The inspiration for the graphic Comic “The Monster in Me” came after seeing the photos from a photoshoot while recording the vocals for “The Monster in Me.” The images sparked an idea for a short story around the song, and felt the best way to do that was to create a graphic novel / comic book. Tim reached out to his friend Shane Roeschlein who had already written several graphic novels to help out.

Here is that story:

In the world of The Monster in Me, music is magic.

Singer-songwriter, William is the greatest of all time. In his mortal life, he was known as Orpheus. A musician of such remarkable talent that the Gods themselves were jealous. They feared William’s power and musical prowess so much, they kidnapped his true love and had William ripped to shreds.

In the afterlife, William, a ‘forever’ performs at the Purgatory Tavern. His all-star band plays to the delight of a swirling horde of demons, demi-gods and in-betweener souls. They shower him with praise. Affection. Ambrosia. But during the day, in accordance with the terms of his contract, William ferries wayward souls to their appropriate final resting places; eternity, damnation, or for a do-over in the corporeal middle realm.

All large institutions are prone to suffer from occasional mishaps over time. However, in the afterlife, a soul that doesn’t make its destination is rare. For those rare occurrences, there is the Office for Recovery and Reclamation (ORR).

Cate (Hecate), has successfully run the ORR for eternity with but a few noteworthy incidents. A recent theft resulted in the loss of one highly treasured soul. The soul is the muse and was broken into twelve parts and hidden somewhere in time for safekeeping. Each piece has the potential to create massive change and tip the scales in the favor of harmony.

If there is one thing that is certain in the mortal realm it is Death. Under the watchful eyes of Ethans (Thanatos), there hasn’t been a resurrection in over 2000 years and they intend to keep it that way. Coming back tends to spark major shifts in management.

Banishment to the void. Nasty stuff.

In a race against oblivion, William and his time-jumping hellhound Cerberus must track down all twelve pieces. From the Indra Club in 60’s Hamburg to backwater 1920s Mississippi honkytonks to 70’s Bronx block parties. Each piece of the muse has already begun to inspire pivotal musicians scattered through time and history’s greatest artists.