Jem and Holograms performing courtesy of IDW soon

IDW Publishing has a brand new take on classic cartoon and toy line (and soon to be movie) Jem and the Holograms coming this Spring.

It’s the 21^st century, and Jem and The Holograms are 21^st century girls! Meet Jerrica Benton, the gifted singer of The Holograms, a band that has the right look and the right sound… But one thing is holding them back—Jerrica’s crippling stage fright. Luckily, Jerrica is about to find help in the most unlikely of places when she discovers a forgotten present left by her father. And what she finds is truly outrageous!

“As a kid I was a huge fan of the original 80’s JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS cartoon and so the chance to breathe new life into it for a savvy modern audience, not to mention to work with Ross, an artist practically destined to draw this book, is really a dream come true,” said series writer, Kelly Thompson.

That Thompson is a fan of the original 1985 show is pretty awesome, as something like Jem could pretty easily go awry. The show is one of my favorites, and I’m stoked to see such a resurgence in popularity for everybody’s favorite high-tech, super-powered sining group.

As for the comic itself, readers can expect to see no less than five ‘rainbow’ foil-etched covers made available for the very first issue. There’ll be one cover featuring each member of the group, spotlight style, so fans are more likely than not going to want a full set (I know I will). Artist Amy Mebberson will be penciling those covers, who’s work you might know from My Little Pony, and then there’ll be the full band cover image by artist Ross Campbell as well. All of this Jemmy goodness will be wrapped up in a pack set, contained inside “a deluxe rainbow foil and hologram collectible box”. Even cooler- there’ll be the same multi-cover deal and box set coming for the second issue, but featuring the Holograms’ enemies, The Misfits!

More than just another comic for the publisher, Jem is getting the royal treatment since it was a big time ‘get’ for IDW and senior editor John Barber.

“Getting a JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS comic going was a top priority for me when I started at IDW,” says Senior Editor John Barber. “It took three years, but Kelly and Ross came in with a style and attitude that really got Jem. They understand Jem’s appeal—I can’t overstate the impact Jem has had on generations of fans and readers.”

Jem and the Holograms launches with issue #1 this coming March, the feature film version debuts not that long after that, next October.