RZA Announces Forthcoming Graphic Novel Bobby Digital and The Pit Of Snakes via Z2 Comics
RZA has today proudly announced that he is bringing his exceptional storytelling skills to the comic book medium with the announcement of Bobby Digital and the Pit of Snakes, an original graphic novel to be released in 2022.
The founding member of the multimedia supergroup The Wu-Tang Clan first introduced the world to his alter-ego with the 1998 album Bobby Digital in Stereo, with lush digital orchestral sounds and inventive beats, putting the rapper’s love of comic books on full display through its concept and execution. Now, exactly 23 years since its original release, RZA announces a partnership with Z2 Comics to give the character a story in the medium which inspired his creation.
RZA says “Out of all my creative personas and alter egos Bobby Digital is probably the best fit, for comics and graphic novels. It’s a pleasure for me to collaborate with Z2 Comics and bring this lush world of creativity into the comic space. The readers are going to be hit with something they never seen coming. Bong – Bong.”
Who are you, what is real? This is the question Bobby Digital is seeking to answer. Embracing his id, ego and superego he embarks on a quest to figure out the nature of his reality and himself. He will be ambushed by enemies unknown, he will be tried in ways most men can’t endure. Will he be victorious? Most of all, will he survive the Pit of Snakes?! From the mind of the legendary RZA, Bobby Digital and The Pit of Snakes will coincide with the relaunch of the iconic character and be synced to music that will melt your mind.
Z2 Publisher and CEO Josh Frankel says “RZA has always shown himself to be a Swiss Army Knife of creativity, elevating every medium he touches, and to be able to help bring an already existing comic/music hybrid such as Bobby Digital to the page is amazing. I think everyone will be equally amazed at the result.”
Bobby Digital and the Pit of Snakes pairs RZA with White Noise Studios member Ryan O’Sullivan, whose last collaboration with Poppy was widely celebrated by fans and critics alike, with Sound & Fury artist Vasilis Lolos rounding out the team to bring the world of Bobby Digital to life. The book will be released in both softcover and hardcover formats in finer bookstores, comic shops and record stores everywhere in May 2022, with special limited deluxe and super deluxe versions available to preorder now exclusively through the Z2 website.
About Z2 Comics:
Z2 Comics is the premier destination for official music-related graphic novels, created in partnership with top-tier artists, musicians, directors and pop-culture icons. Distributed globally via Simon & Schuster, Z2 has collaborated with such diverse artists as Blondie, Cheech & Chong, Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Joan Jett, Motley Crue, Ivan Moody, Gorillaz, Machine Gun Kelly, Sublime, Yungblud, Cypress Hill, Babymetal, Major Lazer, Rico Nasty and Alter Bridge as well as debut comic works by Grammy-nominated artists Sturgill Simpson and Poppy, as well as essential album tie-ins by The Doors, Anthrax, Public Enemy, Ronnie James Dio, King Diamond, and All Time Low. Additionally, the company has tapped top talent for the official graphic biographies of such pop-culture legends as The Grateful Dead, Beethoven, John Lee Hooker and Charlie “Bird” Parker.
About RZA:
Wu-Tang Clan mastermind Robert Diggs, best known as the RZA among several other pseudonyms, is one of hip-hop’s most revered, influential producers. With the group’s classic 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), he established their widely imitated core sound, consisting of stark, booming beats and chilling samples (heavily drawing from vintage soul records as well as kung fu movies), setting the backdrop for the crew’s gritty, violent narratives.
Following the album’s trailblazing success, Diggs participated in the pioneering horrorcore group the Gravediggaz, and produced the first wave of solo releases by his fellow Wu-Tang members. Starting with 1997’s Wu-Tang Forever, he concentrated less on producing Wu-Tang releases and devoted more time to his solo career, with the gold-selling debut by his alter ego Bobby Digital arriving in 1998.
He also successfully ventured into film and television work, beginning with his highly acclaimed score for Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) and continuing with a lengthy string of soundtracks (Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2) and acting roles (American Gangster, Californication, Brick Mansions, The Dead Don’t Die). He made his directorial debut with 2012’s The Man with the Iron Fists, and has also directed Love Beats Rhymes (2017) and Cut Throat City (2020). RZA executively produced the Hulu original series Wu-Tang: An American Saga. He’s also written two books: The Wu-Tang Manual (2005) and The Tao Of Wu (2009).
