I’m from Jersey, born and raised. While I am shamelessly proud of my state, outsiders tend to judge it by its awful reputation. (Jersey Shore, you ruin EVERYTHING!) Still, we can all agree that there’s one great gift that Jersey has offered the world. Yep, I’m talking about The Boss.
For any child of a baby boomer who grew up in New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band has at least made an appearance in their upbringing. In my case, my mother shared her love of his music with us kids, and, as I came into my womanhood, I fell in love with his butt on the album cover of Born in the USA.
So, I just had to check out Wings For Wheels, a comic anthology edited by Nomi Kane. The book is a tribute to Bruce Springsteen composed of six different comics and various collages. The book comes in a sleeve that looks like a 7-inch vinyl with an illustrated version of the Born to Run album cover on it. The comic artists involved with the book clearly grew up listening to Bruce and they tell you all about it in the stories.
One of my favorite comics in the book is “The Boss Don’t Stop” by Josh PM Frees, which tells the story of “that guy” at the karaoke bar relentlessly rocking out to “Born to Run.” We’ve all seen that guy, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been that guy alone in your room at least once.
Jen May also added a couple great collages of sexy young Bruce in his prime. Check out this one of him with good friend (and fellow Jerseyite!) Patti Smith.
Another great comic in the anthology is “Home Is Where the Boss Is” by the editor herself, Nomi Kane. This comic actually made me a little emotional. It describes how Bruce’s music has always been there for her, beginning when she was a little girl riding in the car with her father and convinced that Bruce and legendary saxophonist, the late Clarence “The Big Man” Clemens, lived behind the speakers of her dad’s Honda. She shows how The Boss really does just get it, you know?
Anyway, you can buy Wings For Wheels on Etsy here!
Images via spandexless.com, brucespringsteen.net, etsy.com, strawberryfieldsforever.blogspot.com
