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John Dolmayan, right .
Scarred for life
‘TORPEDO COMICS IS THREE YEARS AWAY FROM WHERE I WANT IT TO BE'
Henry Northmore talks to former System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan about his love of the graphic novel and his burgeoning online comics project
here are plenty of famous faces who love
I comics: Jonathan Ross. lidward Norton. Sam Raimi. Jon Bon Jovi. Simon Pegg. Jerry Seinfeld. Quentin Tarantino and Nicolas (‘age. liven Anthrax wrote ‘I am the Law‘ about Judge l)rcdd. But not many are as passionate as Scars on Broadway and System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan. ‘l’ve been in the comic industry for over 20 years.‘ he explains. “That‘s how I made my living before System got signed. I got tired from every otherjob so I was like, “fuck it. I’ll put up my own company". I took a tremendous pay cut to join System in the
beginning. But you know what. playing music is
worth making no money.‘
After the success of S()Al) he went back to his first love spending the last four years setting up his own comics website selling back issues. graphic novels. merchandise and original art. It's an ambitious project
open I still feel like we‘re about three years away from being what l want it to be. I've got about l5 million books and I only have 30.000 online right now. It’s a tremendous amount of work.“
It was Marvel’s roster of superheroes that lirst really grabbed Dolmayan after a friend introduced him to
the hidden world of the comic book store. 'My favourite team of all time is the Fantastic Four.
especially the John Byrne era. My favourite A individual character has to be Spiderman. and my . favourite super-villain is Dr Doom.‘ Through the 80s
he warmed to DC. particularly lirank Miller and Neal
Adams' work on Batman. and epic stories like Alan '
Moore’s Wale/mien. Neil (iziiliiziifs Sam/man and (larth linnis‘ l’reaelzer. ‘The l)(‘ universe gets really complicated: you got alternate realities and all this
crap. There was so much great stuff that came out of i l)(‘ in the 80s that it made me fall in love with the I
stuff from the 70s and even later. all the way back to the 4()s.‘
()ne of the most accomplished drummers in the business. Dolmayan provides a solid back bone to Scars on Broadway‘s leftlield epic rock. and if you
look hard enough during their upcoming Glasgow f
show. you‘ll notice Dolmayan‘s custom drum kit. featuring art by Jim Lee. Art Adams. Tim Bradstreet. Bill Sicnkiewicz. Simon Bisley. Kevin liastman. Neal Adams and many more.
Dolmayan is also taking his passion to the next level
following in the footsteps of My (‘hemical set up by a fan for fans. ‘Now that Torpedo (‘omics is
Romance's (lcrard Way and his critically acclaimed series The Umbrella Academy. ‘Three years ago. Jim Lee. who is a good friend of mine. asked me to put together a story and he wanted to do the art. He‘s been bothering me to do it for a couple of years now, so I‘ve finally started to write something. It‘s superhero-based. but I don't wanna give away the storyline. Let me put it this way. if I don‘t think it‘s gonna be great. I'm not gonna put it out there. So it may be another ten years before you see it.‘ he laughs.
Scars on Broadway play ABC, Glasgow, Sat 20 Sep; www.torpedocomics.com
LIST >i<
THE BEST BOOKS. COMICS 8 EVENTS
3|: Bardeen Slush Kohll The broadcaster and writer launches his new foodie book, entitled Indian Takeaway: One Man '3 Attempt to Cook His Way Home. Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 18 Sap.
* David Slrnon A true crime treat with a Glasgow appearance from the Baltimore scribe behind Homicide and The Wire which also gets a screening here. GFTZ Glasgow, Thu 18 Sep.
alt Jackie Kay Alongside jazz singer Suzanne Bonnar, Kay launches The Lamm'ghter, telling the story of slavery and the industrial revolution. . Glasgow Women '3 Library, Thu 25 Sep.
1! Tony Black and Allan Guthrie Two of the nation’s hot new crime scribes lock horns in this joint event to promote their blood-drenched new tomes. Waterstone ’3, Edinburgh, Thu 25 Sep. 7 3|: Ian Rankin The Filer merrily brings us Doors Open, his first literary outpouring since pensioning oft Johnny Rebus. See review, page 32. Orion; Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Fri 26 Sep.
It Andrew Davidson This Canadian author flings a doorstopping gothic romance A our way in the deeply impressive shape of The Gargoyle. See review. page 32. Canongate.»
it flat Johnson a Warron Ploooo Based on a true story. lncognegro charts the tale of a reporter who infiltrated lynchings in the deep south during the 505. See review, page 33. Vertigo/DC.
Ill Art smogollnan in Breakdowns, we get the collected comic works between 1972 and 1977 from the man behind the iconic Maus. The result is an essential purchase for anyone wishing to understand the artform. See review. page 33. Viking.
18 Sop—2 Oct 9008 THE LIST 31