JOYRIDE: The Comic

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This one’s for all the JOYRIDE readers who waited an entire goddamn month for me to put this out. Sorry, kiddos. 

My promise to you: you’ll never wait again. To make sure of that, I’m gonna stop writing liner notes. You don’t need my reasons for selection or my weird rambles. You just need the music.

Anyway, this issue is all about slowing it down and taking in character. It’s about taking a first step into the unknown of the ongoing series. And more than anything, it’s about FEEEEEEEELINGS. Thus all the Julien Baker.

Oh hey also watch this space cuz I’m dropping two playlists today like Imma rebel.

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE

OH HAI IT’S OUR FIRST JOYRIDE TRADE PAPERBACK!

Your instructions are simple: READ THIS while LISTENING TO THIS.

And if you like what you hear, please SUPPORT THE ARTISTS by BUYING THEIR WORK. 

For more on WHY each song was chosen, check out the issue-by-issue playlists HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!

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EARTH SUCKS SPACE ROCKS LET’S DANCE by Uma Akkolyte

Track #1: “The Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine

Track #2: “Whatever I Want” by Colleen Green

Track #3: “Flesh Without Blood” by Grimes

Track #4: “Cops Don’t Care Pt. II” by Fred Thomas

Track #5: “The Only Place” by Best Coast

Track #6: “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” by Jamie xx, Young Thug, Popcaan

Track #7: “Set Me Free” by Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique

Track #8: “OctaHate” by Ryn Weaver

Track #9: “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye West

Track #10: “Lived and Died Alone” by Shamir

Track #11: “Can We Still Be Friends” by Tobias Jesso Jr.

Track #12: “Need You” by Royal Headache

Track #13: “Korea Town” by Andrew Hung

Track #14: “Shoot The Moon” by B Random

Track #15: “Forbidden Knowledge” by Raury, Big K.R.I.T.

Track #16: “Moments” by Tove Lo

Track #17: “New Kid” by Ex Hex

Track #18: “High By The Beach” by Lana Del Rey

Track #19: “Glitter” by No Age

It’s that time again: JOYRIDE #2 is out in the world and along with it, your required listening. Below, a few liner notes to inform the connections, inspirations, and general music snobbery behind the scenes on JOYRIDE. But beware: SPOILERS AHEAD.

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TRACK #1: “Edelweiss” by Rogers and Hammerstein Or at least the Man In The High Castle version, because we’re getting super fascist right out the gate. In the calm darkness of that crappy planet we just left, you all get to meet Jorn Abderezai. No lie, I listened to this track exclusively, on loop, for hours while writing this page. Maybe a more sinister track would’ve been appropriate, but there’s more in Jorn’s heart than hate. Someday, you’ll see it. But for now, just look in those determined eyes and listen to the calm piano. That pit in your stomach? That’s fear.

TRACK #2: “The Only Place” by Best Coast WELCOME TO SPACE YOU GUYS! To celebrate, let’s hear what is undoubtedly the theme song to JOYRIDE as a project since day one. This was the first song on the first playlist on the first writing session for Joyride. This song is responsible for Uma. I listen to it before I sit down to write any issue of this book - though I certainly replace words like “waves” with “stars” and “babes” with “dope tentacle alien bros.”

TRACK #3: “Real Thing” by tUnE-yArDs Equally apt soundtrack for running away from weird bug space cops and for talking through becoming the real you. Who will the Joyriders become out here in the crazy technicolor depths of space? Certainly not who they thought they WOULD become. Discovering their true selves is, in many ways, the true joy of writing this story.

TRACK #4: “I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times” by Jamie xx, Young Thug, Popcaan Because if there are strip clubs in space, they definitely play Young Thug and The xx. And because pretty much every issue of Joyride has a dance break, now’s your chance to get up for a sec and shake that stellar booty. Just imagine you’re that fun orbital rings thing in the bottom right corner and that sloth gentleman is cheering you on. TRACK #5: “Be Quiet, Mt. Heart Attack” by Liars Welcome to Catrin’s head. It is… not a fun place to be. Stay tuned for more on that in JOYRIDE #3.

TRACK #6: “Pond” by Spraynard A pair as emo as Catrin and Dewydd deserve some equally emo lyrics. But see, here’s the thing: when there’s more than one of you being emo, it’s a lot easier to find the smile at the bottom of the barrel. There’s always something - or someone, or some seriously stupid outfit - that’s gonna make you feel alive.

TRACK #7: “Klapp Klapp” by Little Dragon Yukimi Nagano is basically Uma’s avatar on Earth, so I needed to get a track on here while Uma understands her first Big Space Concept - and decides exactly what she’s gonna do about it. Which is nothing good.

TRACK #8: “Set Me Free” by Robin & La Bagatelle Sometimes you just gotta set a crazy crystal-egg-space-god free to get some space cops dancing. You know how it goes. Also, this is your dance break #2. TAKE ADVANTAGE DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE AND DANCE SHAME YOU

TRACK #9: “Brown Cow” by Michael Stasis No deeper meaning, I just love this as space chase music. Uma is blasting this during the chase. You can go ahead and make that canon.

TRACK #10: “Don’t Look Back” by The Remains This one is, uh, pretty self-explainatory. Collin insisted it make the playlist, even though I’m trying to keep these exceedingly modern. I didn’t even argue. Sometimes a song inspires an entire issue - this one definitely owns JOYRIDE #2. Thus the title. Duh.

TRACK #11 - BONUS TRACK! - “Shoot The Moon” by B Random So this one’s a weird little story. Collin and I are friends with Brandon, the singer in B Random and former American Idol superstar. Somehow, he was unaware of the plot of Joyride - and we were unaware of the song he dropped last month that was literally the plot of Joyride. Like, this would’ve made the #1 playlist FOR CERTAIN - so here it is, so you can share in the exceedingly strange coincidence that is two different artistic teams in two different mediums telling stories about leaving for the moon cause Earth sucks so much.

Better late than never, right? Right?? I have a million excuses for why this didn’t launch alongside JOYRIDE #4 but they basically all come down to one thing: SDCC. Our fourth issue launched in the middle of a week-long comic book party and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to write this up. And then the post-Con fever swept me up, a million things happened…

… and I kinda forgot. Whoops. But still, the playlist lingered on Spotify, demanding to be released. And so here it is, alongside my liner notes.

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE

Track #1: “Can We Still Be Friends” by Tobias Jesso Jr We’re starting off pretty on-the-nose here. This really does feel like a turning point in Uma/Catrin/Dewydd’s relationship with one another; Catrin and Dewydd have both bared secrets they’ve kept hidden to Uma and she is NOT handling it well. She doesn’t WANT to hurt. She wants to still be friends. But her anger is getting the best of her in every way. I know a little something about letting anger control you - and Jesso really lands the feeling here. Track #2: “Glitter” by No Age This song has been on about half the writing playlists I’ve ever assembled - it sits somewhere between melancholy, regretful, and lovely… words I think describe Dewydd rather exactly. Uma’s gotten under his skin and he’s starting to wonder if he can finally bare his soul. This is just the first step… and as you’ll see in the second arc of JOYRIDE, D’s life is going to be changing in extremely huge ways as he reveals what lies in his heart. Track #3: “Seraph” by Mas Ysa Uh, oh. Jorn’s here. And he’s pissed. And Uma’s going to make one hell of a bad decision.

Track #4: “Survive” by Chelsea Wolfe The team is torn asunder - and we’re into pretty dark territory. No one does the darkness of the heart quite like Chelsea Wolfe. I’d recommend the entirety of her album “Abyss” - but this one in particular speaks to the heartbreak of losing those you rely on to survive. Heartbreak, thy name is Joyride.

Track #5/6: “No Guilt in Pleasure” by MS MR / “High By The Beach” by Lana Del Rey Welcome to Uma’s very worst headspace. There’s nothing quite like feeling morally superior - it makes you do dumb things out of anger and pride, all the while feeling like you’re doing the RIGHT thing. It can be fun. It can be exhilarating. And at the end, when the high has worn off, you’re left being a total fucking asshole whose left relationships in tatters just so you can fuck off and feel good. Uma started the Joyride to run. Is it any wonder she’s falling into the trap of prideful loneliness?

Track #7: “True Love Knows” by La Luz Oh, Dewydd. Poor, poor, lovely Dewydd. He’s an INCH away from giving up. From letting his brother tell him who he is. He’s gone sleepy and sad. He’s tired of running. I imagine this song is just playing on repeat, letting him know he can finally sleep.

Track #8: “New Kid” by Ex Hex Catrin, on the other hand, is throwing a middle finger in the air to all that. She’s learned everything Uma had to throw down about independence - and now, by using Uma’s words from Issue #1, she’s taking a stand. She’s not a princess… she’s a warrior. And she’s starting to truly accept who she is. This track has been her theme song since moment #1 - but I’ve waited to share it until now.

Track #9: “Little Star” by Royal Headache OH SHIT UMA’S BACK AND SHE’S NOT AFRAID ANYMORE. AND JORN SEES THE PART OF DEWYDD HE CAN’T CHANGE.

“When things turned rough, that’s when I knew that I loved you.”

Track #10: “Bury It” by CHVRCHES This one should be pretty self-explanatory. It’s all there in the book and the lyrics. All that pain, all those angry moments with Uma at the top of the book - this is where it all gets buried. Because Uma finally shows her trauma. She starts running towards her friends, rather than away from her past. Also, this song has a LOT to say about Catrin and Dewydd, but you’ll get more of that in Issue #5.

Some pencils to inks for Joyride 2. Lots of aliens :)

As promised, a look at the Catrin/Uma mind-meld sequence from JOYRIDE #3 - from our initial script to Marcus To’s insanely perfect art. Note the lack of panels, the amount of “you do you, Marcus!”, etc. This book is like jazz - and here’s our sheet music.

Should it be any surprise the difference is striking?

Next time somebody tells you comics is a writer’s medium, show them JOYRIDE. So say the writers of JOYRIDE.

JOYRIDE #3 is in stores everywhere today, bringing you some psychonaut strangeness, crazy spaceship dancing, and one very lonely artificial intelligence. So as you make your way through what is certainly Marcus To’s greatest work to date, here’s some songs to keep you company.

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE

TRACK #1: “Forbidden Knowledge” by Roary Listen to this one before you even crack the cover. The deeper conspiracy notes and lyrical specifics are cool - but they’re an aside next to the primary theme of the song. Think of it as our prelude, a little ode to that which should not be known. Or maybe that which must be. Now, with those words in your mind, let’s begin.

TRACK #2: “OctaHate” by Ryn Weaver Out of gas? No problem. Perfect time for an absurdly impulsive dance party. A few have commented on Uma’s “unhinged” behavior since the Joyride left Earth - and while I certainly agree she’s been rash as heck, I’d also follow her anywhere as long as she blasted the tunes and kept the party going. Just look at Bot doing all the parts of the macarena at once! Worth every insane detour or dangerous chase. For now.

TRACK #3: “March of Progress” by Viet Cong Enter the Protex. Artificial Intelligence is one of those Big Science Fiction Universal Concepts that the Joyride had to run into down the line - in fact, they’ve run into it already with Bot - but we didn’t want another evil logical robot. We wanted something that reflected our heroes, and that’s where the Protex comes from. A glitchy, disconnected, totally self-obsessed superweapon. Cuz being a Death Star is lonely you guys.

TRACK #4: “Moments” by Tove Lo After showing some serious “saving your ass” chops in the last issue, Catrin has another one of her moments. Candidly, after Collin, Marcus and I worked hard to bring her out of the mold of “efficient soldier” in the first two issues, this is the issue where I fell in love with Catrin. She’s not some kind of statue. She wants fun. She wants to dance. She wants to let go. But she’s spent her entire life being told she can’t. And we’ll soon understand why. And it’ll shatter everything she’s building here. TRACK #5: “Metal” by Suuns, Jerusalem In My Heart Dewydd didn’t plan on negotiating with a mad AI to save his friends today. That wasn’t on the docket at all. But what he’ll discover here is a backbone he really didn’t even think he had. There’s mettle in Dewydd… and maybe even some metal. He surprised me in this scene. 

TRACK #6: “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye West (ft Chance the Rapper) This is a weird one. I’ve told this story a few times, but the first draft of the Psychospores sequence - which is, by far, my favorite Marcus To / Irma Kniivila art of the series thus far - began life as what was essentially a fucking tone poem. I’m gonna post the script later this week so people can see what a magician Marcus was here, but seriously, It was past midnight. I was exhausted. It was the night Kanye released “Life of Pablo” on Tidal. And I just sat there for two hours, listening to this track over and over again as I wrote the first version of what became my favorite damned thing. I owe it to Kanye and Chance.

TRACK #7: “Grow” by Lianna La Havas This one feels self-explanatory. Uma and Catrin are too people who’ve grown in very different directions on the same tree, finally brought together by something else that cannot stop growing. But can they handle the revelations? 

TRACK #8: “Lived and Died Alone” by Shamir  Poor Protex. Life is better with friends. Ignore the necrophilia angle unless you really get the metaphor, in which case, pay attention to the necrophilia. I doubt we’ve seen the last of the Protex.

TRACK #9: “Smokey” by Michael Stasis Uma’s smile finally comes off as her wound is reopened. These kids may be together, but they’re terrified of being alone. By next issue, that fear becomes reality. For now, it just becomes sadness.

TRACK #10: “They Know” by Deaf Wish Catrin’s father. Dewydd’s brother. Uma’s past.

Nothing stays behind you for long. The harder you run… the harder they chase.

Because I cannot possible help myself, each issue of JOYRIDE comes equipped with its own playlist - music that helped inspire or reflects the intention of each character/moment/page/terrible joke we bring to print.

Since Issue #1 drops today, here’s some music to get you in the mood: https://open.spotify.com/user/jacksonlanzing/playlist/26nQTzk9B7ZCxKBqR2Vco3

And if you’re curious WHY each song came about, here’s some liner notes. Because, again, I cannot possibly help myself. I am beyond help. I am Eliza-level helpless.

TRACK #1: “The Dog Days Are Over” by Florence & The Machine Yes, it’s on the nose. Yes, it’s overplayed. Yes, it’s as obvious a mission statement as we could possibly drop at this, the beginning of our fuck-off-space-adventure. But also? It’s on-point. This is Collin, Marcus, and my first creator-owned project. Our first time calling the shots. Our first time on our own. We’re running fast for our mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. Just like Uma. TRACK #2: “Whatever I Want” by Colleen Green Some songs are just designed to speak for your characters in a way you never could. This song is Uma and Dewydd in equal measure. Lately, they’ve become aware and they can never go back. TRACK #3: “City Boy Blues” by Action Bronson Dewydd Abderezai may present a little meek, he might have some pretty solid self-doubt going on, but I think every time he’s hanging on a rooftop with Uma, his brain is jamming to Bronson. A rumble that will grow to a roar. TRACK #4: “Pool Boys” by Diet Cig “I’m sorry my town sucks.” We often refer to JOYRIDE as the experience of leaving your small town for the first time - and rarely does a song encapsulate that stir-crazy feeling as much as “Pool Boys.” If these three don’t have a slumber party in jail by the end of the JOYRIDE, we’ll have failed as creators. TRACK #5: “Swim” by Fickle Friends Dewydd and Uma are on the run. Adrenaline is kicking in. Life is speeding up. Neither of them are alone anymore - but neither’s sure how to swim. Also, this is a good time for a dance break. Go ahead. Put down the comic. Get on your feet. Shake the hips and move your feet like you’re in an earthquake. I’ll wait.

Damn. You’re a good dancer. You should do that more often.

TRACK #6: “Runaway” by Mr. Little Jeans Come on. Do I even need to tell you what’s up here? And here you thought “Dog Days” was on the nose.

TRACK #7: “Flesh Without Blood” by Grimes Honest to god, it’s a miracle this entire playlist isn’t just Art Angels. I’m gonna be putting an absurd amount of Grimes on these playlists, you should really just get used to it. Anyway, welcome to Catrin. She’s complicated. She’s angry. She’s going through some shit. You won’t find out about it for a little while, but yeah. She has every chance to destroy everything that she knows… and she’s gonna take it. TRACK #8: “Nights In The Dark” by California X U M A / C A T R I N / D E W Y D D S E E T H E S T A R S.

TRACK #9: “Small Pony” by DOTT The ride arrives. Uma’s brain explodes into jangles and doo-wop beats. This is the moment of her entire life. This is the angelic choir of forever escape. Welcome to space, riot grrrl. Hope you survive the experience. TRACK #10: “Korea Town” by Andrew Hung Meet The Bot. He’s not nearly as scary as he looks. But he is every bit as confusing. Just listen to the lyrics on this track, they basically explain everything. TRACK #11: “The Left Is Right” by Desaparecidos “If one must die to save the ninety-nine, maybe it’s justified.” And just like that, the first thing Uma Akkolyte does when she gets to space is kill a fascist with the power of friendship. And also the power of the overwhelming vacuum of space. TRACK #12: “How It’s Going To Be” by Gerard Way They’re captains of a freaking starship! C E L E B R A T I O N T I M E. Also, since Umbrella Academy’s misfit crazy kids were a huge influence on JOYRIDE, it only felt right to pay some tribute to the excellent Mr. Way. Also also, pretty sure that Uma listens to Black Parade when she’s feeling particularly angsty. TRACK #13: “Cops Don’t Care Pt. II” by Fred Thomas Catrin learns her first lesson: no one has ever given a fuck about her the way this crazy abberant girl does. Certainly not her fellow cops. And she learns her second lesson too: that she gives a fuck about herself. TRACK #14: “Say It, Just Say It” by The Mowgli’s Blast-off, kiddos. Three kids. One robot. One weird spaceship. Three creators. Five creative partners. Two incredible editors. One amazing publisher.

We’ve been waiting our whole lives for this. And this is, I assure you, just the start.