‘Deadly Class’: The Creators Drop Their “Save Your Generation” Mixtape

6 min readJul 28, 2021

Playlist by Wes Craig and Rick Remender

“SAVE YOUR GENERATION!” That’s the title of Deadly Class’ newest arc. But is it a plea for help or a battle cry? Or neither? That’s kind of the beautiful thing about Deadly Class. It is unpredictable! For forty-five issues (and counting), creators Rick Remender and Wes Craig have delivered an ongoing emotional rollercoaster. Between the first page and the last page of each issue, you’re bound to get a little rage, melancholy, dismay, and euphoria. And after several months of Deadly Class being on hiatus, this return issue is destined to throw another curveball your way. Starting with when it kicks off…

Deadly Class jumps ahead to the year 1991 starting with issue #45. Now, Marcus and his on-again/off-again “friends”, are ditching the 1980s soundtrack for a ’90s playlist. That means you can expect “grunge,” “gangsta rap,” “alternative,” and more for every mood swing per page. PREVIEWSworld asked artist Wes Craig and writer Rick Remender to set the tone for this new arc with a playlist of their own. Below, they provide a diverse mix that should give you an idea of what’s in store. Press play above to listen to each of their suggested tracks and then keep scrolling down to find out why these songs made the cut.

NIRVANA’s “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”

“Smells Like Teen Spirit.” This is the big one. It rocketed the 1990s out of the hair-metal and jock rock of the 1980s. This song changed my life, no joke.” — Wes Craig

NED’S ATOMIC DUSTBIN’s “HAPPY”

“Ned’s Atomic Dustbin should have been huge! They fused melodic punk with Britpop and it hit at just the right time for me. I didn’t stop listening to this album for months. Their song “Happy” still gives me goosebumps when it starts. The entire God Fodder album is legendarily great. I’m listening to it now and smiling.”- Rick Remender

BJORK’s DEBUT

“Bjork’s Debut. I only liked some of Bjork’s stuff, but to me, the idea that something so artsy, experimental, and weird could be a big hit, really spoke to how wide open the ’90s were for different sounds. Same goes for Beck. Record labels didn’t know how to sell all these different sounds so everything was ‘Alternative.’”- Wes Craig

FUGAZI’s “MERCHANDISE”

“Fugazi’s Repeater is a perfect album but the best song on it is “Merchandise” because it’s the perfect mix of Fugazi, Rites of Spring, and Minor Threat. And encapsulates so much of what I love about their ideology. Fugazi don’t need me to sell them but if somehow you missed them, start with “13 Songs” and move on through the entire catalogue. Magic aplenty. 2nd best band of GenX.” — Rick Remender

U2’s ACHTUNG, BABY

“U2’s Achtung Baby. Everybody loves to hate U2 today, but when this came out it was pretty exciting. The world’s biggest rock band was trying out new territory. I still like this album.” — Wes Craig

BAD RELIGION’s “I WANT TO CONQUER THE WORLD”

“Bad Religion’s I Want to Conquer the World is the ironic anthem song we used to sing to the moon while driving around all night. It’s still on endless rotation for me. I still think the No Control and Suffer albums inspired a million other bands and changed all of music. Bad Religion is my favorite band still. Anyone who doesn’t love this song is a bad person. Best band of GenX.” -Rick Remender

OASIS’ “MORNING GLORY”

“I remember going to the record store and this was in the ‘Alternative’ section. But it’s just a straight-down-the-middle rock record. When I saw that I felt like this ‘underground taking over pop culture’ thing had reached its end. The upheaval was over and pop would settle back into comfortable predictability. That included Green Day and all the pop-punk that came after. I loved that stuff, but it was very predictable and easily marketable, which is probably why record labels latched on to that stuff so hard.” — Wes Craig

PRIMUS’ “TOO MANY PUPPIES”

“Primus’ “Too Many Puppies” is unlike anything else. I remember thinking that there was hope for unique art-rock the first time I listened to it. When it kicks in, it kicks you in the guts, but under the power riff is fun and mirth. They don’t take themselves too seriously, even though they can play like few others. Love the Frizzle Fry album.” -Rick Remender

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST’s THE LOW-END THEORY

“Tribe Called Quest’s Low-End Theory. Between Dr. Dre and Snoop, Biggie, Tupac, lots of stuff was happening in Rap, but for me, Tribe Called Quest and the Native Tongues was/are/will always be the most important movement. Again, not as marketable, but original, fun, and it stands the test of time.” — Wes Craig

SISTERS OF MERCY’s “VISION THING”

“Sisters of Mercy’s “More” was an alternative radio hit back when alternative radio was AM stations playing punk, goth, emo, Britpop, post-punk, art-rock, and college. So, Sisters of Mercy fit right in. They mixed metal, goth, orchestral strings, and background singers with experimental risk-taking on every album and they are mighty powerful. They are one of my all-time favorite bands and “Vision Thing” was on heavy rotation around this time of my life.” -Rick Remender

RADIOHEAD’s OK COMPUTER

“This is the other big one for me. It was such a bold direction to cut themselves off from rock and move into this ethereal electronic sound. They were like a band from the future. I felt like it put the final nail in the coffin of rock as the dominant music. I love rock and roll, but in the 21st century it feels like it belongs in the previous century, and I think that’s thanks to Radiohead in a big way. The record industry would try to keep selling rock because that’s what they knew. But people started to move on and look for different sounds. — Wes Craig

Left to right: Rick Remender and Wes Craig

Deadly Class #45 (FEB210066), the beginning of the “Save Your Generation” storyline, arrives in comic shops on April 28, 2021. You can order it and future issues from your local comic shop NOW using PREVIEWSworld Pullbox.