Award winning composer/writer Joe Clark and bestselling writer Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black) present a sweeping saga of ambition, heartbreak, and the untamed rhythm of jazz in the Eisner Award nominated Deep Cuts. This paperback, graphic novel epic spans six decades of music Americana, is brought to life by an all-star cast of contributing interior artists, and is available now from Image Comics.
When a jazz legend’s death makes headlines, rising musicians Barry and Alice set out to honor the idol they never met. Their search uncovers the forgotten legacies of five extraordinary artists whose intertwined lives helped define the sound of an era, but whose names have largely been lost to time.
From the smoke-filled clubs of 1917 New Orleans to the neon glow of 1968 Los Angeles, Deep Cuts is inspired by true events and follows the trailblazers who bled for the music that moved their souls. Each chapter riffs off the last—musicians trading melodies across generations, shaping and echoing one another’s lives in a grand composition of rhythm, risk, and revelation culminating in one soulful crescendo. Deep Cuts introduces readers to the shared, “found family” legacy that is built note-by-note, bar-by-bar, into a song that never ends for those who know that good music never dies.
Clark himself is a multiple award winning music composer and arranger whose compositions and arrangements have been performed by the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Kurt Elling, Phil Woods, Ira Sullivan, the Minnesota Orchestra, players from the Chicago Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, and more worldwide. His arrangements can also be heard on many albums, including Kanye West and Malik Yusef’s “G.O.O.D. Morning G.O.O.D. Night.” As such, his background lends a musicality and authenticity to Deep Cuts.
“One of the deepest joys of music is discovering the connections between artists: leaders and sidemen, composers and arrangers, generations influenced by musicians brave enough to take the leap into the unknown and make something new,” said Clark. “Our story is fictional, but it’s rooted in research of the real people, places, and communities that created this music.”
Nods to true life historical figures throughout music history are in abundance within the pages of Deep Cuts. Characters are inspired by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat “King” Cole, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Chick Corea, Count Basie, Wayne Shorter, and many more. Elements of their struggles, successes, and personal style are intermixed into amalgams that illustrate some of the most notable flashpoints in America’s music history.
The story is rich with additional atmosphere and historical easter eggs including references to, and fictionalized versions of: the 1926 Hot Peppers sessions, real kidnapping of Mary McElroy, rock magazine Crawdaddy, the writing of Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe, the streets of New Orleans, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, The Wizard of Oz, and even down to Frank Early’s Saloon in old Storyville.
The superstar interior artists joining Higgins and Clark’s choir-of-talent include: Danilo Beyruth, Helena Masellis, Diego Greco, Ramón K Pérez (Stillwater), Ignatz Award winning Juni Ba (Monkey Meat), and Toby Cypress (The Gravedigger’s Union) with coloring by Igor Monti (Radiant Black, Inferno Girl Red, Supermassive).
Higgins added: “I often say that the best part of making comics is the collaboration, but my favorite part is collaborating with friends. A lot of my love and passion for the creative process comes out of my love and experience in music. Joe Clark and I first met in high school jazz band and have been working together to make art in one form or another for the last twenty five years. Deep Cuts is the culmination of a lifetime of love, curiosity and the epitome of what makes both jazz and comics so fantastic—the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.”
Deep Cuts also includes lead sheets of original songs by Chicago jazz composers, inspired by and connected to each chapter of this momentous story.
Deep Cuts trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534398627, Lunar Code 0324IM191) is available at local comic book shops, independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo
Deep Cuts is available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
Author Profile
- I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!
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