Gorillaz took the world by storm right at the beginning of the new millenium with their "Clint Eastwood" music video. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett started this project of a "virtual band" who will be selling records and influencing pop-culture, paving their way through the new sensation called the Internet.
Image: Gorillaz
Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre is an autobiography/graphic novel chronicling the early days of the Gorillaz gimmick written in the form of interviews with the fictional band as they walk the reader through the recording of their first two iconic albums(Gorillaz and Demon Days). The book also has interviews with the original creators, Albarn and Hewlett and the animators, producers, technicians and contributors. The book also pays homage to many of the legendary stars that have worked on the first two records and reminisces on the many difficulties they had to put up with early on in the project (for instance, live performances).
The book also tells the fictional accounts of the virtual band members, their origins and how they met, their bizarre yet hilarious adventures.
A must-read for the fans.
Damon Albarn(left) and Jamie Hewlett(right): the masterminds behind Gorillaz
An oral history of the band by the band--a band of fictional characters; the formation of the band all the way through the release of their second album, Demon Days--and chock full of incredible artwork.
I wish this book were more lavish and art-focused. As it is, it's as though the book doesn't quite know what it is. Art book? Comic? Humor? Biography (of the characters or real people)? In trying to be all of them the book becomes none of them satisfactorily.
Brainchild of Daman Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, a virtual band that lives in their own fictional universe, couldn’t have been better executed than during the rise of digital music. A “virtual” band hadn’t really been seen before, and the distinct Gorillaz sound—a mix of electronic, alternative rap, and alternative hip hop—most certainly hadn’t been heard before. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2001, and their success landed them an entry in the Guinness Book Of World Records for Most Successful Virtual Band. Spanning 2001 to 2011, the band released four studio albums.
Published in 2006, GORILLAZ RISE OF THE OGRE details the stories that brought the four band members together, their collaboration and rise to stardom, and the strange occurrences along the way. The disclaimer: “It’s best to point out before we start, not all the stuff in here’s true or real. Especially the stuff Murdoc comes out with. They’re just a bunch of cartoons and what they say should be taken with a pinch of salt...” Murdoc Niccals, 2D, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle are all members of one of the most mysterious bands in the 21st century: Gorillaz. What are their unique and fantastical origins? What demon is Russel possessed by and how’d it happen? How did Noodle survive the trip from Japan to Kong Studios via FedEx? Who’s really the leader of the band, and who should be credited for their awesomeness? (Murdoc, undoubtedly, but you should really pick up the book to read the details of his incredible powers.)
If the idea of reading the fake biography of a fake band wasn’t intriguing enough, then what about what about reading the fake biography about a fake band that included awesome illustrations? Because of the crazy universe the Gorillaz live in, Jamie Hewlett & Zombie Flesh Eaters created a plethora of pretty ridiculous illustrations for the book that kept me just as involved as the text did. With witty and raunchy British humor, captivating illustrations, and one-of-a-kind story, GORILLAZ RISE OF THE OGRE is definitely an exciting roller coaster worth riding.
