Lawrence, MA boys-made-good Godsmack have announced an upcoming graphic novel with Sumerian Comics called Godsmack: Awake. The 96-page graphic novel, set to be released on Halloween night to coincide with the 26-year anniversary of their multi-platinum sophomore effort, which parlayed their local ubiquity on regional rock radio stations like the now-defunct WAAF all the way into national stardom and dubious placements in Bush-era Navy recruitment ads.
But I digress, let's dive into the press release below:
‘LOS ANGELES, CA — Sumerian Comics has teamed-up with multi-platinum rock band Godsmack for Godsmack: Awake, an original graphic novel inspired by the band’s landmark album Awake. The 96-page, full-color hardcover is available for pre-order today through Sumerian Comics HERE.
Inspired by the lyrics, themes, and atmosphere of Godsmack’s breakthrough album, Godsmack: Awake reimagines the record as a dark supernatural narrative about memory, guilt, violence, and the chance to break free from the sins that follow us.
The story follows Sevrin, a broken man who wakes alone in the isolated sand dunes of Massachusetts with no memory of how he got there. He has bruises across his body, missing time he can’t explain, and a matchbook that keeps leading him to the wrong bar.
As Halloween night unfolds, Sevrin drifts from one dive to the next, reliving violent deaths from different eras. Each vision is tied to greed, rage, and lives destroyed by the same mistakes he keeps making himself. With every vision, new scars appear, blurring the line between past and present, life and afterlife.
On a night when ghosts walk freely and demons laugh, Sevrin must decide whether he is doomed to relive these lives forever, or whether he can finally wake up and change.
Godsmack: Awake is written by Jonathan Hedrick, illustrated by Giusi Lo Piccolo (Diablo: Dawn of Hatred), colored by Simone D’Angelo, and lettered by Toni Sardina. The oversized hardcover measures 7.25 x 11 inches and features a dust cover.
Godsmack: Awake pre-order bundles are available in five tiers:
Tier 1 – $40
Hardcover graphic novel
Tier 2 – $70
Hardcover graphic novel
Slipcase
Postcard set
Digital access card
Tier 3 – $100
Hardcover graphic novel
Slipcase
Postcard set
Digital access card
T-shirt
Tier 4 – $150
Limited to 250 copies
Hardcover graphic novel
Slipcase
Postcard set
Digital access card
T-shirt
Oracle license plate
Shot glass set
Bad Magick Saloon matchbook
Numbered bookplate
Tier 5 – $250
Limited to 50 copies
Hardcover graphic novel
Slipcase
Postcard set
Digital access card
T-shirt
Oracle license plate
Shot glass set
Bad Magick Saloon matchbook
Sully Erna signed bookplate
For fans of Godsmack and frontman Sully Erna's whole working-class Merrimack Valley Wiccan routine, the supernatural elements of the story definitely seem poised to scratch that very particular itch. But in my capacity as the Agenda's Nu England correspondent and as a shit-talking Massachusetts trans woman, I have some questions, though, and if I slip into an accent or levels of shitbirdery that can only be acquired while getting raised by North Shore hockey bros, I promise it's slipping out naturally:
Okay, so we have our main character Sevrin, a man waking up in the "isolated sand dunes of Massachusetts" with no memory of how he got there. Where, pray tell, are these isolated dunes? We’re like 98% forests, grass and rotaries by volume up here, are you in fahkin' Provincetown, kid? I'm not hating, dude, I was up there myself for Ladies' Week last summer and none of us are free of sin, but are you sure the issue isn't just you stayed up too late getting hammered and doing nose candy with a bunch of DL guys from Southie you met at a tea dance? Is the first 5 pages just going to be you doing the March of Shame back from the Cape Cod National Seashore meeting like 5 other dudes along the way who also woke up in the dunes with no clue how they got there? Is most of the narrative gonna be you stopping in every dive bar on Commercial Street asking anyone who gives you the time of day if you were there the other night getting hammered, kehd? Because there's no esoteric supernatural explanation here my guy, that's just textbook crack-of-noon-in-fahkin'-June shit. This sounds like The Hangover if it was gayer (complimentary) and set in Nu England (compli-fahkin'-mentary) and I'm not going to lie to y'all, a part of me is going to be kind of sad if it isn't. No matter what happens, I'll probably be pouring out a Sammy Adams in memory of what might have been (and then probably drinking a Night Shift because Sam's is mid, fight me).
Phew, okay, sorry, I just blacked out for a second, I have no clue what happened for the last 10-15 minutes, but I'm sure there was an elaborate supernatural explanation for it or something. But I was going to let you know that you can take a look at the announcement post on Instagram below, and then pre-order the graphic novel here. And when Godsmack: Awake finally hits the shelves in October, you'd best believe we'll be ready with an in-depth review.
