Fall Out Boy song sparks comic book

The Fall Out Boy song “Tiffany Blews” has inspired a comic book — and that may be just the beginning.

“Fall Out Toy Works,” a five-issue miniseries from Image Comics, is loosely based on the rock band’s “Tiffany Blews.” The first issue is in comic book shops now.

The comic book was created by Fall Out Boy bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz and Los Angeles designer Darren Romanelli, written by Brett Lewis (“Bulletproof Monk,” “The Winter Men”) and illustrated by Sam Basri of Imaginary Friends Studios.

The project, Wentz said via e-mail, “kind of came out of nowhere, like a tornado. Darren and I had just met up and decided to do a project together. I couldn’t really put together what the project would be yet, but I sent him a few songs as inspiration. The one that stuck was ‘Tiffany Blews.’”

The story is a “Pinocchio”-like tale set in a futuristic Los Angeles landscape reminiscent of “Blade Runner.”  The first issue follows the down-on-his-luck Toymaker, tasked by the greedy Baron to create an artificial being capable of true love. Further issues, a press release says, will explore “the complex relationship between the creator, the

Toymaker, and the created, the android Tiffany, who embark on a turbulent ride in a world of unscrupulous characters and sinister plans to find the true meaning of life and love.”

“I think the core is the idea of manufactured love,” Wentz said. “The possibility of it and then the morality of it. Our world is headed there in a very slow way through social networking and the general disconnecting of human beings.”

The world of “Fall Out Toy Works,” he noted, won’t be confined to the printed page.

“There will be animation, toys, a microsite and more. It’s also about what the story is about: bringing something to life.”

The first installment of an animated motion comic from Double Barrel Motion Labs is scheduled for release on iTunes in late December; a teaser can be seen at www.fallouttoyworks .com. It will feature the voices of Wentz and Fall Out Boy lead vocalist Patrick Stump, among others.

“We don’t want this to be overly focused on Fall Out Boy, so expect to hear other voices that might surprise you,” Wentz said.

Though Wentz said he’s not a big comics fan, “I definitely respect it as an art form, and I liked all things Marvel growing up.”

When it came to writing the comic, he was happy to leave it to Lewis, the professional comics writer.

“I write some words here and there, but I know there is no way I could jump in and write a comic narrative or dialogue in panels,” Wentz said. “And even if I thought I could, I think it’s a bit egotistical to stomp around someone else’s sacred ground. This was about trust.

“The band had the chance to read stuff from a couple of different writers and we thought Brett was the perfect voice for this project.”