THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT AND Z2 UNVEIL “WELCOME TO SUFFOCATE CITY” ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL

THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT AND Z2 UNVEIL 

“WELCOME TO SUFFOCATE CITY”
ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL

 

BAND’S MYTHOS IS EXPANDED IN THIS STORY BY LEE JENNINGS. WRITTEN BY LEAH MOORE WITH ART BY ANDRES LABRADA AND COVER BY ALISON SAMPSON

 

LIMITED EDITION “FLOPPY” AVAILABLE AT

ALL MUSIC AND COMIC RETAILERS

 

SUFFOCATE CITY, USA (June 10, 2025) — The Funeral Portrait and Z2 have consolidated the rich lore from the band’s first full length album, Greetings From Suffocate City, into a one-stop original graphic novel universe for fans to be enthralled in.

 

The Funeral Portrait Presents Welcome to Suffocate City tells the story of Irving Westhound, a man on a mission to save the youths of his town from the enigmatic leader of the Coffin Crew Cult. The tale expands on the world and iconography created by Lee Jennings and Caleb Freihaut through their music and Instagram videos.

 

Lee Jennings shares “I’m beyond excited for The Funeral Portrait to be releasing our first-ever graphic novel, ‘WELCOME TO SUFFOCATE CITY,’ through Z2. It’s an incredible opportunity to merge our music with a whole new world of storytelling, and there’s no better place to unveil it than at San Diego Comic Con. This is a dream come true for us and our fans, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it!”

 

Along with the powerful visuals from the band’s music, the ever-talented Leah Moore brings another layer to the narrative with her meticulous storytelling, “Rarely do I work on a book that feels like it already exists, like it is out there in the aether and all I have to do is guide it through into our world, but this was that book. Any Coffin Crew member will already know this story from front to back, cover to cover and hopefully every panel of it will feel like home. My only wish, in scripting this, was to capture a tiny spark of the energy and life that pours from the album, if I’ve done that, then I’ve done my job.”

 

Artist Andres Labrada took on the challenge to bring this world in its entirety to life, “working on The Funeral Portrait Graphic Novel was a blast. Every hand on this project was in sync and understood the vision. Fans will definitely have a lot of fun with all the references we stuffed in. If you’re a fan of the band you’ll be a fan of this comic and vice versa!”

 

Details of this comic first surfaced on May 15th, when Z2 and The FUNERAL PORTRAIT announced the cover contest, giving fans the opportunity to contribute an alternate cover for the book. After dozens of submissions, Lee Jennings and the band selected four beautiful pieces of work as the finalists that fans then voted on. On May 21st, the results were in, with Autumn N. winning the coveted prize! Autumn’s art will be seen on the softcover Coffin Crew Edition, and will be available for purchase at all comic and music retail locations.

 

Z2 Editor, Jasminne Saravia adds “Watching what seemingly looked like 100s of jigsaw pieces come together was definitely a sight to see. The band had so many storyline strands sprinkled in their music that having it collected in one location seemed like it would be feat but with such a talented creative team, they were able to tackle it head on and in such a beautiful way. Everything stayed intentional to keep in the realm of the world established for the fans.”

 

The 44 page oversized 12”x12” comic in a slipcased Deluxe Edition, which comes signed, with art prints, and a four-piece Funeral Portrait card collector’s set in a frame. Deluxe editions are available exclusively at Z2’s website [HERE] while a standard 9”x9” edition is available via AmazonBarnes & Noble, as well as other independent retailers and fine comic shops worldwide.

 

For more information on the book and to preorder your copy, visit z2comics.com/thefuneralportrait

 

In addition, GREETINGS FROM SUFFOCATE CITY – FROM BEYOND THE ABYSS: DELUXE EDITION will be released Friday, June 13 via Better Noise Music, with digital, CD, and vinyl copies available to pre-order HERE. The new package contains 24 songs including tracks from the CASSANOVA EP and the FROM BEYOND THE ABYSS EP, as well as the recently released versions of “Holy Water” feat. Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death PunchHearse for Two” feat. Lilith Czar and three brand new songs: Skinny Lies,” “Evergreen,” and “Lost Boy.” The vinyl and CD two-disc deluxe packages feature 21 tracks, one of which is exclusive to the physical formats (“Friends Like These”).

 

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The Funeral Portrait

Greetings from Suffocate City, The Funeral Portrait’s first full-length for Better Noise Music, expands the group’s mythology to new heights and dimensions with invigorating, authentic, and passionate anthems. Songs like “Alien,” “Voodoo Doll,” “You’re So Ugly When You Cry” (featuring The Used’s Bert McCracken), and the title track (featuring Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills) fuse the vibrant accessibility of Active Rock with the earnest honesty once screamed at the Warped Tour of the 2000s. Steadily growing since the band’s formation in 2014, The Coffin Crew is a worldwide assemblage of devotees united in the shared catharsis of The Funeral Portrait’s music. It’s a tight-knit fandom built in the spirit of AFI’s Despair Faction, the MCRmy, the BVB Army, and Ice Nine Kills’ Psychos. It’s a diverse and welcoming community bound by perseverance through adversity and heartbreak. Heralded as “the inspiring antidote to stagnant metalcore” by Alternative Press early into their career, the band eventually made their way onto SiriusXM Octane and episodes of All Elite Wrestling.The Funeral Portrait is comprised of frontman and founder Lee Jennings, guitarists Cody Weissinger and Caleb Freihaut, bassist Robert Weston, and drummer Homer Umbanhower. Some grew up loving Avenged Sevenfold and Papa Roach; others adored My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. The Funeral Portrait excels in the live environment, with visceral and heartfelt sets, as a headliner and while supporting genre titans like Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, and Skillet. They’ve been invited to perform at major festivals like Aftershock, Louder Than Life, So What?! and Inkcarceration. “There are as many people in the hard rock radio audience that are lonely, sad, and going through difficulties as in the more underground-leaning fandoms,” Jennings insists.“Our band is about standing up for weirdos and misfits. Because we are weirdos, too.”

 

About Z2
Recently dubbed the “Hottest brand in music” by ForbesZ2 has quickly become the premier destination for authentic graphic novels and collectibles, created in partnership with top-tier artists, musicians, and pop-culture icons. Distributed globally via Simon & Schuster, multiple Eisner and Ringo-nominated Z2 has produced 75+ unique graphic novel properties, collaborating with Iron Maiden, Gorillaz, Blondie, Elvis Presley, “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Blues Brothers, Pantera, Tori Amos, Last Podcast On The Left, Type O Negative, Emily Hampshire, Balmain Paris, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Jason Derulo, The Grateful Dead, Machine Gun Kelly, Sublime, Beethoven, RZA, Mötley Crüe, Vince Staples, Cheech & Chong, The Doors, Anthrax, Public Enemy, Ronnie James Dio, King Diamond, All Time Low, Ivan Moody, Kool Keith, Yungblud, Cypress Hill, Babymetal, Major Lazer, RZA, Alter Bridge, Sturgill Simpson, Poppy, John Lee Hooker, and Charlie “Bird” Parker. For more information visit Z2comics.com, and follow on Instagram and Twitter.

 

About Leah Moore
is a writer, born in Northampton, England, in 1978. Her career began in 2002 with scripts written for America’s Best Comics (ABC). Since 2003 she has also co-written comics and Graphic Novels with her husband, John Reppion, as Moore & Reppion.

 

About Andres Labrada
a Miami-based professional comics artist and Ringling College of Art alumnus, known for his unique style that blends both Japanese and Western comic traditions. Labrada then brings his dynamic compositions to life with a vibrant color palette and pop textures