GODSMACK Reimagine “Awake” as a Dark Supernatural Graphic Novel

More than 25 years after its release, Godsmack’s “Awake” is leaving the confines of the album format behind.

The band have announced “Godsmack: Awake”, a 96-page supernatural graphic novel created in partnership with Sumerian Comics. Rather than translating the 2000 record into a sequence of illustrated songs, the project uses its atmosphere and central themes as the foundation for an entirely new story about memory, guilt, violence and the possibility of redemption.

At its centre is Sevrin, a man who wakes alone among the sand dunes of Massachusetts with no memory of how he arrived there. Bruised, disoriented and carrying nothing but a mysterious matchbook, he is drawn into a surreal Halloween night where every stop along his journey forces him to confront violent deaths from different periods of history.

As the night unfolds, the boundaries between the living and the dead begin to collapse. Sevrin is confronted with the consequences of greed, rage and the mistakes that continue to repeat themselves across generations. To escape, he must face the past before it consumes him entirely.

Written by Jonathan Hedrick, with artwork by Giusi Lo Piccolo, colours by Simone D’Angelo and lettering by Toni Sardina, “Godsmack: Awake” will be released as an oversized 96-page hardcover measuring 7.25 by 11 inches. The project will also arrive in a series of collector’s editions, with five pre-order bundles ranging from the standard hardcover to a limited Tier 5 edition restricted to just 50 copies worldwide.

The highest-tier package includes a slipcase, T-shirt, postcard set, digital edition, themed collectibles and a bookplate signed by Godsmack frontman Sully Erna.

Originally released in 2000, “Awake” helped establish Godsmack as one of the defining hard rock acts of its generation, producing enduring fan favourites including ‘Awake’, ‘Greed’ and ‘Bad Magick’. More than two decades later, the album continues to expand beyond its original form.

The graphic novel arrives during an active period for the band, following the release of their live album “Live At Mohegan Sun” and their ongoing Rise Of The Rock World Tour. For Godsmack fans, horror readers and anyone drawn to stories where music and the supernatural occupy the same dark space, “Godsmack: Awake” offers a new way into one of the band’s most defining records.