Art credit: Tom Mandrake, Titan Comics/Authentic Hendrix
Written by:
Mellow Brown and DJ Ben Ha Meen
Illustrated by:
Tom Mandrake
Synopsis (via Authentic Hendrix):
Prepare yourself for a pure rock ‘n’ roll space opera unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!
Fully sanctioned by Authentic Hendrix, LLC – this is the first ever full-length graphic novel inspired by the music of, and featuring the legendary Jimi Hendrix in an adventure that spans the cosmos.
This 23rd Century psychedelic space odyssey sees Jimi Hendrix embark on a quest to the very center of the universe in search of a magic talisman powerful enough to unlock the incredible inspirational power of his music and use it against a tyrannical intergalactic force hellbent on silencing all music and enslaving every living being in existence.
Featuring art by acclaimed comic book legend, Tom Mandrake (The Spectre, Batman and Superman) and written by Mellow Brown (Blade Runner Origins) and renowned musicologist DJ Ben Ha Meen. Features a deluxe wrap-around cover.
Monique’s review:
Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze is a singular graphic novel experience. Fans of Hendrix’s psychedelic music and Afrofuturist fanatics alike will feel transported into an intergalactic universe filled with Black punks, commentary on colonialism and cultural and environmental exploitation, and, of course, Hendrix as an intrepid superhero trying to save the galaxy, one concert at a time.
Hendrix living beyond his time on Earth is a provocative idea, and provides the groundwork for some fun speculative fiction that transforms Hendrix’s career into the basis for a sprawling space opera that reimagines the impact Hendrix had during his short life.
What’s also great about Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze is that it has the blessing of the Jimi Hendrix estate and even includes a forward by Janie Hendrix, Hendrix’s step-sister and head of Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix. She explains more about the graphic novel’s message and what she hopes the graphic novel means to fans.
Fans of Hendrix will feel like his songs have come to life in a different way through this medium. And it’ll feel like a true psychedelic, fantastical trip through a universe that beautifully and authentically acknowledges Blackness as a creative source, not as a stereotypical costume. Blackness has historically not been seen as a viable part of science fiction and fantasy; Black characters and people of color in general are not placed in these fantastical realms because it’s believed, from a colonialist perspective, that whiteness would naturally take over these areas or they would naturally be in dominance.
Common belief, thanks to decades of white-leaning media and hundreds of years of historical precedence, naturally assumes that white people would be the dominant force in spaces that are seemingly available for conquering, even imaginative spaces. But that’s not actually the truth of humanity and the world; the global majority are people of color with histories that go back to the beginning of humanity itself. So why wouldn’t Black people exist in fantastical realms like outer space?
Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze rightly cements Blackness as part of a narrative about about the universe and about humanity. The dense and melodic style of storytelling will lead viewers along a mystical path, much like Jimmy Hendrix’s songs, and will make you want to learn more about the mystery at play in the grand scheme of the story.
As you read the graphic novel, you’ll realize there’s still lots to be uncovered as the story unfolds. You want to learn more about how Hendrix got these powers, how he became the savior of the universe, and what the colonial forces in this universe want from the Indigenous Black people they’re trying to colonize.
Overall, Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze is creative, dreamlike speculative work that will entrance those who read it, especially if they are looking for examples of Blackness that exist outside of the realms of the usual stereotypical fare.
