Back in June, we posted about Marvel Comics issuing a second batch of comic covers taking inspiration from classic rock albums, you can read the original post here.
Well recently, a well know rock act from the 1970s recently celebrated a 40th Anniversary of one of their album. That band was Queen with their sixth studio album, New Of The World.
The album is one of Queen’s biggest selling albums of all time. It opens with two of the band’s most indestructible worldwide hits, the Brian May-penned ‘We Will Rock You’ and Freddie Mercury’s ‘We Are The Champions’, monumental stadium anthems which remain a staple of major sporting events all around the world to this day. With songs written by all four band members, NOTW, Queen’s sixth album, set a new standard in stylistic diversity, from Roger Taylor’s proto-punk blast of ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ to the salacious funk-rock groove workout ‘Get Down Make Love’, to the fragrant tropical calypso-pop ‘Who Needs You’. ‘News of the World’ also features the hit ‘Spread Your Wings’, the epic rock saga ‘It’s Late’ and Freddie’s wistfully romantic ‘My Melancholy Blues’.
This week was released the limited edition picture disc (limited to only 1977 copies) and box set which features all kinds of bonus recordings.
But back in October there was a special version available, an exclusive vinyl pressing with Marvel’s Rock Variant tribute to the iconic Queen artwork, for X-Men Gold #11. This was only available at the MCM London Comic Con, with a limited run of only 220 copies, have the iconic original cover on one side, and the Marvel version on the other. Designed by Mike del Mundo it shows a Sentinel holding Old Man Logan and Kitty Pride as Colossus plummets to the ground. More details can be read from the original press release on the bands own website.
The original cover is an adaptation of a painting by American sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. Roger Taylor saw an issue of Astounding Science Fiction (from October 1953) whose cover art depicted a giant robot holding the lifeless body of a man. The caption read: “Please… fix it, Daddy?” to illustrate the story ‘The Gulf Between’ by Tom Godwin. Queen contacted Freas, who agreed to adapt the image for the LP cover, replacing the single body with the four lifeless band members. A further illustration for the inner gatefold has the robot extending its hand to snatch up the petrified fleeing audience from the shattered auditorium.
Recently whilst the band were on tour with Adam Lambert they used a new computer generated image of the robot during their show.
And Brian May was seen standing next to a rare 1977 in-store display to promote the 3D book.
This legendary UK promotional-only large plastic robot, also known as Frank – named after its designer Frank Kelly Freas. Measures approximately 54 inches in height – nearly 140cm and made from silver coloured moulded plastic with hand-finished colouring and detail with each example slightly different. The robot’s hands create a platform upon which the vinyl LPs can be displayed, held in place by a wire-framed basket.
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