Graphic Novel

This October, gothic boutique publisher Seraphemera Books & Music will reveal a little bit more of the history from Helsinki, Finland-based gothic metallers THE 69 EYES than many are aware… or might like to know.

Pieced together from a secret story hidden in six of the band’s songs, and certainly confirmed from hints dropped in countless articles and quotes, Book 1 brings you the tale of the formation of THE 69 EYES that you would never find on Wikipedia or in the bio section of any record company’s web site.

“When we released our first-ever seven-inch single in 1990, it had a four-page mini comic book enclosed,” commented THE 69 EYES lead singer Jyrki69. “In that comic, THE 69 EYES were represented as a vampire rock band and the daughter of Van Helsing came to pay me a visit to the backstage — armed with a wooden stake! Now some two decades later we will finally have our own comic book. The song remains the same — according to a folklore we are real vampires. How else could we have played this long?”

The story follows the vampire Jyrki and his pursuit of the lover (Gothic Girl) he has been seeing in his dreams. So, too, is his mysterious lover searching and beckoning he, to her (Christina Death).

After years of his searching, Jyrki finds her in Los Angeles, and in his longing and desire agrees to grant her wish of becoming a vampire (Crashing High). However, the lovers, then reposed in the romanticism of Paris, begin to take different paths. Jyrki, hoping his humanity could be restored by Christina, watches as her love grows only for the darkness and the blood of her victims. And when the lovers discover they are being hunted by a zealous religious order who are determined to eradicate those they deem apocryphal to their divine grace (Wings & Hearts), everything changes, and much seems lost.

Years pass and Jyrki receives word that Christina has settled in New Orleans but she has fallen into a lifestyle that has nearly destroyed her. Jyrki, who has spent the years tracking those who dared to hunt him, goes to the French Quarter in hopes of saving Christina (Kiss Me Undead) and rekindling their romance…even knowing the hunters will follow. Together again, their passion soars, but their whereabouts are revealed, leading to a climactic night in the famous St. Louis #1 cemetery (Dead N’ Gone).

The series includes storytelling from Kurt Amacker (Dead Souls, Tad Caldwell and the Monster Kid) and Marc Moorash (More To Follow, co-editor Garbanzo Literary Journal). Artists include Lora Gray, Ben Hansen, Ava Dawn Heydt, Nestor Ruiz, Enric Simon and Blake Wilkie.