Written by: Sam Santiago
We are a bit late to the hype on this one, but sometimes that just means you arrive right when things get interesting. Z2 Comics and Bruce Dickinson are back with The Mandrake Project: Year Two, the next chapter in Dickinson’s phantasmagoric graphic novel saga, and it is very clearly not playing in the shallow end of the pool.
We’ve been digging into this and are quickly hunting down the first volume of the series ourselves, and honestly, you should too. Especially with Z2 attached, because this is a publishing outfit that keeps leveling up in real time. They have been featured in Forbes, which says a lot about where they are sitting in the current comics and music crossover space, and they are only getting louder.
This is not your typical metal themed, skull covered, surface level graphic novel meant to just sit on a shelf and look cool. There is substance here, structure here, and a strange kind of narrative ambition that pushes way beyond standard rock and metal tie ins.
THE MANDRAKE PROJECT EXPANDS INTO YEAR TWO
In the middle of his 2025 solo tour of North America, Bruce Dickinson was still actively building out the next phase of the story. The Mandrake Project: Year Two continues the saga in full force, pushing deeper into the world of Necropolis and Dr. Lazarus as reality, myth, and something far more unstable begin to collapse into each other.
As described in the official announcement,
“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.”
The story picks up with a near death experience that sends Necropolis into a parallel world where he is forced to confront the dark roots of his own family history. What follows is a descent into identity, inheritance, and something that feels larger than human control.
“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?”
That alone should tell you this is not just background lore for an album, but a fully structured narrative universe that leans heavily into psychological and metaphysical horror.
BRUCE DICKINSON ON YEAR TWO
When asked about how the story expands, Bruce Dickinson kept it simple and very on brand:
“Oh, just hold on to your proverbial hats folks… This one gets REALLY weird!”
Writer Tony Lee did not exactly dial things down either, adding:
“You thought the first book was going to get us sued and bring out the pitchforks? You haven't seen anything yet!”
If the tone sounds more unhinged than your average band companion comic, that is kind of the point. This is not designed to sit safely on the edges of the music world. It is meant to push into stranger territory.
MORE THAN A GRAPHIC NOVEL
The 184 page volume also includes interviews and essays tied to Dickinson’s 2025 tour supporting The Mandrake Project album, along with behind the scenes insight into how the story continues to evolve.
The release also features a foreword by filmmaker Sacha Gervasi, and a striking die cut cover by legendary artist Bill Sienkiewicz, whose work has shaped everything from Elektra: Assassin to The New Mutants.
Inside the deluxe editions, readers also get collector cards and a themed medallion tied directly to the mythos of Dr. Lazarus, reinforcing just how far this project pushes into collectible narrative storytelling rather than simple merchandise.
A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE IDEAS BEHIND IT
One of the more unexpected elements in Year Two is an extensive article exploring Wilhelm Reich, the controversial sociologist and mystic whose ideas bleed into the philosophical backbone of the story. Reich’s work, and his eventual imprisonment by the FBI where he died in 1954, adds another layer of real world darkness to an already surreal narrative structure.
Z2 CONTINUES TO LEVEL UP
Z2 Comics continues to build a reputation as one of the most ambitious publishers operating at the intersection of music, art, and graphic storytelling. Their growing catalog and industry presence has already earned mainstream recognition, including coverage in Forbes, which highlights just how far this niche has expanded.
For The Mandrake Project, they are not just publishing a comic tied to a musician. They are building a full scale narrative ecosystem that spans books, music, art, and collectible design, all feeding into one another.
FINAL WORD
We are admittedly a little late to the party on this one, but we are catching up fast, and the deeper we go, the more obvious it becomes that this is not just another celebrity comic project. It is layered, deliberate, and far more ambitious than it first appears.
We are already tracking down Volume One, and if you have even a passing interest in darker, more narrative driven graphic storytelling, you probably should be too.