answer, but it doesn't satisfy.
The story feels padded. There isn't a whole lot to go on here. Following a group of self-indulgent rockers who behave like horny adolescents might provide entertainment for a few pages but it's hardly enough to build a 160 page graphic novel. The occult aspect, as mentioned on the first page, doesn't really come into play again until we're near the end of the book, making this feel as though the plot was a tag on to what Cornell assumed were fascinating characters, or the non-occult-dealing portions are padding.
One of the reasons we don't care too much about what's happening is because the characters are unlikable. This isn't the Beatles, with their snappy patter, or the Stones with their overt sexuality. These are adult men with no goal in life (not even to create awesome music) other than to get laid and get high. That may have been enough (and typical) for the early 70's, but it's not enough now, even from a historical perspective.
Let's talk about the art. As usual, being a graphic novel, the art is integral to telling the story. The art here, by Tony Parker, ranges from strong, realistic images to 1950's Little Orphan Annie simple.
On the surface, the difference in art styles is distracting. When I came across the overly cartoony section, I truly thought that a different artist had taken over that section. But when I went back to see who the artist was, I discovered that all the art is by Parker, which had me re-examine the look of the book. What I see is that the art changes depending on who has the point of view. Most of the book is from the POV of the film-makers ... but not all. The art changes again when the 'video footage' is supposedly from some Super 8 camera film. And then it changes again - to the very cartoony look - but I can't tell you why. I'm confident that Parker has a reason, but I haven't been able to figure it out.
I do really like some of the angles Parker uses and greatly appreciated some of the long distant/wide looks. This is something you don't generally see in comic art. It definitely helped for the film look.
Parker uses some repeat frames ... the same image, repeating with minor changes. He does this nicely, but when he has inanimate objects change in each panel, I am more and more confused. It's cute and clever, but I don't see a purpose.
There are moments of this book that I really enjoy, but what I come away with overall is ... eh.
Looking for a good book? This Damned Band is a graphic novel of a 1970's rock band and their fascination with the occult. There are moments of high interest and sweet art, but the entire package doesn't satisfy.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel took me on a roller coaster ride of liking it, not liking it, liking it again, then not liking it again.
The book takes on the quirks of rock music and publicity in the pop culture market during rock's hey-day - 1972. In what might be a cross between The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Motley Crue (who admittedly came through a decade or so later), and band called MotherFather is out on tour and have a video team following them everywhere to document the iconic band. Is their devil worshiping attitude just a gimmick to sell records, or does the band actually spend time worshiping the devil? There's plenty of hedonism, with drugs and sex and greedy publicists lurking about.
There's a really interesting concept here, but it's lost in its search for a story.
The question that the story revolves around is: are the band members really devotees of the occult? It's a question the documentary hopes to answer as the film crew follows the band around. From a reader's perspective, the question is: why do we care? Once presented with the question, we trust that there will be an answer and a reason to care what the answer is. Author Paul Cornell does attempt to give us an answer, but it doesn't satisfy.
The story feels padded. There isn't a whole lot to go on here. Following a group of self-indulgent rockers who behave like horny adolescents might provide entertainment for a few pages but it's hardly enough to build a 160 page graphic novel. The occult aspect, as mentioned on the first page, doesn't really come into play again until we're near the end of the book, making this feel as though the plot was a tag on to what Cornell assumed were fascinating characters, or the non-occult-dealing portions are padding.
One of the reasons we don't care too much about what's happening is because the characters are unlikable. This isn't the Beatles, with their snappy patter, or the Stones with their overt sexuality. These are adult men with no goal in life (not even to create awesome music) other than to get laid and get high. That may have been enough (and typical) for the early 70's, but it's not enough now, even from a historical perspective.
Let's talk about the art. As usual, being a graphic novel, the art is integral to telling the story. The art here, by Tony Parker, ranges from strong, realistic images to 1950's Little Orphan Annie simple.
On the surface, the difference in art styles is distracting. When I came across the overly cartoony section, I truly thought that a different artist had taken over that section. But when I went back to see who the artist was, I discovered that all the art is by Parker, which had me re-examine the look of the book. What I see is that the art changes depending on who has the point of view. Most of the book is from the POV of the film-makers ... but not all. The art changes again when the 'video footage' is supposedly from some Super 8 camera film. And then it changes again - to the very cartoony look - but I can't tell you why. I'm confident that Parker has a reason, but I haven't been able to figure it out.
I do really like some of the angles Parker uses and greatly appreciated some of the long distant/wide looks. This is something you don't generally see in comic art. It definitely helped for the film look.
Parker uses some repeat frames ... the same image, repeating with minor changes. He does this nicely, but when he has inanimate objects change in each panel, I am more and more confused. It's cute and clever, but I don't see a purpose.
There are moments of this book that I really enjoy, but what I come away with overall is ... eh.
Looking for a good book? This Damned Band is a graphic novel of a 1970's rock band and their fascination with the occult. There are moments of high interest and sweet art, but the entire package doesn't satisfy.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
October 20, 2016
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
I've struggled for a couple of days now trying to figure out what I can say about this. It's all about the premise when it comes to this book (a collection of issues from a limited-run series).
This is a comic about one of the biggest bands of 1974, Motherfather, on what could be their last world tour -- complete with a documentary crew, a gaggle of groupies, and a manager who could be the hybrid of Wilson Fisk and Colonel Tom Parker. Like many rock artists of the time, Motherfather makes a big deal about worshiping the devil as part of their stage persona. While on this tour (possibly with some psychopharmacological help), they discover they've actually been worshiping the devil.
Oops.
Things don't go all that well from there.
If you like that hook, you'll like this book. Otherwise, just skip it.
Paul Cornell wrote this, so right off that tells you this is going to be well-written. A little humor, some real people and real emotions, and some seriously messed up supernatural elements. Cornell delivers on the promise of the premise -- and a little more. It's exactly what you want to read given the hook.
As for Tony Parker? I don't think I've seen his stuff before -- but I'm going to keep an eye out for it. I honestly can't think of anyone who could've matched the style and story of this book like he did -- either in the film sections, the visions/hallucinations, or the rest. Really great work.
I should throw in a quick note here, if it's not obvious from the subject matter, this is not for kids.
It's not for everyone, but it's pretty entertaining. If the concept strikes you as up your alley, it probably is -- give this one a shot.
---
I've struggled for a couple of days now trying to figure out what I can say about this. It's all about the premise when it comes to this book (a collection of issues from a limited-run series).
This is a comic about one of the biggest bands of 1974, Motherfather, on what could be their last world tour -- complete with a documentary crew, a gaggle of groupies, and a manager who could be the hybrid of Wilson Fisk and Colonel Tom Parker. Like many rock artists of the time, Motherfather makes a big deal about worshiping the devil as part of their stage persona. While on this tour (possibly with some psychopharmacological help), they discover they've actually been worshiping the devil.
Oops.
Things don't go all that well from there.
If you like that hook, you'll like this book. Otherwise, just skip it.
Paul Cornell wrote this, so right off that tells you this is going to be well-written. A little humor, some real people and real emotions, and some seriously messed up supernatural elements. Cornell delivers on the promise of the premise -- and a little more. It's exactly what you want to read given the hook.
As for Tony Parker? I don't think I've seen his stuff before -- but I'm going to keep an eye out for it. I honestly can't think of anyone who could've matched the style and story of this book like he did -- either in the film sections, the visions/hallucinations, or the rest. Really great work.
I should throw in a quick note here, if it's not obvious from the subject matter, this is not for kids.
It's not for everyone, but it's pretty entertaining. If the concept strikes you as up your alley, it probably is -- give this one a shot.
August 30, 2016
Ahahahaha (falls over laughing). I loved this. Read at white heat from the moment I unwrapped this (hooray for birthday gifts), it was unputdownable. Is that a word? It should be a word. Fine. It is now.
Cornell takes the silliness of Spinal Tap, mixes it up with some of the more lurid stories about 70s superbands (I'm looking at you, Pink Floyd) and adds a liberal dose of good ol' cheekiness. While he's at it, he mixes in some outrageous French accents, seriously psychedelic mushrooms, and just a little dose of true love.
Oh, and Satan. Yeah. He's there. What did you expect from a rock and roll band that attributes its success to the Devil, after all?
Go. Read this. Enjoy.
Read
February 24, 2016Hmmmmm. There are things I like and things that don't quite gel. It's a bit meta, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and a bit nostalgic; but the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. I imagine I missed some seventies rock references, but the ones I did get were a lot of fun. Interesting characters, but there seems to be some missing pieces in the plot, like skipped frames. You can figure out the way things are supposed to be happening, but it's a bit jerky. I'd say I liked it, but it didn't blow me away.
Read
March 25, 2016Seventies rock titans, known for their flirtation with Satanic imagery, are startled to learn that yes, they really are serving the Devil. It's a wonderful concept, and some of the details are equally delightful. But too often the series is let down by erratic art, and a faux-documentary conceit which simply doesn't work.
dnf-but-maybe-later
February 3, 2016love this cover art for issues #1 and #3
May 3, 2017
A docu-style story of the ultimate rock band and their tryst with the devil. Madness and genius standing in for fame and self gratification. Cornell and Parker drummed up a whole lotta love and mayhem as hubris takes on the band of bands.
December 24, 2016
The excess of the Seventies taken to its logical endpoint, where it's all about the magick, and the magick is all about the music, and the music is all about the money, and wait, what do those symbols on the album cover mean?
April 25, 2016
I could just barely follow this one.
May 28, 2016
Had some very cool elements, but overall not at the level of the Shadow Police series.
July 4, 2016
ugh.... this was an Alan Moore rip off....
August 21, 2016
Weird but interesting, and the ending was quite satisfying. I love that the groupies and wives were so heroic. If Paul Cornell ever starts writing less horror, call me.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews