Slayer bassist / vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Gary Holt spoke with Big Rick of PreviewsWorld.com at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 22nd. Asked if he was a fan of comic books when he was younger, Tom responded: "I was a big fan of Mad Magazine... that's the closest I got to comics... I used to read and buy those a lot."

Also on July 22nd, Kristyn Clarke of PopCultureMadness.com conducted an interview with Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Gary Holt at the San Diego Comic-Con International.

When asked about how much input Slayer had in the upcoming comic book series from Dark Horse Comics that was inspired by the band's Repentless music videos, King said: "Just approval, really. I don't like taking power away from artists. It's like telling me or him [Holt] how to write a song: 'I think your song should be like this' [or] 'No. I think your artwork should be like this.' I like people to do what they do, ['cause] that's why they do it. And if I don't like it, then add some direction. But I love the artwork. It's just cool to be able to have people like this working for us."

On July 21st, Slayer performed at the House Of Blues in San Diego, CA, which conicided with during the San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC). Check out fan-filmed video of the entire show below.

The setlist on the night was as follows:

"Repentless"
"Disciple"
"Postmortem"
"Hate Worldwide"
"War Ensemble"
"When The Stillness Comes"
"You Against You"
"Mandatory Suicide"
"Fight Till Death"
"Dead Skin Mask"
"Die By The Sword"
"The Antichrist"
"Born Of Fire"
"Seasons In The Abyss"
"South Of Heaven"
"Raining Blood"
"Black Magic"
"Angel Of Death"

Dark Horse Comics and Slayer have joined forces to deliver a new comic series this holiday season.

With full participation from the band and taking inspiration from Slayer’s recent Repentless music videos (filmed in support of their latest album, Repentless, on Nuclear Blast Records), disciple Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse) will pen the three-issue comic series with interior bloodlines drawn by Guiu Vilanova (Twilight Zone, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective). Glenn Fabry’s covers reign in blood while postmortem Eric Powell (The Goon, Hillbilly) will illustrate the variant cover for the first issue.

“I think of the songs I write as stories,” Slayer’s Kerry King told Rolling Stone in an exclusive interview. “And if nothing else, they are certainly visual.”

Slayer appeared within the walls of Comic-Con for two exclusive signings on Friday, July 22nd. Nuclear Blast America hosted and Dark Horse Comics hosted both the band and the comic’s creative team for a very limited engagement.

Regarding the comic, writer Jon Schnepp told Rolling Stone, “It’s definitely a lot of sensitive subjects that need to be explored and addressed. What’s the best way to explore those? With the chaos of metal.”

Slayer: Repentless #1 (of 3) is on comic stands in December 2016. Pre-order at your local comic shop today!

Pictured above: Repentless #1 Variant Cover by Eric Powell