Are comic book superstars allowed to participate in a SLAM Summit?
Absolutely.
Coffin Comics titans, Brian Pulido and Sorah Suhng talk with Jack Mangan at the Coffin Comics HQ to talk for a few minutes about their careers and about the tools and mindset to persist.
Coffin Comics have created a host of iconic characters over the years, including the iconic Lady Death.
Don’t miss it.
Life can be hard to manage, especially for artists, and especially for those who work with artists. So we assembled another all-star panel to discuss the perils of the music life from backstage, the office, the highway rest stop – – basically everywhere but the stage.
Michael Brandvold (Blackie Lawless, KISS, Bravewords), Pamela Parks (David Ellefson, Kings of Thrash, Kill Devil Hill), and Jarvis Leatherby (Night Demon, Cirith Ungol, Midnight) join Jack Mangan to talk about how to survive, stay sane, and safely navigate the dangers of managing artists – – at all levels. And yes, with this group, you know there are some KISS tangents.
Michael Brandvold – https://michaelbrandvold.com/blog/
Jarvis Leatherby – https://theheavymetalstore.bandcamp.com/
Pamela Parks – https://headity.com/
Artist Sorah Suhng (Coffin Comics, Marvel, Valiant, Image, Vault, Karnal Sins) delivers this wonderful message of hope and support for Support Life And Music.
Burton C. Bell is the trailblazing founding vocalist of Fear Factory, whose powerful talent has also shone in projects with G/Z/R, Ministry, Ascension of the Watchers, and his solo material. He was inducted into the official Metal Hall of Fame in January 2025.
What follows is an excerpt of Burton’s Metal Hall acceptance speech, reposted here with his permission. It’s an inspiring explanation of what motivates great artists to navigate their difficult, treacherous, often-punishing journeys in pursuit of artistic fulfillment.
Huge shoutout and thanks to Pamela Parks.
“I have been an artist my entire life, and I have been very fortunate to live my life through creativity for the past 35 years. To choose the life of an artist is a voluntary choice toward the path of MOST RESISTANCE. Much like Sisyphus pushing his boulder up the mountain, or Icarus spreading his wax wings to fly beneath the sun, the life of an artist can be frustrating, and even disheartening. It’s the process of creativity that offers purpose to my life.
Creation it is an addiction I have. Much like other vices, where you rise and feel the high, or when you fall to crash, and burn. Always chasing that dragon. It is not for the fame, infamy, adoration, or disdain that drives most of us, it is that spike of beautiful dopamine we feel when our creativity is blossoming into creations.
This is what has always driven me in every medium, or media, I create with. Striving for greatness in my art, always evolving in my pursuit for a daunting perfection to reflect who I am through art, music, and words I create. To honor the artists whom I look up to, and living that reflection the reflection of their work, is what life is all about.”
Burton C. Bell, 2025
♫
(Photo from Burton C. Bell’s 2025 Metal Hall of Fame red-carpet interview with Jack Mangan. Full video available on The Metal Voice Facebook page)
This one hits Closer to the Heart. Two incredible guests joined Jack Mangan for this S.L.A.M. Summit, focused on creatives persevering through grief.
~Kevin J. Anderson. New York Times best-selling author, wonderful human, and close friend and collaborator of Neil Peart.
https://wordfire.com/series-books-in-order/
~Cathy Rankin. Musician, journalist, actress, model, spokesperson, emcee, a damn good writer, and another wonderful human.
https://www.cathyrankin.com/
Hosted by Jack Mangan, founder/Executive Director of Support Life And Music, journalist, podcaster, author, musician, owner of many nice hats.
S.L.A.M. interstitial from comics legend, Brian Pulido, of Coffin Comics https://coffincomicsshop.com/
Topics covered:
♫ Neil Peart
♫ The Bubba Bash celebration of Neil Peart (https://support.cedars-sinai.edu/fundraiser/5043373)
♫ Cathy Rankin’s “Now You’ve Gone” tribute to Neil Peart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44RtTwgLgvY
♫ Kevin J. Anderson’s “Clockwork Angels” books, co-written with Neil Peart
♫ Rush
♫ The grief journey
♫ Loss
♫ Coping mechanisms
♫ Positive habits
♫ Kevin J. Anderson’s career
♫ Rebecca Moesta
♫ Writing
♫ You sometimes drive me crazy, but I worry about you.
“My life in sobriety is very rich and full and I feel like I can do anything. I am now becoming the person I have always wanted to be. Friends and family know that I’m reliable and responsible and they can count on me. I am here to be of good service to everyone that I meet.
“Life is still a mystery to me, though I have learned many valuable lessons along the way. And the most important lesson I have learned is to live in love and not fear. It took me a long time to get there. I know many strive for perfection, which I don’t believe exists. But what I do know is that I work on myself every day to be the best person I can be, so that I can show compassion and gratitude to everyone I encounter.”
– Michael Alago
I Am Michael Alago:
Breathing Music. Signing Metallica. Beating Death
Jarvis Leathery of Night Demon He delivered some incredibly powerful words on suicidal thoughts, sobriety, sleep, and finding your purpose. You can see the full MetalAsylum.net interview here, featuring journalist Rich Catino and S.L.A.M.’s own Jack Mangan.
A roundtable discussion with the Support Life And Music (S.L.A.M.) Advisory Council – – the SLAM Band!
On the call:
Dr. Sheila Dee
Jack Frost
Sarah Hyde
Jack Mangan
Evo Terra
The musician suicide crisis is real.
A March 2025 report by Dr. George Musgrave and Dr. Dorian Lamis at Frontiers in Public Health shows that musicians are among the most at-risk of all professional workers.
Per their article: “Occupational mortality data from the Office for National Statistics in England (2011-2015) demonstrates that ‘musicians, actors, and entertainers’ rank among the five occupational groups with highest suicide mortality. . .” This trend is not confined to England: “. . . comparable patterns emerge in (the) United States,” and “This phenomenon also extends beyond Anglo-American contexts.”
The numbers are troubling for all musicians, but they indicate an even greater risk for women in music. Female musicians “recorded the highest suicide mortality rate across all occupational groups in 2012, 2015, and 2021.”
The inherent dangers in this profession have long been shrouded in fatalistic mystique, romanticizing self-destruction and early graves, with too much cliched narrative about the necessity of suffering and excess to be a legitimate star. These widely-accepted beliefs and perceptions allow the real risks for musicians to remain unaddressed, dismissed, and trivialized.
Despair knows no boundaries. The kinds of problems may vary across different ways of life, but misery and mental illness are not exclusive to any social group. No status is immune.
What’s the solution?
Musgrave and Lamis discuss a “Support plan for musicians” with emphasis on prevention through training, intervention, de-stigmatization, engagement, transitions, and data analysis at various levels of the music industry.
Support Life And Music is also implementing programs of support, education, inspiration, and connection to fight back against this scourge in the musical and art worlds. Contact us to ask how you can aid us in our mission to save and improve lives. Your volunteer time and tax-deductible donations do make a difference.
Here’s The Guardian’s coverage of Dr. Musgrave and Dr. Lamis’s findings:
Jack Mangan and Eric Haley of S.L.A.M. talk to
The incredible YouTuber, journalist, musician, and good guy, Eamon O’Neill of Eonmusic https://www.youtube.com/@eonmusicuk / https://www.eonmusic.co.uk/, straight out of Ireland! He spoke to Jack Mangan and Eric Haley of Support Life And Music about the practical realities of making it as a professional musician – – from an Irish perspective.
And “Wonderwall.”