John Cusack Leaves Hollywood Behind for Graphic Novels

John Cusack is taking a creative detour! At San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, the actor revealed he's stepping away from his Hollywood acting career to pursue a new passion: writing graphic novels. During a panel with Variety, he explained why this medium has captured his attention: 'I always thought graphic novels were the closest things to film. You're picking out shots, they're so cinematic.'

The 60-year-old, who started acting in the early '80s, said he shifted his focus because he 'didn't want to negotiate telling a story.' 'When you ask somebody to put $20 million or $30 million into a bank account for a film, they want to have an opinion and they're afraid,' Cusack explained.

He feels graphic novels give him much more creative control compared to big Hollywood productions with countless producers and studio executives. Together with illustrator Ignacio Noé, he's releasing a graphic novel called 'Momo' — described by publisher Simon & Schuster as 'a wild, genre-bending road trip with cosmic stakes.'

The story follows two fugitives who form an uneasy alliance on a mission tied to Jackie Gleason himself, leading to a surreal collision of pulp sci-fi, occult mystery, and dark humor. Cusack promised his creative vision will be fully on display: 'I wrote it, nobody edited anything I wrote or Ignacio drew. It's really a piece of work done by two people. No bull, no committee, no computer testing it.'

'Momo' hits bookshelves on September 29. Will you be picking up a copy?