An official Jimi Hendrix graphic novel is to hit stores this November. Titled Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze, it's been put together by Titan Comics – the team behind publications from franchises like Blade Runner, Tank Girl and Doctor Who - alongside Experience Hendrix, L.L.C., the company headed by Jimi's sister, Janie Hendrix.
The graphic novel promises to mix classic sci-fi pulp and and Afro-futurism, taking the reader on psychedelic journey that follows Hendrix as he embarks on "a perilous quest to the very centre of the universe in search of a magical talisman powerful enough to unlock the incredible latent power of his trademark sound, so that he can free a diverse population starved of rock‘n’roll by a tyrannical intergalactic force hellbent on silencing music and enslaving all life."
Which all sounds perfectly reasonable.
“Jimi transcended time and space with his music, leaping generations into the future,“ says Janie Hendrix. “There was an otherworldliness about him that was a true fascination for many. It’s thrilling to have a Sci-Fi story told introducing Jimi as a time traveller, freedom fighter, and magical musician.
"This graphic novel is an amazing depiction of what Jimi’s music, his songs, his art conveyed with futuristic imagination! Fans of Jimi, illustrated storytelling, and science fiction will be enthralled!”
The Hendrix Estate worked on Purple Haze with Titan co-writers Mellow Brown (American Gods, Blade Runner: Origins) and DJ Benhameen (producer and host of the For All Nerds Show podcast), alongside famed DC illustrator Tom Mandrake (Batman, Superman, Justice League of America, Avengers, Swamp Thing and more).
“Jimi Hendrix is an icon like no other,” add Titan's Vivian Cheung-Landau and Nick Landau. “We are so thrilled to be working with Janie and the Hendrix estate to bring Jimi’s legend to life in a brand-new, exciting graphic novel for both long-time fans, and new, to experience."
Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze will be published on November 7, and can be pre-ordered from Penguin Random House in the US, and from Forbidden Planet in Europe.
