Some of your favorite rap stars are just like comic book heroes.

Don’t believe us? Just check out Ed Piskor’s “Hip-Hop Family Tree,” a series of comic books about the culture. Piskor’s already released two volumes of books since 2012, and a third - “Hip-Hop Family Tree Book 3: 1983-1984" - is on its way in August through Fantagraphics.

Not caught up with the books yet? No problem. Monthly “Hip-Hop Family Tree” comic books will be released in August, too, and those should help you get up to speed with what you’ve been missing.

“The first four issues [of the monthly comics] will collect all the material of 'Book 1,’” Fantagraphics’ associate publisher Eric Reynolds told MTV News Wednesday (May 27). "And then, the next four [issues] will collect all the material of ‘Book 2.' Then we’ll get to ‘Book 3.’”

Here’s more of what you can expect from “Hip-Hop Family Tree” this year.

The Comic Art Is Marvel-Inspired

"[Piskor's] incorporated this old '70s Marvel aesthetic in the early books in a way that somehow seems germane to the hip-hop scene," Reynolds said. "The actual drawing is still very consistent. But you will notice subtle printing techniques that make each volume slightly more contemporary to the era it's depicting."

MCs Have Given Piskor Props

"So many of the musicians that appear in the books have really embraced the series in a way that's really encouraging and rewarding," Reynolds said. "[Piskor] is coming to it from a place of love. He would feel like he was failing in what he was doing if he didn't feel like he had the support of most people in the book."

Yes, The Books Will (Eventually) Cover 2015 Hip-Hop

"That's the plan," Reynolds said. "It's estimated at six books now. That's what Ed thinks he'll need to catch up to the present. It may well end up being seven books, but that's our best guess at the moment. But the plan is to get to present day."