GRAPHIC ELVIS

ThIS COLLECTOR'S EDITIONIS LIMITED TO ONLy 2,500 COpIES wORLDwIDE.

Created by

Sharad Devarajan Gotham Chopra

Designed by

Sharad Devarajan
Edited by

Sharad Devarajan Dave Land Gotham Chopra

Production & Additional Design by

Mark McNabb

GRAPHIC ELVIS

Greg Horn

CONTENTS

Slipcase Illustration by

INTRODUCTION

THE NEW STYLE

07

08

THE ROCK STAR

COMING BACK

14

46

BABY ELVIS

ELVIS THE LOVE GOD

52

54

ELVIS THE LEGEND

THE ELVIS CORPS

60

84

Cover Illustration by

Tony Millionaire Mukesh Singh

Special Thanks:

Carol Butler, Scott Williams, Robert W. Dye, Jane Terrell, Steven Gibbs, Alicia Dean and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Additional thanks to Christopher Linen, Cathy Paglia, Robert James and Raju Wolfe
For Liquid Comics

Sharad Devarajan, CoFounder & CEO Gotham Chopra, CoFounder & Managing Partner Suresh Seetharaman, CoFounder & President
TM

ELVIS PRESLEY SHOWBIZ SPY ELVIS THE SEARCHER

EPE, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.
GRAPHIC ELVIS: LIMITED COLLECTORS EDITION, December 2011, First Printing, published by Liquid Comics LLC. 770 Broadway, Second Floor, New York, NY 10075. GRAPHIC ELVIS EPE, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. All Rights Reserved.
The artwork featured in this book is 2011 Liquid Comics LLC. All Rights reserved. The Liquid Comics logo is TM & Liquid Comics LLC. All names, characters, events and locales in this publication are entirely fictional.
Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or places, without satiric intent, is coincidental. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means (digital or print) without the written permission of Liquid Comics LLC except for review purposes. Printed in China.
For information regarding press, media rights, foreign rights and licensing please email: info@liquidcomics.com

92

100

ELVIS

ARTIST BIOS

130

138

ISBN:1935829157 www. liquidcomics .com

BONUS MATERIAL

1st Edition December, 2011 Printed in Canada

140

GRAP HIC

ELV IS

On January 15th, 1971 Elvis Presley stepped up to the podium inside a rather unglamorous auditorium in
Memphis, Tennessee. He appeared nervous, dressed modestly in a black tuxedo and a white shirt with a bowtie. It
was the first and only award show he'd ever attended in person. Always humble, Elvis had not even accepted his
Grammy Award in person. When Elvis began speaking, his words seem to come out cautiously, very much the
opposite of what one would expect since he usually glowed while in front of a crowd no matter the size. For days,
Elvis had agonized over the words he would use to accept the honor he was being given by the Junior Chamber of
Commerce of America for being one of the nations Ten Outstanding Young Men in 1971.
For while he performed hundreds of hit songs written by others during his career, the words he spoke that night
would be his own.
Cue the pin drop silence:
"When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and
I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies and I was the hero in the movie. So
every dream that I've dreamed has come true a hundred times"
Those who knew Elvis best, including his young wife Priscilla and a small entourage of friends and family
who were part of the audience that night, were well aware that his words rang true. Despite the fact that
he was already the world's greatest rock star and had won countless gold records as well as many other
prizes and awards from around the world, it was this award that he would cherish because it was for his
efforts to make the world a better place.
One could assume, in that moment, the familiar superhero-like twists and turns he had experienced in his
remarkable life came together in way that helped everything make sense.
The greatest comic book heroes are always misfits, a motley crew of sages, seekers, and psychotics that defy rules,
dream of greatness, and dare to embrace it. Elvis' fascination with the heroes of comic book lore spanned his
entire lifetime. From days spent thumbing through secondhand comics as a young boy in Tupelo, to the stacks he
kept by his side in the '50s while traveling from one sold-out concert to the next, to the "Taking Care of Business"
logo he fashioned for himself and his buddies, the king loved comic books and what they represented.
Elvis realized that true greatness lurked beyond fame and fortune. The margins of his personal copies of books
like Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet and Herman Hesse's "Sidhartha" were filled with scribbled words like "Love,"
"Spirit," and "God." After all, every heros ultimate quest is for answers answers to who we are, why we're
here, and what its all about. Elvis Presley got closer than many.
"All I want to know is the truth, to know and experience God. I'm a searcher, that's what
I'm all about"

"When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read

comic books and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies and
I was the hero in the movie. So every dream that I've dreamed has
come true a hundred times..."
Elvis Presley
ABOVE: PHOTO ALFRED WERTHEIMER

As the presenters of this original work a marriage of Elvis' own reflections, quotes, correspondences, writings,
photos, and memorabilia with original artwork created by some of the worlds leading graphic artists and
storytellers, we can attest to having a great admiration for the man, the lore, and the searcher that Elvis was. To
have the opportunity to listen to his music and interviews, to study the photos and documents in the archives at
Graceland, and to immerse ourselves in the magic that is Elvis home in Memphis, is to have experienced
something truly amazing and almost indescribable.
But even more so, as we approach the 35th anniversary of Elvis' death, to be a part of a celebration and
re-imagination of one of modern history's greatest creative icons is an honor of the highest order.
Our profound thanks to the Elvis Presley Estate, the Presley family, and the millions of fans that have ensured Elvis
will always be with us.
If it was Elvis' dream to be a comic book hero, then what a gift it is for us to have played some small role in
helping to make that dream come true.
Gotham Chopra & Sharad Devarajan
December 2011

ARTWORK: MUKESH SINGH

JAILHOUSE

ROCK

"When I first heard Elvis' voice, I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody, and nobody was going to be my boss.
He is the deity supreme of rock and roll religion as it exists in today's form. Hearing him for the first time was like
busting out of jail. I thank God for Elvis Presley." BOB DYLAN
PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE ARCHIVES AT GRACELAND

GRAPHIC ELVIS

16

THE ROCKSTAR

ARTWORK: GILBERT HERNANDEZ

SHAKE,
RATTLE &

ROLL

"His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac... It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions
in young people." FRANK SINATRA ON ROCK N' ROLL
PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE ARCHIVES AT GRACELAND

GRAPHIC ELVIS

20

THE ROCKSTAR

ARTWORK: STEVE RUDE

"I NEVER EXPECTED TO BE

ANYBODY IMPORTANT."
Elvis Presley

ELVIS THE

LEGEND
ARTWORK: GREG HORN

"BEFORE ELVIS THERE WAS NOTHING"

John Lennon

On August 27, 1965, Elvis met the Beatles at his home in Bel-Air, bringing together the two biggest super powers in the music industry for a brief few hours. What may have started as
an awkward get together orchestrated by assorted handlers, quickly turned into a friendship as the men shared stories and listened to records. The Beatles and Elvis even had a private
jam session that no one at the time thought to record forever losing one of the greatest moments in music history.

PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE ARCHIVES AT GRACELAND

GRAPHIC ELVIS

62

THE LEGEND

ARTWORK: M. S. CORLEY

MORE PEOPLE WATCHED ELVIS THAN THE

MOON LANDING

On January 14th, 1973, Elvis graced the stage in Honolulu, Hawaii in what was dubbed the Aloha from Hawaii concert. Several thousand were in attendance and cameras were
rolling. Later, it was estimated that Elvis' performance was viewed by a global audience of over 1.5 billion people, and was the most-watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in
television history. The concert was seen by more Americans than the number of people who watched the first man land on the moon.

PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE ARCHIVES AT GRACELAND

GRAPHIC ELVIS

80

THE LEGEND

ARTWORK: LUKE ROSS

"FOR EVEN LOVES CROWNS YOU SO SHALL IT CRUCIFY YOU"

A handwritten note by Elvis inside one of his many books on spirituality from his library at Graceland.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE ARCHIVES AT GRACELAND

GRAPHIC ELVIS

102

THE SEARCHER

ARTWORK: PAUL POPE