During COVID lockdown, Janie Hendrix — stepsister to rock icon Jimi Hendrix, and President and CEO of Experience Hendrix — joined forces with DJ Ben Ha Meen, writer Mellow Brown, and artist Tom Mandrake to create Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze. The original graphic novel — which will be in stores on August 27th — centers on a cosmic battle between Jimi Hendrix and evil cosmic forces, creating a kind of sci-fi mythology for the guitar legend that’s not too dissimilar to what David Bowie created for himself with the Ziggy Stardust character. With this graphic novel, the team hopes to bring Jimi’s music and his larger-than-life personality to a new audience and a new generation.
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During our stay in San Diego for Comic Con International, ComicBook spoke with Janie Hendrix and DJ Ben Ha Meen about the project. They teed up what fans can expect from Purple Haze in just a few words:
“I think there’s never not a perfect time,” said Hendrix. “We’ve been telling his story since he walked this earth, and I think spiritually he still does. His music still lives on and it still tells a story to everyone who wants to hear, whether it touched you then, or continues to, or if it’s the first time. I think he’s timeless, and this is an amazing novel that we worked on for almost two years during COVID. People always need hope, and I think that’s what this book brings is hope and peace.
“I think it’s a timeless book because one of the major themes of the book is Jimi’s fight against an intergalactic oppressor and fighting against fascism in the universe,” Ha Meen added. “I think that’s something that applies to our lives every day and obviously right now, we’re going through a major fight with it but I think we as a people, as humanity, we’re always fighting it somewhere all over the world. So I think this book is timeless and I think his story’s timeless.”
Here’s how publisher Titan Books describes the graphic novel:
This epic adventure sees the iconic Jimi Hendrix as you’ve never seen him before! The story sees Hendrix embark on a perilous quest to the very center 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. Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze blends classic sci-fi pulp, and Afro-futurism to craft a psychedelic space odyssey that captures the magic, hope and rebellion that Jimi’s legendary music is known for.
