Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson‘s multimedia saga “The Mandrake Project” is set to expand further with a new graphic novel this October. Z2 Comics will be publishing that endeavor, with pre-orders now available through z2comics.com/collections/bruce-dickinson. As for what’s in store this time out, the following press release lays it out:
‘In the middle of his 2025 solo tour of North America, Bruce Dickinson was simultaneously hard at work crafting the next volume in his critically-acclaimed graphic novel saga, THE MANDRAKE PROJECT. This next installment is sure to send readers reeling, as everything they thought they knew about the world of Necropolis and Dr. Lazarus is turned on its head as the second book descends deeper into a world of surreal and mystical madness.
Now, Z2 is proud to announce the impending release of THE MANDRAKE PROJECT: YEAR TWO as the war between magic and science for the control of immortality reaches a hallucinatory fever pitch. Starting with a near-death experience that propels Necropolis into a parallel world where he learns the dark secrets of his twisted family tree, he’s exposed to revelations that leave him shocked, wondering if he can escape the family legacy of self-destruction in the name of ambition, or if he is simply a cog in a greater cosmic machine, controlled by supernatural forces?
When asked about how YEAR TWO expands on the story in the first volume, Bruce Dickinson said “Oh, just hold on to your proverbial hats folks… This one gets REALLY weird!” and writer Tony Lee, laughed, following it up with “You thought the first book was going to get us sued and bring out the pitchforks? You haven’t seen anything yet!”
The 184 page volume also includes an extensive series of interviews and essays recounting Dickinson’s life on tour supporting THE MANDRAKE PROJECT album in 2025, as well as insight with the creative team into the development of this next terrifying chapter of the Mandrake Saga. With an introduction by Avil director Sacha Gervasi, the 12”x12” Deluxe and Platinum Editions are housed in an elegant die-cut slipcase and are bound with a sealing ribbon and gilt paper edging. The oversized Deluxe and Platinum Editions also include a holder inside the back cover that contains four new foil collectors cards and a new edition of the antiqued metal MANDRAKE PROJECT medallion held by Dr. Lazarus in the comic. This book is the must have item for all lovers of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, and supernatural tales!
Continuing the tradition of heralding the influences contained within the saga of The Mandrake Project, YEAR TWO also contains an extensive article on Wilhelm Reich, the sociologist and mystic whose controversial work led to him being imprisoned by the FBI, where he died in jail in the 1954.
The Bruce Dickinson-signed oversized 12”x12” Deluxe editions and signed platinum editions both come with collector cards and Mandrake Coin in a die-cut slipcase with foil page edging, and will be available directly from Z2 at Z2Comics.com, while a 9”x9” smaller hardcover edition without slipcase will be available via Z2’s retail partners Amazon and Barnes and Noble in the United States, and at HMV UK, as well as many independent comic and music shops worldwide.
When asked about THE MANDRAKE PROJECT: YEAR TWO, Z2’s Editor-in-Chief, Rantz Hoseley shared “I thought I knew the limits and boundaries of Bruce’s mad vision for this world, but one thing YEAR TWO has made brutally clear… there are no limits to where the story will go! And, let me just say, we are all the luckier for it!’
