Fantagraphics’s All Time Comics Line Gets a Live-Action Trailer From the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Director

Acclaimed commercial, film, and music video director and photographer Samuel Bayer, who launched his career 25 years ago with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, today released a live-action trailer based on Fantagraphics‘s All Time Comics, a comic book superhero universe he created with his brother, indie comic book creator Josh Bayer.

The trailer stars Sons of Anarchy‘s LaMonica Garrett as Crime Destroyer and model Denise Schaefer as Bullwhip. The cast also includes actress and cosplay enthusiast Maitland Ward (Boy Meets World). Punk rock icon Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) appears as Bullwhip’s enemy. Rounding out the high caliber cast and crew are Jackie Chan’s stunt crew, the JC Action Team, and acclaimed Stunt Coordinator Eddie Braun (Marvel’s The Avengers).

Samuel Bayer’s trailer is timed to the eagerly anticipated release of All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1, the first of the retro-cool All Time Comics superhero comics which recently debuted from Fantagraphics, the publisher of the world’s greatest cartoonists, including Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez (Love & Rockets) and Tony Millionaire (Drinky Crow).

“Comic book companies sometimes use trailers to promote upcoming releases, but as far as we know, no one’s ever done a live action short as a trailer before,” said the Emmy Award-winning director and photographer Samuel Bayer, who has directed iconic videos for Green Day, Justin Timberlake, and The Rolling Stones. “We assembled a fantastic cast and crew. Steve Jones is an icon in the music business and he’s making comic book history as a guitar-wielding supervillain. My stunt coordinator Eddie Braun just completed Evel Knievel’s insane Snake River Canyon jump by strapping himself in a steam powered rocket. Robert Duffy, who edited the Grammy Award-winning music video for Johnny Cash’s ‘Hurt’ and cut our film is one of the best in the business. Together, we’re creating something unlike anything comic book fans have seen before. We made the movie before the comic came out.”

All Time Comics is a shared superhero universe featuring four heroes: Atlas, Blind Justice, Bullwhip, and Crime Destroyer. Crime Destroyer will make his first appearance in print in All Time Comics: Crime Destroyer #1, written by Josh Bayer, with inks by Benjamin Marra and the last known art by legendary artist Herb Trimpe, who co-created Wolverine. For the trailer, Crime Destroyer is played by LaMonica Garrett, an actor and longtime comics enthusiast.

“On Sons of Anarchy, I got to chase bad asses on their insane bikes, now I get to play the bad ass, destroying crime in my customized 1972 Firebird,” says Garrett of Crime Destroyer’s car, a souped up muscle car with dual front-mounted 45 caliber machine guns. “I’m a nerd when it comes to comic books and superheroes, it felt like dream to finally play one… Hopefully it’s just the beginning.”

Model and actress Denise Schaefer plays Bullwhip, the mysterious crimefighter sworn to keep Metro City’s streets safe from villainy and violence in April in the pages of All Time Comics: Bullwhip #1.

“One of the things I really like about Bullwhip is she does not have a secret identity,” said Schaefer. She is Bullwhip, all day, every day.”

In the trailer, Bullwhip must rescue one of the villain’s victims, a starlet portrayed by Maitland Ward, best known for her role in Boy Meets World and her cosplay appearances at comic book conventions.

“I’ve been dressing up in elaborate cosplay outfits for years,” said Maitland Ward. “As a fan of comics and superheroes, it’s wild to participate in a project like this one, where I’m kidnapped by the one and only Steve Jones and tied to an Evel Knievel style rocket.”

“When Sam called me about creating a live action comic book trailer, I immediately called Andy Cheng and the rest of Jackie Chan’s crew who I worked with on on all three Rush Hour films,” said Eddie Braun, who recently completed a three and a half year passion project in recreating his Hero Evel Knievel’s unsuccessful attempt to cross the Snake River Canyon in 1974. Braun’s historic jump will be the subject of a forthcoming film narrated by Charlie Sheen, whom Braun has stunt doubled for thirty years. Working with Andy Cheng and the team, we were able to choreograph and perform fantastic-looking stunts for All Time Comics with one day of rehearsal, and one day to shoot. They’re top notch.”

“My brother and I have collaborated since we were kids — but never on anything as epic in scale as All Time Comics,” says All Time Comics co-creator Josh Bayer. “When Sam reached out to me with the superheroes already mostly formed, they immediately reminded me of the comics heroes that inspired us as kids. Working with my brother on a project so close to our hearts has been magical, and I can’t wait for the world to discover these heroes and villains.”