“Weird Al” Yankovic has sold millions of albums, won five Grammy Awards, performed sold-out concerts around the world and had Daniel Radcliffe play him in a movie about his life. He can add one more line to his resume now, thanks to the brand-new graphic novel, The Illustrated Al: The Songs of “Weird Al” Yankovic. The release from Z2 Comics features a cadre of cartoonists bringing 20 of the Prince of Pop Parody’s songs to life on the page.
IGN had the chance to speak to Yankovic and Z2’s Josh Bernstein about the release. Read on to learn more about how the book came together, Yankovic’s Broadway ambitions and why Prince is one artist he’ll never spoof.
The Origins of The Illustrated Al
The Illustrated Al is a ‘Greatest Hits’ album in graphic novel form. It tackles some of the best-known Yankovic parodies, including “Like A Surgeon,” “Amish Paradise,” but focuses more on original Weird Al songs like “Dare to be Stupid.” The idea came about after Z2 Comics approached the singer about collaborating on a project.
“When we started [Z2 Comics], we dreamed about working with a couple different artists and Al was one of the first people we emailed,” recalls Bernstein, who served as project editor for the book. “Al’s camp came back to me with a better idea, which was, what if we interpret all these lyrics and this is what Al thinks? And I was like, ‘Oh my God, yes. Any book we do where the artist has their fingerprints on it, it’s infinitely better.’”
Yankovic helped select the artists for the project, but aside from viewing the pages as they were finished, he says he took a hands-off approach.
“Many of [the artists] were people I knew and had worked with in the past and others were supplied by Z2,” Yankovic says. “I got to see examples of their work and I would say, oh, this is a person that I think would kind of get what I’m doing.”
Yankovic also gave the artists a list of his songs to choose from for the graphic novel.
“We wanted them to really vibe with whatever they’re doing and really have ownership in their work,” he says. “I think the artists all made very good choices and I think my catalog is pretty well-represented.”
The singer preferred to take a hands-off approach and let the artists do their thing, with one notable exception.
“I mean, the only notes I ever gave I think were if they got the lyrics wrong,” he says with a laugh. “I wanted to make sure that that was right, at least.”
The Artists of The Illustrated Al
Bernstein credits Yankovic for having a deft touch in selecting which artists would be the best fit with his songs. “Al really was like a matchmaker. We’d send him the artist or the portfolio and Al matched every song to every artist to…bring out the best in every [chapter],” he says.
While trying to pick a favorite chapter from the book represented a “Sophie’s Choice”-type conundrum for Yankovic, he did make sure to to compliment Felipe Sobriero’s interpretation of “Jackson Park Express,” his 2014 Yacht Rock-ish opus about a weirdo on a crosstown bus.
“That piece is one of my absolute favorites in the book. I picked Felipe because he illustrated for Nathan Rabin, who has done several books about me,” Yankovic says. “Felipe always had the most amazing illustrations, so I wanted to make sure that he was included in this collection. I gave him Jackson Park Express, because that’s one of my personal favorite songs that I’ve ever done. I knew he would do it justice and he absolutely did.”
The Illustrated Al graphic novel, like many other Z2 Comics releases, will be available standalone or online as part of a deluxe package with other goodies like Weird Al collector cards and coasters (check Z2comics.com for details). In addition, the likelihood exists fans may actually be able to pick up the GN at future Weird Al concerts.
“Bringing the books on the road would be an incredible keepsake and we’d love to set that up,” says Bernstein.
For Yankovic, the graphic novel was a chance to step outside his usual creative comfort zone.
“I’ve always been obsessed with Mad Magazine and things like that,” he says. “And I enjoy comics, but I don’t know that I could be classified as a comics fan in a general sense.”
‘Weird Al’s’ Career and the Prince Parody That Never Happened
Throughout his career, Yankovic has shown a willingness to embrace new formats to spread his unique blend of musical-comedy genius, even starring in and writing the 1989 feature film “UHF.” But it was his embrace of music videos in the early days of the MTV era for songs like “Ricky,” “Eat It,” and “I Lost on Jeopardy” that made him a household name.
“I can’t tell you how much MTV changed my life. My first album had done okay, but it wasn’t until the ‘Eat It’ video went into heavy rotation on MTV that my life changed,” Yankovic recalls. “Back then, people were obsessed with MTV. They would have it on 24 hours a day, and if your video was in heavy rotation, that meant that you saw the video like seven, eight times a day. The day after that video went into heavy rotation, I became a public figure. People recognized me on the streets. My days of anonymity were over.”
One bridge he has not crossed yet is Broadway, but the idea of bringing the “Weird Al” experience to the Great White Way remains high on his bucket list.
“Yeah, it’s on the back burner. There’s certainly nothing in production right now or something that I’m pitching,” he says. “I was actually talking with Lin-Manuel Miranda, you know, pre-Hamilton, about doing something. I won’t say what the project was, but it didn’t wind up coming together. But I might revisit it at some point.”
“Prince was the one that got away.”
From Madonna to Michael Jackson, the Beatles to Star Wars, there are few iconic pop culture icons that “Weird Al” Yankovic has not poked gentle fun at. As our interview ended, he did share which parody he was unable to make happen.
“Prince was the one that got away. I had several ideas for Prince songs, some of which I thought were pretty good. In fact, in UHF, my movie, instead of the Dire Straits parody, the original script called for a parody of ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ by Prince.”
Yankovic continues, “He just never…he had a sense of humor, but not so much about his own music, so he never allowed for that to happen. And now that he’s gone, I’m not going to ask his estate for permission because I like to respect the wishes of the artist and he made his wishes pretty darn clear. So sadly, there will not be a Prince parody.”
The Illustrated Al: The Songs of “Weird Al” Yankovic, is available now in bookstores and online at Z2comics.com.
In other comic book news, the Expanse TV series is getting a continuation thanks to BOOM! Studios, and Marvel has revealed the new roster and creative team for its relaunched Avengers series.
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