John Lennon: The Comic

Written by: Kevin Hunter, Special to CC2K

John Lennon was a music legend who once asked fans to “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try,” from his classic 1970 solo hit “Imagine.” So imagine (no pun intended) Lennon finding himself sitting legs crossed and actually finding himself in heaven lamenting on his life and trying to figure out just how did he get to heaven.

That’s the opening in Bluewater Comics’ latest bio comic “John Lennon.” Writer Marc Shapiro takes on the legacy of Lennon and a look at his life after The Beatles. Lennon goes on about how much he misses Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, and how he wishes he could have been a better father to his first son Julian Lennon. “John Lennon” then goes through a narrative on Lennon’s life in the post Beatles era. We don’t know who’s narrating, but the voices in my head tell me it’s the guy from VH1’s “Behind The Music.” He has a real cool voice. “John Lennon” also goes into Lennon’s many collaborations with the likes of Ringo Starr, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Elton John just to name a few. It talks about his partying, his life with Yoko Ono, his time as a stay-at-home father, his battles with former band mate Paul McCartney, the Richard Nixon administration, immigration and deportation, to his eventual musical comeback and tragic death.

John Lennon” doesn’t really tell you anything you don’t already know about the Beatles legend unless you’re new to him and his music. Nor does it shed any new light on Lennon and most importantly, it only starts at the time The Beatles played their last concert on the roof of the Apple Corporation headquarters in London. There’s barely a mention on how Lennon became a legend as a member of the iconic band The Beatles. For that, you’ll have to read Bluewater Comics’ graphic novel, “The Beatles Experience.”

Shapiro did say in a press release on the Bluewater Comics website that, “We all know the importance of John Lennon as part of The Beatles. But I felt it was important to concentrate on his post Beatles life and career, both good and bad, so that readers would get the clearest possible idea about who he was as a creative entity, husband and father.” John Lennon” is a simple and entertaining read. Bluewater Comics has made a living off of doing these bio-type comics among other titles, and has featured such famous people as Michelle Obama, Condoleezza Rice, Howard Stern, Justin Bieber and Tina Fey (Tina Fey? Really!?). “John Lennon” was good enough to make me hope that the publisher does the same with Starr, McCartney and George Harrison. Throw in Pete Best and Billy Preston too for good measure.