Bit Bot Media is preparing to launch a Kickstarter for the first-ever officially licensed original Rocky Horror Show graphic novel, entitled Bride of Rocky Horror, which includes a brand new cast of characters. Today, The Beat can reveal the design for one of the book’s protagonists, Frank Future, designed by artist Noemi Vettori with revisions from artist Aaron Lovett.
Bride of Rocky Horror takes place seven years after the original stage production. Janet Weiss has fully embraced the decadent life, but she and her ex-fiancé Brad Majors cross paths once more when she receives a mysterious invitation.
The invite poses three major questions: “Who is the enigmatic Bridget Von Frankenstein? What secrets is Brad hiding? And is it, once again, time for the Time Warp?”
In addition to beloved characters from the iconic Rocky Horror, the graphic novel—written by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Noemi Vettori, colored by Josh Rodriguez, and lettered by Jeremiah Lambert, with cover art by Soo Lee—features several new additions to the world, including Frank Future.
“Meet Frank Future. You’ll recognize the spirit you know—provocative, commanding, impossible to ignore—but in a form that feels like it’s been touched by the stars,” said Bit Bot Media co-CEO Joshua Viola in a statement for The Beat. “He’s familiar but not identical, carrying threads of the past while dazzling in a new, futuristic skin. The result is a character that both honors and evolves the legacy.”
Get a first look at Frank Future below.
Bride of Rocky Horror is a full-color, 95-page, hardcover graphic novel published by Bit Bot Media. In addition to the book itself, Kickstarter backers can get their hands on four interconnecting prints by Lee; Frank-N-Furter and Rocky plushies; a copy of The Rocky Horror Show Video Game designed and developed by Sam Beddoes of FreakZone Games and its vinyl soundtrack; and limited-edition, 8-bit themed Frank-N-Furter figures.
“Rocky Horror is one of my favorite stories of all time,” said Visaggio. “It was the safest queer art I had access to when I was young because my parents were both huge fans. So to get the chance to look beyond it and see how it could have played out once that fateful night ended was a dream come true.
“I tried to make something as personal and idiosyncratic as Richard O’Brien’s original, riffing off the themes that stood out to me the same way O’Brien was riffing on his childhood influences,” she continued. “I think me and Noemi have made something really unique.”
Vettori said, “As an artist, and even more so as a Rocky Horror Show fan, it meant a lot to me to pay tribute to our beloved characters, striving to stay as true as possible to their original appearance and personalities. I hope I succeeded in representing what Rocky Horror embodies: chaos, passion, and rebellion. Working on Bride of Rocky Horror wasn’t just about illustration, it was about channeling all the energy of an eccentric and mesmerizing musical onto paper!”
Cover artist Soo Lee added, “As a long standing fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it is such an honor to be able to work on the covers for the resurrection of this wild world!”
Cover art by Soo LeeThis year marks the 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the 1975 film adaptation of O’Brien’s 1973 stage production, The Rocky Horror Show. In addition to writing Bride of Rocky Horror, Visaggio is also a contributor in the anthology Absolute Pleasure: Queer Perspectives on Rocky Horror, edited by Margot Atwell and published by Feminist Press.
For updates on Bit Bot Media’s Bride of Rocky Horror Kickstarter campaign and to receive a notification upon launch, sign up via the pre-launch page.
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