One Model Nation – Rock, Rebels and the damn Police

This weekend I had the pleasure of reading the advanced copy of the new graphic novel, One Model Nation, a gritty story from The Dandy Worhols’ frontman Courtney Taylor-Talyor on script with superstar Jim Rugg on art. There are several points in this book that capture the aspects of a superstar story, which made reading the book both emotional and impressive! Any story that triggers an emotional reaction to bring the reader closer into the brainwaves of the characters within the first 5 pages deserves to be read front to back.

The point for me started with the introduction, a foreword by Michael Allred (Red Rocket 7) who talks of having passion for your obsessions and doing/enjoying them well. Jumping from just a straight up memorable introduction, we begin the story with 3 gents, Ty, Art and Olaf who meet at Rock AM Ring in Germany. The men discuss, and reminisce, the turn of events of the rock band, One Model Nation.

We then meet Karl, Sebastian, Ralf, and Wolfgang…the boys of One Model Nation, performing at an illegal assembly in front of a packed audience including the rebels of The Red Army. Anyone who’s been to a local rock show that’s packed to the entrance with fans knows how riled up folks get at the first sight of trouble. Best of all, words need not express the energy seen through the art of Jim Rugg who shows pure energy across 6 pages from fans rockin’ out to One Model Nation‘s rockstar performance. Instantly, we’re in the middle of a riot between the cops and the Red Army Faction (RAF) where several people died and RAF leader, Andreas Baader, was apprehended. One Model Nation fled the scene, but not without a police pursuit.

At once, the band is in the media spotlight for leading the “terrorist generation.” They’re also grouped with mentions of other gang members who were arrested, thus hinting that they are part of the violent uprise.

The One Model Nation graphic novel is filled with violent events including jail breaks, police brutality and bar brawls. Sounds like a rockstar’s life, but there’s an undertone of important life lessons Courtney Taylor-Taylor included that are both eye openers and essential for those who want to get into the music industry.

To get a sense of what goes on during one of the most ultimate performances of One Model Nation in this book, check out the promotional animatic found on the OneModelNation.com website:

Additional joys in this beautiful book include storyboards of the One Model Nation movie script from artist Cary Porter, promotional art pieces, a collection of cover treatments and character sketches from Jim Rugg’s sketchbook, a commentary intertwined with panel art from Courtney Taylor-Taylor, and a RAF poster. Overall, this book is 160 action-packed pages of a purely amazing story. This story left an imprint in my mental library, wanting more tales of the members of One Model Nation and the lives they lead, plus another chapter on the RAF. Last, but not least, I found another treat to read the full script on OneModelNation.com, which most comic sites don’t release…ever. The fact that it was put out for fans to enjoy kicked this book up a notch by allowing fans access into creative experience.

One Model Nation is released January 31, 2012

The advanced book was provided by Titan Books.
Connect with Titan Books via
TitanBooks.com

and One Model Nation via
OneModelNation.com