Fall Out Toy Works is an American comic book

American comic book

An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...

 limited series

Limited series

A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

, created by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...

, Darren Romanelli, and Nathan Cabrera. It is written by Brett Lewis, whose previous work includes The Winter Men

The Winter Men

The Winter Men is a comic book limited series published by Wildstorm Productions in 2005. The series was written by Brett Lewis, with art by John Paul Leon....

, and is illustrated by several members of Imaginary Friends Studios

Imaginary Friends Studios

Founded in 2005, Imaginary Friends Studios is an illustration, comics art and concept art studio based in Singapore and Jakarta....

. The first issue was published by Image Comics

Image Comics

Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...

 on September 2, 2009

2009 in comics

-January:*January 1: The direct-to-DVD movie Hulk Vs was released.*January 6: The third and final volume of Hollow Fields has been released.-February:...

.

The story is about androids with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...

 in a futuristic Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. It has been compared to Pinocchio

Pinocchio

The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...

 and Pygmalion

Pygmalion (mythology)

Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.-In Ovid:In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a...

.

Plot

The plot is "inspired by the ideas & lyrics of Fall Out Boy", especially the song "Tiffany Blews" from the album Folie à Deux. The story focuses on the Toymaker, who despite being a brilliant inventor, finds himself in financial trouble. A rich magnate known as the Baron seeks to have a robotic woman companion, but his team of scientists is unable to create one that behaves realistically. The Baron hires the Toymaker to help advance the process, and he creates a new android named Tiffany.

Development

Wentz met with designer, Darren Romanelli, to discuss a creative collaboration for Fall Out Boy's musical tour. They decided to base their concept on the song, "Tiffany Blews". Romanelli then consulted with comics industry member, Nathan Cabrera, together creating a world inspired by the song's lyrics. Wentz, while admittedly "not a really big comic guy," approved of the comic series after being shown some storyboards they had drawn. They were introduced to writer Brett Lewis and Imaginary Friends Studios through Romanelli's friend, editor Jeff Krelitz. Wentz, while not directly involved in the writing process, contributes ideas and oversees the general direction of the comic. They intend to expand the concept into a whole media franchise

Media franchise

A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...

, including animation and merchandise.

In interviews, Wentz talked about the themes discussed in the comic: "There's a strong element of, 'What is real? What makes something real? Can you fabricate reality?'" "It explores the dimensions of what love really is. Can it be designed in you? Can a robot fall in love?" He cited Blade Runner

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...

as a thematic and visual influence.

An animated adaptation, dubbed a "motion comic", is in production by Double Barrel Motion Labs. A teaser trailer was released online on the day of the first issue's publication.

Reception

Over 75 people turned up for a comic book signing at a Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

retailer, Atomic Comics.