Z2 Comics & Easy Eye Sound Present: MURDER BALLADS Graphic Novel, Free Comic Book Day Prequel THE BALLAD OF FRANKLIN BONISTEEL, and Robert Finley & Dan Auerbach's "IN THE PINES" (The Fontweathers EP)

"THE BALLAD OF FRANKLIN BONISTEEL acts as a prequel, of sorts, to MURDER BALLADS, the highly-anticipated Rock "N" Roll noir graphic novel about the music industry and redemption. The highly-anticipated graphic novel from Z2 Comics... will be distributed at comic book stores and bookstores nation-wide and will be available digitally, via ComiXology. It is available now for pre-order," reads a recent press release for Murder Ballads and its accompanying prequel, The Ballad of Franklin Bonisteel; the latter was available for FREE on a first-come-first-serve basis from participating comic book shops and bookstores nation-wide this past Saturday, May 6th, 16th annual Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). The Ballad of Franklin Bonisteel was made available by Z2 Comics and Easy Eye Sound on FCBD along with an exclusive download link to a new rendition of Lead Belly-popularized 1870's Folk song "In The Pines" performed by Louisiana Bluesman Robert Finley alongside The Black Keys' frontman and guitarist Dan Auerbach. However, many music fans of a particular generation might recognize Nirvana's slightly Grungier version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" from their 1993-94 MTV Unplugged In New York live album. "You haven't heard "Into The Pines" performed like this before," said Z2 Comics' co-publisher Josh Frankel. "And you’ve never read anything like the misadventures of LA's legendary record producer, Franklin Bonisteel," he charismatically continued. THE BEAT: The News Blog of Comics Culture is currently running an "EXCLUUUUSIVE" 5-page preview of The Ballad of Frankilin Bonisteel, for those who may not be able to procure a copy left over from Free Comic Book Day's recent festivities.

It appears as though Dan Auerbach's accompanying Murder Ballads soundtrack, which at one point in time, was "shorter than a double LP and longer than eight minutes," has now been compressed down to a concise 5-track EP recorded along with Robert Finley and may or may not include contributions from The Dirtbombs and The Gories founder Mick Collins. "There's never been a Free Comic Book Day release like this one and it’s hard to imagine a more collectible, must-have release for fans," said Z2 Comics' co-publisher Sridhar Reddy. "The cover of "In The Pines" is just a taste of what's to come," Reddy further detailed. Life Sucks, Batman '66, and one-time Blender writer Gabe Soria—who also penned The Ballad of Franklin Bonisteel and oversaw Auerbach's Murder Ballads EP—worked alongside DC & Dark Horse Comics illustrator Warren Pleece on Franklin Bonisteel and illustrators Paul Reinwand (KONRAD WERKS) and Chris Hunt (CARVER: A Paris Story) on Murder Ballads.

Soria recently described Murder Ballads to PREVIEWSworld as a story centered around "Nate Theodore, a young, music-obsessed white man who happens upon two musicians, Donny and Marvell Fontweathers, two black men, who embody everything he genuinely loves about music, the visceral punch of it and the mythic qualities he ascribes to it. They’re basically a dream come true for Nate, a mythic ideal, and Murder Ballads is about how that sort of romanticizing can sometimes go off the rails.">/big> Z2 Comics' Free Comic Book Day release, The Ballad of Franklin Bonisteel is currently available from participating retailers, while supplies last. Murder Ballads, which will be accompanied by Robert Finley & Dan Auerbach's EP as "The Fontweathers," is currently available for pre-order and will become widely available in comic book shops and bookstores nation-wide on June 28th.

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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