The Smiths' songs as comics – in pictures

A US publisher is creating an anthology of comic-book stories based on songs by Morrissey and Marr. But how do you draw Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before?

• Morrissey as superhero: Smiths songs are transformed into comics

  • Unite and Take Over: Comic Stories Inspired by the Smiths is the brainchild of Shawn Demumbrum, an Arizona-based comics publisher who clearly likes his Batman with a dash of melancholy. Image from What Difference Does It Make? by Jeff Pina
    The Smiths comic: The Smiths comic

  • Demumbrum has assembled 13 writer/artist teams, each of which will create a four-to-eight-page story inspired by a favourite Smiths song. Image from Death at One's Elbow by Madame M
    The Smiths comic: The Smiths comic

  • Rather than commissioning the artists to create straightforward superhero stories, Demumbrum asked them 'What's the story that plays in your head when you listen to your favourite Smiths song?' Image from Rubber Ring by DennMann
    The Smiths comic: The Smiths comic

  • The authors use lyrics from the songs as 'an inspiration, a jumping-off point, a theme or a mood'. Image from Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before by Christian Vilaire
    The Smiths comic: The Smiths comic

  • Demumbrum was inspired by 'a combination of loneliness and yet hopeful optimism, that only Morrissey’s vocals seem to capture'. Image from Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before by Christian Vilaire
    The Smiths comic: The Smiths comic

  • The finished anthology, which will run to at least 72 illustrated pages, is due out at the upcoming Tucson Comic-Con. Cover art by Jason Pedersen
    The Smiths comic: The Smiths comic
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