Todd Loren

Todd Loren (1960–1992, born Stuart Loren Shapiro) was an American comic book publisher.

Background

As a teenager, Loren promoted comic conventions and record collector shows in the Detroit area. He moved to San Diego, California in the late 1980s and started Musicade, a mail-order music memorabilia company. In 1989, he sold Musicade and started Revolutionary Comics, which produced "Rock 'N' Roll Comics," a line of unauthorized comic book biographies of rock stars prompted in part by the success of an unauthorized Bruce Springsteen parody comic called "Hey Boss." He hired "Hey Boss" artist Larry Nadolsky to draw the first issue of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, which profiled Guns N' Roses. He was also the first creator of the Carnal Comics line, which is still publishing comics.

Death

In June 1992, at the age of 32, Loren was found stabbed to death in his San Diego condo. The case remains unsolved, although some people suspect spree killer Andrew Cunanan. The FBI later investigated and ruled out Cunanan's involvement. [Beth Hannan Rimmels, "Did Andrew Cunanan Kill Comics Publisher?" http://www.comicsutra.com/cs/stripped/strippedv1i19.htm]

Film

In 2005, Chicago-based film studio BulletProof Film released "Unauthorized and Proud Of It: Todd Loren's Rock 'N' Roll Comics", a documentary about Loren's life. [imdb title|0469213|Unauthorized and Proud Of It: Todd Loren's Rock 'N' Roll Comics] The film features interviews with Loren's family, comic book colleagues, adversaries, supporters, and past and present rock 'n' roll stars, including Alice Cooper. The film details the San Diego police department's investigation into the murder; interviews with Loren's coworkers and family members suggest that the police failed to follow up on all available leads. The murder remains unsolved.

Notes