Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Piece of Mind, Iron Maiden have partnered with award-winning publisher Z2 to bring the landmark heavy-metal album to book form. Available November 21st, Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind is packed with comics, art and testimonials from acclaimed writers, artists, actors and musicians — and Revolver has an exclusive "The Trooper" edition featuring cover art by J.G. Jones (Y: The Last Man) and limited to 500 worldwide.
Opening with an introduction titled "Piece of Mind at 40" by Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood, Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind features original stories for each of the album's nine tracks. Highlights include Where Eagles Dare, written by Steven Grant (The Punisher) and illustrated by Carson Thorn (Batman the Barbarian), and Revelations, written by Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson himself ("Revelations" was the first song in the band's history to be solely credited to Dickinson) with Tony Lee (Doctor Who) and illustrated by Damien Worm (The October Faction).
The book also boasts all-star testimonials on the impact of Iron Maiden and Piece of Mind from famous fans such as the Cure's Simon Gallup, Muse's Matt Bellamy, AEW legend Chris Jericho, Public Enemy's Chuck D and Anthrax's Scott Ian.
Dickinson commented: "When the idea of a Piece of Mind 40th-anniversary graphic novel first came up, I felt it was the perfect medium to expand outside the confines of the songs and to create new storylines and new dimensions through short form narrative and imagery. With 'Revelations,' it allowed me to add more layers and dimensions to the lyrics and add a new twist."
The Maiden vocalist added: "Equally as exciting was bringing together some of the top writers and illustrators in the industry who are all actual fans of the band, to add their own creative ideas inspired by the songs, Eddie and the album itself. Z2 did a tremendous job in pulling this all together to create more than just a graphic novel, it's what I consider a work of art."
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind comes in a slew of collectible formats, including the aforementioned Revolver-exclusive The Trooper variant (see the cover art and an interior spread below), as well as The Oversized Deluxe and Asylum Editions, each of which comes encased in an asylum clamshell with locking mechanism and pop-up Eddie (see images below).
Additional variants include the The Flight of the Icarus cover by Martin Simmonds, the Die With Your Boots On cover by U.K. Iron Maiden illustrator Dan Mumford, and The Trooper Cutaway Edition featuring cover art by Travis Knight.
Pre-order Revolver's variant at our shop, and other editions at Z2's store. You can pick up the The Flight of the Icarus cover and The Trooper Cutaway Edition exclusively at comic book shops and Rockabilia, respectively.
