Rohil here, All Ages of Geek’s resident “lonely loner,” back from freeing his mind at night to bring you the current, most critical cultural learnings.
Creator of “Man On The Moon (The Anthem),” the definitive #1 comfort track that got me through the trenches, from the harrowing hallways of high school in Cape Town to the sewer-stank, smothering subways of New York (with love) — the all-encompassing, ever-expansive artist and innovator, Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi, is about to make a significant impact on the comics industry very soon.
Working press on an NYCC Saturday schedule is a real “escape the base before self-destruction” type mission, a total “Time Crisis,” but I couldn’t miss the Cudi coverage– I’d already been locked in. I hustled ass from “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” on the Main Stage over to the other iconic Scott’s Javits North panel for an exciting announcement from his Mad Solar team.
Kid Cudi/Mad Solar at NYCC (Photo by Rohil Aniruth for All Ages of Geek)
Mad Solar is Kid Cudi’s production company backed by Bron, in partnership with Dennis Cummings and Karina Manashil. The prodco broke through mainstream’s barricade boldly with a diverse portfolio of projects, including the visually enrapturing “Entergalactic” animated feature on Netflix, co-created by Cudi and Kenya Barris, and A24’s granny-slasher, “X,” written and directed by Ti West, starring Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega.
Extending way back to the escalators was a conductive line, sparks shooting out the sides. As I attempted to fix my jammed camera rig and switch battery packs, the inquisitive crowd packed the hall, rocking out to #2-4 of my top comfort tracks, “Mr. Rager,” “Pursuit of Happiness,” and “Memories.” Immense love overpowered the slightly… carpety… convention air (my inhaler boys know what I mean). I’d no doubt consider the group in attendance to be Kid Cudi’s core fanbase. For sure, tens of thousands attend his concerts, but that room of wildly confident nerds chasing their creative ambitions and unique indie projects—that’s the audience Cudi truly speaks to and connects with through his art.
Understand something about me, I don’t ever/won’t ever even remotely attempt to tighten up the faucet— I let those teary eyes sparkle in the harsh Javits North lights, standing right against the stage steps, shooting one of the most influential artists on my creative journey as he and the Mad Solar team unveiled their upcoming sci-fi comic “Moon Man” and companion mixtape to triumphant applause and many awe’d “Awww’s.”
“Moon Man” Issue #1 Main Cover by Locati Marco
Published with Image Comics, “Moon Man” is set to drop on January 31, 2024. It is written by Cudi and Eisner Award-nominated co-writer Kyle Higgins (“Radiant Black,” “NO/ONE”), illustrated by Locati Marco and Igor Monti (“Inferno Girl Red,” “Deep Cuts”) with letters by Eisner Award-winning artist Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (“Midlife”). The variant cover collection features illustrators Rod Reis (“Winter Soldier”), Eisner Award winners Sanford Greene (“Bitter Root”), and Christian Ward (“Black Bolt”).
“Moon Man” Issue #1 Variant Cover by Matt Taylor
Peep the official synopsis:
“‘Moon Man’ follows Ramon Townsend, a man ready for a quiet life after gaining unexpected celebrity status for steering his ship and crew safely home from a near-disastrous moon mission. Whatever went wrong on that failed moon mission, whatever happened in the missing minutes the cameras didn’t capture, all Ramon really wants is to settle down back home in Cleveland. But those missing minutes hold an Earth-shattering secret — and, with all eyes turned to him, Ramon will soon find himself becoming something the world has never seen before.”
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Since his early work, Cudi’s curation has always been a catalyst for collaboration between mediums, materials and mood. From his jewelry and fine art exploration with Murakami, to blueprinting “cool” through Domingo in “How To Make It In America.” As an artist, Cudi has built expansive story worlds sonically and texturally through music and fashion, foundations that should make for an enthralling, connective comic book series– a special work not only for core fans but a broader, newer readership as well.
Grab the first issue of “Moon Man” here!
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Rohil Aniruth is a journalist and content producer at All Ages of Geek. You can follow him on Instagram/Twitter @create.with.rohil & see his Narrative Design portfolio at rohilaniruth.com. Medium
