Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready will be at San Diego Comic-Con in support of his upcoming graphic novel, Farewell to Seasons.
The book tells an alternate history of the Seattle music scene that birthed Pearl Jam, along with bands including Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. McCready tells ABC Audio that the idea for the project came to him during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
“I had a few dreams, one with Layne [Staley] and one with Chris Cornell,” McCready says, referring to the respective late Alice in Chains and Soundgarden singers. “They were really dark and kinda strange.”
“I want to explore the reason why the Seattle music scene happened and my point of view of it, and why all these guys died, and was it worth it,” he continues. “I don’t know the answer to that question.”
With Farewell to Seasons, McCready also hopes to convey the collaborative and communal spirit of the Seattle scene, as evidenced by his own career of playing in bands including Temple of the Dog and Mad Season alongside Pearl Jam.
“We all played on each other’s records and went to each other’s shows,” McCready says. “[Seattle is a] small big city, I don’t know how to explain it other than that. You would run into people all the time.”
Coming from that kind of scene, McCready says he relates to the artists and creators of the graphic novel world.
“I love the artistry of it, I love how they push boundaries,” McCready says. “I love that there is a do-it-yourself ethic to these stories. I love how well-written the stories are.”
Farewell to Seasons will be released in October alongside a collection of original music.
San Diego Comic-Con is held Thursday through Sunday.
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