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Dee Snider and Z2 new collab “He’s Not Gonna Take It”

Dee Snider collabs with Z2 comics for his first foray into graphic novels with “He’s Not Gonna Take It”.

If you’ve been wondering what Dee Snyder of the famed glam rock band Twisted Sister has been up to lately, wonder no more, the rock legend has released a huge offering of graphic novel paraphernalia in a new collab with Z2 comics

Twisted Sister main man Dee Snider has released Dee Snider: He’s Not Gonna Take It, named after the band’s anthem of 1984. Dee Snider is a man who believes in freedom of expression in the arts, and his new graphic novel follows his journey for freedom of expression throughout his creative and personal life. 

Twisted Sister New graphic novel
Credit: Z2 Comics

From early childhood when he was regularly silenced, through to the early efforts to launch his music, the open PMRC (Parents Music Resource Centre) hearings in Washington DC, and his present-day efforts on social media. He’s Not Gonna Take It tells the story of why free speech is so important to him, even when it meant the potential loss of everything that is important.  

Dee Snider shared via Z2: “When I look back on that historic day, I think, “How did I fit balls that big into those skin-tight jeans!?” Then I reflect on the fact that I still stand for everything I stood for all those years ago… and I’m ready to do battle again.”

Dee is referring to the big deal that was Washington DC, or aka the ‘filthy 15’ when the PMRC took to the courts to present a playlist of 15 songs that they considered the most offensive at the time. Pop Icons Madonna and Prince joined metal bands Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Twisted Sister. The outcome gave birth to the “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” sticker that we are familiar with today. 

Dee snider Z2 comics
Credit: Z2 Comics

At the time, record-stickering was a hotly contested issue, that brought about the Senate’s Committee on Commerce to hold a hearing on the “Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records,” at which Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider testified. The argument was that stickering could lead to a loss of income if record stores refused to carry albums with the advisory sticker attached. 

Which said song by Twisted sister was so offensive? Their bold loud anthem, of course, was considered to contain Explicit Lyrics: “We’ll fight the powers that be … /We’re not gonna take it”.