Advanced Review: Raise The Horns for ‘The Rock Gods Of Jackson, Tennessee’

Welcome to the table,

I had a weird and turbulent childhood. Between being disabled, a nerd, and having very little support at home, I was often trying my best to just make it from week to week without getting hit. It made me stressed and anxious and a little bit chaotic, often leaning into being a people-pleaser. I spent a lot of time just feeling lost. Eventually, through some weird twists of fate, I found my people. They were all really talented in their own ways. Sure, they had things that, at the time, caused them to be the brunt of physical or emotional abuse from our peers. We were kids who played D&D, watched cartoons, laughed loud, and talked about who would win in a fight: He-Man or Mumm-Ra. We were just… us. Where we were, when we grew up, we very much fit into the John Hughes idea of what a nerd was. So we were treated socially as such.

Eventually, I made a small group of equality-lost friends and through the power of D&D, caffeine, and music we had some pretty great times. However, as things go, we all went our own ways. There was no animosity or anger, we all just grew up and went off to forge our own paths. I think about those guys often and when The Rock Gods of Jackson, Tennesse came across my desk, I swear what Rafer Roberts and Mike Norton have created here feels like watching a multiverse version of my childhood in a weird sort of way. Super weird… but honestly really heartwarming.

The Rock Gods of Jackson, Tennessee is a warm and weird story of teenage dreams and drama that follows a group of weirdly familiar kids who come together to start a band despite their own personal baggage and stumbling blocks present at home.

The setup is simple enough, a local hero and fairly well-known rock star, Tommi Tungstun, returns to Jackson after “escaping” the small-town life and through some unfortunate events is in need of an opening act for his show.

The need kicks off a series of accidents that, honestly, feel way closer to home than even I was ready for — and the story snowballs out of control from there.

The kids feel so true-to-life in a lot of ways. No easy task as I think most stories like this generally miss the mark. There is the “delinquent” Marty who wants to meet his rock idol; Lenny and Jonny who have their own baggage and just want to rock; and the pensive, unobservant — and honestly, a little too close to home — narrator Doug, who is just wants some friends to hang out with.

I’m holding back a lot on just how well the kids are developed because experiencing their stories through the book is really enjoyable and has some super solid slice-of-life storytelling. It’s not all slice-of-life, though, because while you are getting to know the kids and their lives, there is this whole other story about mutant pigs happening in the background.

In all the ways that this feels like your favorite episodes of Stranger Things mashed up with a John Hughes movie, this is also a brilliantly told story of kids who have a lot more going on at home than you realize. The art is stellar, the jokes land perfectly, and the monster and gore blend so well into this weird coming-of-age story that will ring true to anyone who has ever felt like an outcast.

The Rock Gods of Jackson Tennessee will be out July 4th from Dark Horse Comics.

Until next time, Raise the Horns, turn it all the way up, and rock out with The Rock Gods of Jackson Tennessee!

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