Oni Press has announced ODB: Oddities, Discord, & B-Sides – Lyrical Ruckus in the City, a new graphic novel starring Wu-Tang Clan co-founder and all-around hip-hop legend Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
ODB: Oddities, Discord, & B-Sides – Lyrical Ruckus in the City is created in partnership with Four Screens and officially authorized by the Ol’ Dirty Bastard estate. The 112-page anthology graphic novel tells ODB’s story through “hand-to-hand kung-fu combat, dystopian science fiction, darkness-haunted horror, and lovelorn romance.” It unites an all-star roster of creators — including Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Paris Alleyne, David Brame, Dojo Gubser, Jay Hero, Maan House, Mike Del Mundo, Jason Pierre, Chris Robinson, Regine Sawyer, Damion Scott, Felipe Sobreiro, Ronald Wimberly, Ike Reed, David Gorden, and more.
The book is currently available for pre-order via an Oni Premium Direct campaign on Kickstarter. A new 7-inch vinyl edition of ODB’s hit single “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” (featuring artwork by Wimberly) and a new ODB “Lyrical Ruckus” action figure (manufactured by Super7) are also available exclusively through the campaign.
At the time of writing, the Kickstarter has raised $5,465 of its $10,000 goal from 64 backers. The campaign concludes in one month’s time on Thursday, January 11. If the funding goal is met, the graphic novel and its accompanying backer rewards will ship in November 2024.
What to expect from the ODB graphic novel
An official synopsis for Oddities, Discord, & B-Sides reads as follows: “In a fractured New York City, an elemental impact event has caused different versions of the city’s most infamous neighborhoods from across the multiverse to converge together into a single reality. Spectral apparitions now haunt the streets of Queens. In the Lower East Side, a rogue artificial intelligence has seized the streets. A hundred blocks north, time travelers are throwing a block party in Harlem. And that’s only the beginning … Our guide through this splintered mutation of New York’s past, present, and future is none other than Ol’ Dirty Bastard himself. Follow him as he leads us through odd, urgent, and powerful tales that cast freedom and oppression, wealth and poverty, love and loss, and even life or death like so many dice in a cosmic game of chance.”
“I am thrilled to bring ODB to life in this incredibly powerful graphic novel. ODB: Oddities, Discord and B-Sides – Lyrical Ruckus in the City combines the essence of my husband like I’ve never seen before. He was and is an inspiration to my family, children, and fans across the world,” said Icelene Jones, ODB’s wife and administrator of his estate. “It’s been such a pleasure to see this book come to life with our incredibly talented partners at Four Screens and Oni Press.”
“Collaborating with our immensely creative partners at Lion Forge and Oni Press to develop a brand new graphic novel has been mind blowing! Thanks to the steadfast support of our partners at the Estate of ODB, we have merged the five personas of ODB with the five boroughs of New York to create the ultimate hip-hop universe,” added Four Screens CEO Messiah Jacobs. “ODB: Oddities, Discord and B-Sides – Lyrical Ruckus in the City pays homage to The Culture. It has been an honor to work with each and every writer and artist on this project. We’re bringing the ruckus with this one.”
ODB: Oddities, Discord, & B-Sides – Lyrical Ruckus in the City is live on Kickstarter now.
