Gerard Way announces new comic series Paranoid Gardens

Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is reteaming with Shaun Simon, who he wrote The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: National Anthem and Tales from The Umbrella Academy: You Look Like Death with, for a new comic series. Paranoid Gardens, a six-episode series, will feature art by Chris Weston (Judge Dredd, Ministry of Space), colors by Dave Stewart (Hellboy, Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to Be Kin), and letters by Nate Piekos (Stranger Things: The Voyage, Black Hammer: Reborn). The first issue is out on July 17 via Dark Horse Comics.

“I’m excited to be back with my incredibly handsome and talented brother-from-another-basement Shaun Simon penning a story that’s really special to us, and honored the masterful Chris Weston joined us to create a visually powerful and emotionally tangible physical object that is this comic,” Way says. “I’m now more complete getting to share something we’ve wanted to for a very long time, and working with this fantastic group of individuals in the process.”

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“Most people dream of rubbing shoulders with someone who is cool, talented, mega-successful, and who enjoys a wild rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle,” Weston says. “Luckily for Gerard Way, the dream came true when he got to work with me on Paranoid Gardens. It must have been quite daunting for him at first, but once he could see past my notoriety and discover I’m just an ordinary Joe who shares his love for the ’60s TV show The Prisoner, we were able to form a joyous union.

“Along with his equally radical writing partner, Shaun Simon, we’ve created a wild and psychedelic tale that combines Kafkaesque nightmares with sweet Silver Age reveries,” Weston adds. “Within the pages of Paranoid Gardens, you’ll find a curious care-home peopled with aliens, ghosts, and caped heroes recovering from psychotic episodes. The very ground it’s built on is febrile and fertile; and lusted after by the minions of Mammon. It’s the perfect remedy for all those stricken with super-hero fatigue and needing a fix of something a bit more mind-bending and unpredictable.”

Dark Horse describes Paranoid Gardens as “Derek meets Doctor Who…in six psychotic episodes,” and the synopsis reads, “Loo is a nurse at the most bizarre care center around. The staff are not entirely human, and the cases downright unearthly. Aliens, ghosts, superheroes, and more creatures plague its hallways as both doctors and patients and the hospital itself seems to be somewhat self-aware. Loo believes that despite a recent failure at her job she’s been given some sort of higher calling in this mysterious place, and decides to rise to the challenge. Along the way, she must fight her way through corrupt staff members, powerful theme park cults, and her own personal demons and trauma to meet this challenge and discover what secrets the gardens hold.”