Back in 1989, Todd Loren saw a niche in the market for comic book biographies about rock bands and decided to fill it. The first issue to come from his Revolutionary Comics publishing venture covered Guns N’Roses’ rock’n’roll antics; by the time of Loren’s shocking, unsolved murder in 1992, Revolutionary Comics had published over 100 biographies of artists, from The Beatles to The Who. In 1990, Loren successfully fought a First Amendment legal battle against New Kids On The Block, guaranteeing freedom of speech in the medium of pencil, ink and speech bubble (the unauthorised status of his publications gave free rein to cover extensive drug use and infamous apocryphal stories – such fishy tales involving the likes of Led Zeppelin).
Upon its initial release in 2005, Ilko Davidov’s no-holds-barred documentary was a fascinating insight into the links between music, art, commerce and comics. Footage of Loren reveals him to be a fascinating character, alternately viewed by his peers, collaborators and former employees as either a visionary or opportunist. This new DVD edition not only includes the original feature, but also two hours of bonus material, containing extended interviews with the likes of Alice Cooper, speculating as to who Loren’s killer really was.
