SOAD’s John Dolmayan to Release Zombie Thriller: ‘Dead Samurai’
John Dolmayan (System Of A Down) and his forthcoming series Dead Samurai! The zombie thriller will see its first issue release on October 9th, featuring cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz and internal art by Ryan Benjamin. I would love to discuss setting up an interview with John to deep dive into this horror story, set in 16th century feudal Japan, as well as his passion for the comic book world, running his own stores, and more.
As a child, Dolmayan would utilize his $5 per week allowance to purchase new issues of his favorite series, and in time, eventually began selling off back issues via newspaper ads and at conventions. After a few years of honing his entrepreneurial skills, Dolmayan was making more money selling comics than he was working at “real” jobs.
Dolmayan took a step back from the comic world when he joined System Of A Down in 1997, though he never gave up collecting. Touring with the band allowed him to explore comic book stores, shops, and antique treasures all around the world, looking for vintage, high-end titles that were not readily available. During rare breaks from the road, he would return to conventions to continue selling his finds.
Those pop-ups eventually led to the launch of Torpedo Comics in 2003 – Dolmayan’s first brick-and-mortar comic book shop in Las Vegas. It has since expanded into three more stores located throughout Southern California, all specializing in rare and hard-to-find titles.
Dolmayan has taken his love for comics even further by creating and authoring his own series. His first body of work, Ascencia,is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller set 150 years in the future that explores the question: how far will human civilization go to attain immortality?
We’re incredibly excited to release the first issue of Dead Samurai next month! Collectors can look forward to variant covers by Jim Lee (President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics), Art Adams(Fantastic Four, Hulk, Ultimate Comics: X, The Rocketeer), Frank Miller (Sin City, Daredevil, The Dark Knight Returns), Frank Cho (Ultimate Spiderman, Avengers vs. X-Men, Hellboy) and more.
