Ever wonder exactly what the hell ... no pun intended ... is happening on the "Holy Diver" album cover?

graphic novel is coming out this summer that will tell the tale of what exactly led up to the moment captured in the artwork on the "Holy Diver" cover. I can't wait to find out why the priest been thrown, chained and shackled, into the ocean. That's not exactly respectful behavior toward a man of the cloth, 'ya know? The song Holy Diver is said to express, to some degree, Ronnie's disillusionment with Catholicism so that could explain a few things.

Horror comics writer Steve Niles is penning this graphic novel working along with Ronnie James Dio's widow, Wendy, who says the work would have absolutely gotten Ronnie's seal of approval. According to consequenceofsound.net, she said:

“Steve Niles tells the story behind the album cover Holy Diver, a story about how you can’t judge a picture by the way it appears, which is what Ronnie wrote many times in his songs; that you have to see inside the person and not judge them by the way they look or by what they wear.”

She added that Niles and artist Scott Hampton tell the story so well that she knows "Ronnie would have given his stamp of approval on this great graphic novel.” It is set to be released in June in both a standard and deluxe edition. You can pre-order your copy here.

Ronnie James Dio, who sang for Heaven & Hell, Elf, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath as well as Dio, died of stomach cancer in 2010.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app
Enter your number to get our free mobile app

More From KLAQ El Paso