Comic Book Set For Release For the 50th anniversary of 1970’s Morrison Hotel

Leah Moore’s teenage obsession with the Doors began in 1987 with The Lost Boys – especially with the Jim Morrison poster that the vampire teens kept in their cave. She even went as far as convincing her physics teachers to take her class for a side trip to Morrison’s grave in a 1992 Paris jaunt.

“It was pouring with rain, absolutely battering it down, and there was us, a really unpromising gang of nerdy 13- or 14-year-old kids in raincoats, but standing there at his grave felt monumental, truly epic. All the flowers, and the incense sticks, and the graffiti,” said the comic writer in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Moore is now in charge of writing the band’s history in comic book form in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of 1970’s Morrison Hotel. The Z2 Comics graphic novel will attempt to cover the album and the events that preceded it, which includes the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, the Manson Murders, the moon landing, the band’s adventures and misadventures, and Moore even teased a cameo by John Lennon.

“I have loosely tied the stories to the tracks on the album, but also I am filling them with everything I can that puts you in that mindset, into that moment, where the album was made. I mean, obviously you could write a whole book for each track, but I wanted the stories to just immerse you in one place,” she said.

Moore will also have the chance to work with the band’s surviving members Robby Krieger and John Densmore. “If I’m honest with you, the idea of meeting those guys blows my mind. They’re incredible, legendary people and artists, so just walking up and saying hi…yeah, I’m not sure that’s even sunk in as a possibility. I know if it happens I’m likely to gibber about being 14 in the rain in a cagoule and that’s so not cool,” she shared. Various artists will contribute to the visual aspect of the book, with the cover being done by Chris Hunt.

“The Doors have so much theatre, and swagger and storytelling, they’re a totally natural fit for a comic,” Moore added. “The lyrics they wrote, and the energy they played with — I think the songs don’t just lend themselves to the medium, they actually cry out to be comics.”