'Tribute: Prince' Comic Book Chronicles Artist's Pop And Funk Takeover
Prince, in many ways, was a superhero. His given name was Prince. He dressed all in purple. And he had a superhuman ability to play all instruments (and brilliantly at that), and exuded an otherworldly cool and funk that will never, ever, ever be achieved by anyone else.
So it's fitting that the iconic artist has his own comic book. Tribute: Prince, a comic book released on the Purple One's birthday this past Tuesday (he would've been 58 years old), "chronicles his meteoric rise to dominance in the pop/funk music scene," according to a statement.
Published by Storm Entertainment, the 24-page comic is written by Michael L. Frizell, and is illustrated by Ernesto Lovera and Vincenzo Sansone. In that same statement Frizell describes his first time listening to Prince and how he still listens to the Purple Rain maestro (especially when he's writing).
"I first became aware of Prince's music when I was in high school thanks to '1999,' 'Little Red Corvette' and other [songs]. I remember listening to his stuff almost religiously when the soundtrack to Purple Rain hit. His sound and lyrics defined the era for me in ways that Michael Jackson didn't and, quite frankly, couldn't. "The subjects of his songs spoke to me in ways I didn't understand until I was older, but the dark poetry of them compelled me to keep listening. To this day, my iPod is full of his work and I listen to it as I write."
Originally Blue Water Comics, Storm Entertainment has released multiple comic book tributes throughout the years, including one on Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, George Harrison, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and David Bowie.
Considering that this week is basically Prince's week (sure the state of Minnesota recently declared June 7 as "Prince Day" but we all know he deserves this entire week and more), what better way to celebrate and remember his legacy than with a comic about him (or reading one of the many #PrinceDay gems we wrote, including this one)? Tribute: Prince is available digitally on Amazon, while print copies are available through Comic Flea Market, which has an exclusive cover and 100-copy limited edition cover.
This wouldn't be the first time Prince had a comic book made in his honor. Remember Prince: Alter Ego, which basically combined Purple Rain and The Dark Knight Returns together, and is described by Amazon as "a fantasy epic in which Prince is locked in mortal combat with a man from his past who can turn music into the greatest destructive force the world has ever seen"? Check that one out, too. It's insane.