When they’re not on a global tour, Def Leppard is busy making comics. Tuesday, the iconic rock band announced it’s partnering with Vault Comics on a new graphic novel: Def Leppard’s Hysteria. Being released under Vault’s music-oriented Headsell banner, Hysteria is a genre-bending story that dives into both horror and action. Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen wrote the story alongside comics mainstay Eliot Rahal.
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“Blending music and comics together like this is an incredible and insane dream, and I could not be more thrilled by the work Eliot, Alex, and Vault have put into Hysteria. It has been a joy and one hell of a ride. I know fans are going to love it,” Collen said of the story in a press release.
Rahal added, “From the very beginning, before we had anything, this story felt big. Phil came to us with a vision, a ton of passion, and the word ‘Hysteria’—something that has a lot of history for the band. It’s something that carries a lot of meaning. A legacy. And in many ways, that’s what this story is about. The Vault team worked with me tirelessly to help create a framework to capture that spirit. Then… as the team assembled and the art came in… I saw the idea take shape in real-time, and the weight of the project became even more real. I put everything I had into this book because it was clear to me that everyone else also had as well. I’ll be forever grateful for being a part of this project.”
Alex Schlitz handled art for the graphic novel while Fabi Marques and Andworld Design handled colors and letters, respectively. Following Foz, a rocker that finds her father’s seemingly mystical guitar, Hysteria is set for release on April 15, 2025.
“I could say all the usual things about this graphic novel. Hysteria is one of the most iconic albums of all time. Def Leppard are titans of rock. So, no surprise, the graphic novel rocks too,” Vault’s Damian Wassel added. “But there’s so much more to it than that. Because Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen isn’t just an animal on the guitar. He’s a lifelong comics fan. Poured out on the pages of this graphic novel is a story he couldn’t tell you in a song that takes you to places Def Leppard have never gone before with their music. Leading the creative charge for the band on this project, Phil has worked hand in hand with writer Eliot Rahal and artist Alex Schlitz to create a graphic novel that takes off like a rocket, about a band that gets cursed and is left with no choice but to run riot.”
Keep scrolling to see a series of covers ComicBook can exclusively reveal.
