Prince is the subject of a newly released comic book. Tribute: Prince was released on the late singer’s birthday, June 7th, which was declared ‘Prince Day’ by Minnesota governor Mark Dayton. The comic book biography is currently available in both print and digital versions.
As it’s described in the statement, the 24-page comic book “chronicles his meteoric rise to dominance in the pop/funk music scene.” Published by Storm Entertainment, Tribute: Prince is written by Michael L. Frizell and features artwork by Ernesto Lovera and Vincenzo Sansone. It’s also available with three different covers.
“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,” writer Frizell said in a statement. “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.”
Storm Entertainment, formerly known as Blue Water Comics, has released a number of tribute comic book biographies over the years, including one on Kurt Cobain, as well as ones on John Lennon, George Harrison, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and David Bowie.
“I hope readers come away with not simply a sense of the richness of his life, but how he influenced practically every artist that came after; regardless of genre,” Storm Entertainment president Darren G. Davis added in the statement.
This isn’t the first time the company has honored Prince. As Blue Water, they released the book Fame: Prince #1 in 2013, which was also written by Frizell and featured illustrations by Lovera.
Tribute: Prince is available digitally for $3.99 via Amazon and other eBook retailers. Print copies start at $3.99 and are available via Comic Flea Market, which also has an exclusive cover for $5.99 and a 100-copy limited edition cover for $9.99.
– Rolling Stone