‘Run the Jewels’ Artist Nick Gazin Creates Comic Book for Free Weed’s Debut on Bad Diet Records
When a record label is introducing its first release—and when that release is literally called Introducing by a dude named Free Weed—first impressions matter. And when you’re buying an album called Introducing by a dude named Free Weed, market tests inform that one-in-every-three of you expect actual free weed inside the album as “part of the deal.” Also: “Swag.”
Why would we stop there?
Our initial run of free swag for Introducing got scrapped—Chia Pet dupes aka Cheeba Pets wouldn’t fit. Don’t blame us. Blame the youths trapped in the Nike-H&M factory. Back to the drawing board. The lava lamp gramps in the vacant office next-door suggested Kirlian photography printed onto lenticular rolling papers. We erased “Too high brow and Wesleyan”—until the word “high” remained. High + drawing board. A comic book!
Why stop here?
Bad Diet considers comix illustrator and aficionado, Nick Gazin, to be the mustachioed heir to Raymond Pettibon. Wario to RP’s Shigeru Miyamoto. Punks like you, us, and Tom Scharpling know that Gazin’s inked well for Jay Reatard and Waaves. (And filed insightful work as VICE’s comics editor.) But the rest of Earth knows his art for Run the Jewels—arguably the most iconic album cover of the last 20 years.
In vision and theme, Gazin’s crown Jewel continues to drip across four RtJ installments, a tour bus, a Marvel Howard the Duck tribute, and enough bodega walls to ensure him free 40oz. refills for life in a bulletproof glass.
Zap! us. We must dreaming. Gazin decided that his first album-related project following Run the Jewels is: The Gnarly Life of Free Weed!
A limited-edition comic for Free Weed’s Introducing. Featuring a story by Bad Diet c/o Free Weed (Rikky Gage)! Sun the trichomes, Batman!
The Gnarly Life of Free Weed - Cover and art by: Nick Gazin
Just a tip: Tickle the meteor’s ball for a contact buzz
Copies of The Gnarly Life of Free Weed are exclusive to all copies of the deluxe-edition slime green vinyl of Introducing, purchased direct from the Bad Diet Records Mart.
Update: the deluxe-edition has completely sold out!
Covert art by Nick Gazin for Run the Jewels’ self-titled album
The Gnarly Life of Free Weed is a playful nod to “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” the verdant segment in Creepshow. George A. Romero and Stephen King’s classic anthology was inspired by EC comics. And our little BD comic is inspired by their film. Loopy. “Jordy Verrill” was also an adaptation of King’s short story “Weeds.” So loopy.
Like Jordy, musician Rikky Gage experiences a close encounter of the third kind bud when he touches an alien meteor. But whereas Jordy touched the eldritch rock, began transforming into weed, and kept yelling “meteor shit!”—Rikky knows: when life hands you a space rock? You rock out.
The Gnarly Life of Free Weed is the origin story of Free Weed. Meteor shit? More like a meteor hit from a bong!
