'Greendale' goes graphic

Neil Young's 2003 album "Greendale" has spawned a film, art book, and stage show. Now, it's a comic.

Working with writer Joshua Dysart and Brooklyn-based illustrator Cliff Chiang, the legendary songwriter, a Brooklynite himself, has crafted a comic book about Sun Greene, the great-granddaughter of Jay Green, who founded the fictional California town of Greendale.

The mythical story delves into themes of nature and war, with Chiang, who Young specifically wanted for the project, crafting the whimsical pages, which one reviews says makes this new book "quite unlike anything else to hit the racks in recent memory" (in a good way).

Chiang tells Wired he thought of the project as a "cover song," thanks to the freedom employed. The rocker even shows up in the comic, as the face a young Jed, as well as a bandit who soon morphs into a demonic being and terrorizes the town.

Hear Chiang discuss the project when he appears at Rocketship comics [208 Smith St. between Baltic and Butler streets in Cobble Hill, (718) 797-1348] this Friday at 8 pm.