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Mercy On Me: Graphic novel depicts the life of Nick Cave in comic form

Musician, novelist, score composer and actor... Nick Cave has everything. Not to mention his Australian charm and devastating looks. If, like us, you're keen for anything Cave related, then you'll definitely need to get your hands on a copy of Nick Cave: Mercy On Me by Reinhard Kleist.

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Energetic black and white illustration from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing a man surrounded by figures, with a speech bubble reading "Cause pleasure is the boss

A graphic biography, which Cave himself has endorsed: “[Kleist] has – yet again – blown apart the conventions of the graphic novel by concocting a terrifying conflation of Cave songs, biographical half-truths and complete fabulations and creating a complex, chilling and completely bizarre journey into Cave World”.

Employing a cast of characters drawn from Cave’s music and writing, the book paints an expressive, enthralling portrait of a formidable artist and influencer. Kleist captures Cave’s childhood in Australia; his early years fronting The Birthday Party; the sublime highs of his success with The Bad Seeds and the crippling lows of his battle with heroin.

Award-winning artist Kleist is the author of critically acclaimed graphic biographies of Johnny Cash (Johnny Cash: I See In Darkness), Holocaust survivor and champion boxer Harry Haft (The Boxer), Fidel Castro (Castro) and Somali athlete Samia Yusuf Omar (An Olympic Dream).

Nick Cave: Mercy On Me is published in paperback on 7 September by SelfMadeHero. The creation and development of the project has been documented by Reinhard Kleist on www.nickcave-com.

All images courtesy of SelfMadeHero

Black and white comic panel from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing figures in a crowded venue with dialogue bubbles, drawn by Reinhard Kleist
Black and white comic strip panels from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing a woman with flowing hair, a man in a suit among twisted branches, and the couple together with dialogue about roses and immortality
A figure holding a sword stands facing a skeletal character against a dark, stormy background with sharp castle spires below, from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me by Reinhard Kleist
Black and white comic panel from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing a crowded urban street scene with numerous figures, speech bubbles and building facades in expressive ink linework
Comic panel from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing band members in a recording studio with drums, piano and dialogue about making a record
Black and white comic panel from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing a man at a piano with sheet music scattered on the floor, with dialogue bubbles containing his reflective narration
A black and white comic panel showing a man in a suit driving a car in the top frame, and below, a suited figure standing in a surreal landscape with large shadowy forms looming overhead
Black and white illustration from Nick Cave: Mercy On Me showing a man hunched over papers at a desk beneath geometric patterned windows, drawn by Reinhard Kleist
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