Exclusive Preview: Hip Hop Family Tree Omnibus Shows the Link Between Comics and Rap

Hip-hop turned 50 this year — and to mark the occasion, publisher Fantagraphics is putting out a new hardcover omnibus edition of Ed Piskor’s Hip Hop Family Tree.

Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus goes on sale next Tuesday, October 17. It collects all 360 pages of Piskor’s original Hip Hop Family Tree comic series — plus 140 pages of new material. Fantagraphics has provided SuperHeroHype with an exclusive excerpt from the book, in which Piskor (feat. Tom Scioli) highlights the many similarities between hip-hop culture and superhero comics. These pages even feature guest appearances by iconic heroes like Spider-Man, Daredevil, Batman, Spawn, and more.

Check out the exclusive excerpt from Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus below:

What’s new in Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus?

Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus marks the first time Piskor’s entire illustrated encyclopedia of hip-hop history has been collected in a single volume. The hardcover edition also includes a foreword by Wild Style director Charlie Ahearn, an afterword by hip-hop journalist Bill Adler, new annotations by Piskor, and a comprehensive cover gallery.

“Being a cartoonist means that my books are my babies and for one of them to have a life beyond 10 years is an absolute blessing,” said Piskor, who is also known for his work on Marvel’s X-Men: Grand Design. “Given the fact that it’s also the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop culture it was essential for us to bring about the best presentation possible for the material. I couldn’t be happier.”

The cartoonist added, “We are making the ultimate version of HIP HOP FAMILY TREE with this edition … Beyond the original 4 volumes I did years more of work on the series that was scattered about, and now we’re able to include all of this material inside of one hardcover edition. This includes covers, illustrations, and commentary that I’ve built over a decade, plus I couldn’t resist adding lots of fresh artwork specifically for this edition to make the whole package as balanced as possible.”

“Ed’s passion for comics is matched only by his passion for hip hop,” said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds, “and his love and respect for both artforms resulted in not only a kick-ass comic book, but one of the most valuable resources to chronicle hip hop’s glorious 50 year history, as this definitive Omnibus proves.”

Hip Hop Family Tree: The Omnibus goes on sale October 17 from Fantagraphics.