*Warning! May contain spoilers!*
The world’s most notorious band’s autobiography just got a little more crazy. Titled Mötley Crüe – The Dirt: Declassified, this new fictionalized retelling of Mötley Crüe’s original book, The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band, is a fun, action packed adventure only the Crüe could get themselves into.
In this new book, the band members are secret government agents who have been present for many of the late 20th and early 21st centuries’ biggest historical moments. The book also incorporates key moments from the band’s 2001 autobiography.
Released as a graphic novel by Z2 Comics and written by Leah Moore, The Dirt: Declassified tells the story of Mötley Crüe getting back together to tour once again. However, their tour is just a front for their secret government operative work. Lead singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, and guitarist Mick Mars must stop a zombie apocalypse all while performing to adoring fans every night.
This new tour is a far cry from their original performances in bars and clubs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Their opening act for this tour is a female hologram singer named Platinumb who seems to be the perfect opener. That is until the backstory of her creation is discovered by the band.
The pages of this graphic novel are filled with wonderfully drawn images of the band fighting zombie teenagers. The dialogue is chock-full of cheesy, yet funny lines that you can actually hear Mötley Crüe saying to each other.
The only issue with the book is the true antagonist’s origin story. Without giving away too much of the plot, their motivation for what they do is solid, however it could have been elaborated on more. While enough was stated to fulfill the purpose of the book, it would have been interesting to get more of their background as well.
The book is available on the Z2 Comics website. Originally, four different versions of the book were available for purchase with the most expensive being $299.99. It included a hard copy of the book, special art prints and other limited edition items. Currently, the only version still available is the traditional paperback for the more reasonable price of $24.99.
It would be interesting to see if Mötley Crüe and Z2 Comics would be willing to continue this graphic novel as a series. It is filled with enough references to many historical events that the band was written into that it would be easy to write more stories that elaborate on these.
Mötley Crüe – The Dirt: Declassified is a quick, easy, and enjoyable read for anyone who is a fan of Mötley Crüe.
