Coldplay announced on Tuesday the digital release of its “Mylo Xyloto” comic book series, based on the 2011 album of the same name.

Written by filmmaker Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie) with help from the British band, the six-part saga depicts an Orwellian society ruled by a supremacist government that controls the population via fear tactics and over-stimulation through media and propaganda. Issues 1-3 are now available exclusively via Apple’s iBookstore, with the rest of the series to be released monthly until July. Issue 1 is currently available for free as the iBookstore’s Book of the Week.

In conjunction, Coldplay has announced a special release for the upcoming April 20 Record Store Day that packages the “Mylo Xyloto” album (which has sold over six million copies) with Issue 1 and a special 7-inch vinyl picture disc featuring “Hurts Like Heaven” and “Us Against The World (Live).”

The Mylo comic books are published by Matt Groening’s celebrated Bongo Comics Group.

Coldplay is in good company among other band-branded graphic arts series. Indie artist Daniel Johnston has been a longtime comic artist and released the book Space Ducks last year. My Chemical Romance frontman’s Gerard Way’s Eisner Award-winning comic book The Umbrella Academy is currently being developed into a feature film by Universal.

Former Misfits frontman, Glenn Danzig, runs the mature-themed comic book company Verotik and with Henry Rollins is the subject of the hilarious unauthorized Henry & Glenn Forever comic. KISS have been the subject of comics since their inception in the ’70s, including a Marvel-published origin story that was supposedly printed using the band members’ blood. Tom Morello authored a saga of the heroine Orchid, a teenage prostitute in a post-apocalyptic society. And Amanda Palmer recently co-wrote the graphic novel Evelyn Evelyn about conjoined twins who, er, double as sideshow performers. [Source]

Coldplay have admitted that “a bit of recognition is wonderful” after collecting their eighth Brit Award.

The British band beat Muse and Mumford & Sons to win best live act at the event.

“We’re always pleased to come to these things and to win is amazing,” said drummer Will Champion when interviewed backstage after the ceremony.

“We feel that we’ve worked very hard at our live shows so to get a bit of recognition is wonderful.”

Coldplay started experimenting with giving the crowd at their shows digital wristbands that flash in time to their live music in October 2011.

Since then the Xylobands have become an integral part of the Coldplay live experience.

Will Champion felt their latest Brit win also honoured their wider creative team.

He said: “It’s a great thing because we’ve been able to use things made by exceptional people – people like Jason Regler who invented the wristbands that we use. Read full article.

The band were due to play a run of already postponed dates starting next week in Chile

Coldplay have cancelled their South American tour.

The band were due to play a number of dates starting next week in Chile, but the shows have now been pulled “due to circumstances beyond our control” say the ‘Mylo Xyloto’ group. The dates were already postponed from last year.

Coldplay posted a message to fans at their website, coldplay.com, it read:

Dear friends in Latin America, We’re sad to say that, due to circumstances beyond our control, we’re unable to reschedule the postponed ‘Mylo Xyloto’ tour dates in 2013. For this we’re very sorry. It may seem small consolation now but we’ll definitely have your corner of the world at the front of our minds when the time comes to do it all again. Thank you for your incredible patience and support.

Late last year, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin revealed that he had begun work on their next album.

Martin told the Daily Star: ”I’ve been writing songs and I’m so fired up about the band’s future.”

He added: ”I’m fortunate to do what I do and no way do I want to stop.”

Coldplay have promised fans that the title of the album will be easier to pronounce than 2011′s ‘Mylo Xyloto’. Chris Martin told Australian radio station 2dayfm: “The next one we’re releasing is much easier to pronounce.” [Source]