A hip-hop icon he may be, but Darryl McDaniels, one third of pioneering trio Run DMC is also a massive comic book fan. To mark the release of his comic DMC #1 he talks to Gigwise about his childhood inspiration, Guardians Of The Galaxy and why he prefers Batman to Superman.
In town to launch his own independent comic #DMC1 at Forbidden Planet and also to perform with Rev. Run and Raleigh Ritchie, DMC meets Gigwise in the comfortable surroundings of London's Grosvenor House Hotel. "Hip-hop was always based on creativity," DMC offers by explanation of his new project. "So what we're trying to do with this comic book is not trying to create anything that's new; we're just going to show the world what's already there… the beauty and the creativity of it."
Watch Gigwise's interview with Darryl McDaniels above
DMC talks about escaping growing up in Hollis Queens and escaping bullying through comic books. "Peter Parker lived in Queens," he explains, discussing the hours he spent studying Marvel and DC. "It empowered me, it gave me a world". He also had early favourites. "Batman was really cool because he was dark and he had all these human emotions. He also had an ego - like 'I'm Batman! I don't care about your superpowers!"
DMC also takes time to praise the current round of blockbuster comic book adaptations. He's a particularly fan of the "smart alec element" of Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark and the "very well done " Guardians Of The Galaxy. He is cautious however about anyone moviemaker looking to make a quick buck. "Us geeks and nerds are very critical" he explains "Do not disrespect the genre and don't y'all get out of line. Comic book culture is our world and we're allowing you in it."
DMC#1 is out now. dmc-comics.com
See the front cover of DMC issue #0 below
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