Pop star launches comic to accompany her album
Variety reports the pop singer Lisa, a native of Thailand, is producing a comic, or a manga, to go alongside her albums:
Lisa may already be a global pop icon from her career with Blackpink, but 2025 is already proving to be her solo breakout year. So far, she released her new single “Born Again” with Doja Cat and Raye; made her acting debut in the third season of “The White Lotus”; and is gearing up to put out her debut solo album “Alter Ego” on Feb. 28.If this is seriously story-driven, that's a plus, and no doubt, there's other projects like these that don't rely on actual merit, but are just written up as a weird excuse to cash in on the image of the pop stars alone. That's not how to produce entertainment and art. The UK Mirror tells that:
Adding to the list: the Thai star is stepping into the comic book realm to debut “ALTER-EGO: THE OFFICIAL COMIC,” a companion to her upcoming album that sees the launch of Lalisa Comics in partnership with Zero Zero Entertainment.
The 56-page project takes inspiration from the themes of her “Alter Ego” album, focused on five different characters (named Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni and Speedi) to represent a unique aspect of the 27-year-old’s personality. As described in a release, “ALTER-EGO: THE OFFICIAL COMIC” tells a story that “embodies transformation, courage and unity.” [...]
Frankel adds that Lisa’s “ALTER EGO” storyline presents a new approach to the traditional musician-comic model from his years in the industry.
“The Zero Zero process is all about collaborating with artists to create unique, story-driven merchandise,” he says. “When it comes to comics, we work closely with the artist and their team to develop the story, translating it into an art script that guides the visual storytelling. Once the artwork is complete, a writer steps in to refine the narrative by adding dialogue, ensuring the final product aligns with the artist’s vision. With ‘ALTER EGO,’ the approach was slightly different. Since the story was already embedded in the album, our role was to expand and elevate that narrative, shaping it into a compelling 56-page comic. Rather than building from scratch, we focused on deepening the existing themes and translating them into a fully realized visual experience.”
As part of Lisa’s album, the Thai singer has five established alter egos, each with their own description and appearance. These range from Kiki, who is ‘Y2K Cute’ to the more rock-n-roll Speedi. However, one of the characters, Vixi, who is meant to embody her ‘villain era’, recently sparked ridicule among fans.The only complaint I have is that it's really not a good idea on the part of the singer to emphasize villainy. Other than that, I wish her good luck in marketing this new manga (or, if it's coming from Korea, it'll be manhwa) along with her pop songs.
The description of Vixi’s character read: “Only baddies allowed” and “oh, you’ve heard of me? good – I’m the one they like to call the 'villain'.” The persona, clearly designed to come across as cool and rebellious, made the opposite impression on social media.
[...] However, the overall opinion seems to have changed in anticipation of her newly announced comic. Designed by Japanese artist MinoMiyabi – who has previously worked with musicians like Gorillaz and Yungblud – the comic book aims to give readers a deeper insight into the alter egos that Lisa will be incorporating into the songs of her new album.
Labels: Europe and Asia, golden calf of villainy, history, indie publishers, licensed products, manga and anime
