Virtual Band Gorillaz To Release Their Own Almanac Later This Year

Gorillaz has teased their upcoming "The Gorillaz ALMANAC," their first hardback annual that contains artworks across the band's two-decade journey.

In an Instagram post, the virtual quartet posted an animated image of its members Noodle, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Stuart "2D" Pot above a teetering car on a garbage dump. The caption reads, "Meet the Gorillaz Almanac. Coming to a store near you," followed by a link to their merch store.

"Stop the presses! Twenty years in the making, the Gorillaz ALMANAC is the very first annual by Gorillaz, published this October in partnership with the renowned Z2 Comics," a press release for the annual read. The statement also described the upcoming release as "a full colour, one-of-a-kind, fun-packed, 120+ page, sideways homage to two glorious decades of Gorillaz."

The Gorillaz Almanac, published by Z2 Comics, will also contain exclusive new artwork, including a comic strip featuring the band members, games, and puzzles. Also, past and present collaborators will be making special guest appearances.

Josh Frankel, the Z2 publisher, said in a statement that "the artwork, the music, and the mythos all add up to what is destined to be one of our most buzzed-about releases in history."

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Sridhar Reddy also of Z2 Comics noted that the Internet most likely killed the almanacs, which is an annual publication containing useful information like weather forecasts and games and games puzzles. "It's what I love about doing a Gorillaz almanac, in that it brings together so much of the ephemera of the band into a physical book," Reddy added.

Jamie Hewlett, illustrator and co-creator of Gorillaz, shared how his art style has changed drawing Gorillaz for twenty years, recalling how he added more realism to the characters by the fourth album, "The Fall." Still, he is looking back at his original style reminiscent of "1970's Hannah Barbera cartoons," which he followed growing up.

The Gorillaz Almanac comes in three editions: "Almanac Standard," "Almanac Deluxe," and "Almanac Super Deluxe." Super Deluxe is a Hewlett-signed copy in its unique packaging, with only 200 copies published. The Deluxe copy only has 6666 copies, "at Murdoc's Request," and comes with additional art prints and sticker sheets and signed by all four members.

Just a week ago, Gorillaz co-founder and Blue frontman Damon Albarn and keyboardist-vocalist 2D performed "Aries" together on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the third single from the band's latest project, titled "Song Machine." It is the band's ongoing release of singles across 2020, most of which are collaborations with previously unannounced guest musicians. "Aries" was released last April 9 and featured Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook.

Gorillaz was a four-piece band created by Hewlett and Albarn in 1998. Hewlett works on all artworks and illustrations, while Albarn remains the only permanent musical contributor. The virtual band has worked with several artists, including André 3000, De La Soul, Grace Jones, Jack Black, Lou Reed, Mos Def, Paul Simonon, Pusha T, Ray BLK, and Snoop Dogg, among others.

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Gorillaz, Damon Albarn