Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix (Penguin Studio Books) [Hardcover]

Martin I. Green (Author), Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Studio Books | Publication Date: April 19, 2007

Often cited as one of the most innovative and influential rock musicians, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix had a short and turbulent life, succumbing early, as did many other rock icons of his generation, to pressures generated by the conflicts between their creative visions and the economic imperatives of the music industry. He died of an overdose in 1970 at the age of 27. This collaborative tribute to Hendrix, described by one of its creators as "not so much outright biography as speculative fantasy," explores the excitement and the pitfalls of rock stardom sympathetically and perceptively.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Often cited as one of the most innovative and influential rock musicians, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix had a short and turbulent life, succumbing early, as did many other rock icons of his generation, to pressures generated by the conflicts between their creative visions and the economic imperatives of the music industry. He died of an overdose in 1970 at the age of 27. This collaborative tribute to Hendrix, described by one of its creators as "not so much outright biography as speculative fantasy," explores the excitement and the pitfalls of rock stardom sympathetically and perceptively. Lavishly and beautifully illustrated by Sienkiewicz (Electra: Assassin), this draws on the layout and narrative style of comic books to recreate Hendrix's life in a more impressionistic manner than standard bios typically permit. Much of the text is drawn from Hendrix's own letters, poetry and lyrics; also included is a CD collecting seven previously unreleased tracks written and performed by Hendrix. Given his legacy of musical innovation, Hendrix seems a particularly fitting subject for this kind of experimental biographical format, and the numerous contributors who put this together realize their dream-like vision of Hendrix masterfully. 100,000 first printing.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This is a graphic docudrama, an account in comic-strip format of the turbulent life of rock star Jimi Hendrix. Like a cinematic docudrama, it hews to the events of Hendrix's career but creates dialogue and uses various devices--notably, snippets of Hendrix's lyrics as commentary on the action at appropriate moments--to heighten the drama of the guitarist's colorful life. Unfortunately, the events themselves are overly familar to most rock fans, and their treatment here generally falls into rock-star cliches. The banality of much of the imagined dialogue, which frequently lapses into sixties-speak ("Far out," "Dig it man" ), doesn't help. The project is saved, however, because it marks the return to comics of one of the medium's most innovative artists, Bill Sienkiewicz, who's been largely absent from the field for several years. His imaginative, evocative full-color illustrations and narrative mastery supply much-needed substance that turns a rock-bio-in-comics into a genuinely compelling package. Hendrix fans especially will also appreciate the accompanying 30-minute CD of previously unreleased home recordings. Gordon Flagg

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Kitchen Sink Press (April 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670867896
• ISBN-13: 978-0670867899
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jimi Hendrix and Bill Sienkiewicz, November 5, 2004

By 

comicApe "mike" (Dallas TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix (Penguin Studio Books) (Hardcover)

...are a great match. The paint is everywhere. It goes out in every direction, it folds back in on itself, it darts from realism to quick cartoon. It's alive and insane. It is, of course, everything you'd expect from Bill. I should have been LISTENING to Hendrix while reading it, but I didn't have to. It was in the painting.

Not to mention the text. Martin Green chronicles the major events of Jimi's life, to the detail of which order the songs came, where were the major concert appearances, what was Jimi trying to accomplish with each album. For me, not being that familiar with the facts, but loving the songs, it was really interesting. You empathize with Jimi. He may have been a rock god, but you get the sense that his short life was never particularly easy.

As insanely abstract as Sinz. can get, the likeness he nails of Jimi is uncanny. It's obvious the artist really enjoyed painting him. There's about 1,000 beautiful paintings of Hendrix in this book. Some realistic, some hallucinogenic, some celebratory, and some sad.

Rarely is this kind of comment said about a book...but the typesetting is great. Many comics don't even experiment with the lettering, it's just functional. But reality is, that it's too big a part of the experience to not inject some art into it. That's why movies spend millions on sound. Anyway, in this book, the lettering's just really intelligent. Hats off to letterer Bobbi Bongard with (I would imagine) much help from Sienkiewicz.

One last touch I really like is the use of Hendrix's lyrics to accent the story. Every few pages, a scene from Jimi's life is accompanied by song lyrics. Often these were lyrics I was familiar with (Bold As Love, Freedom, Foxy Lady, Angel), but they're in a whole new light when set against the major events in his life. I can only suppose that Martin Green "guessed" at what many of the connections between Jimi's lyrics and his experiences, but I quite sure he often guessed right.

A great read. I look forward to reading it again. This would be a great gift for someone who might not read a lot of comics, but loves rock. In another few passes, it may be my favorite work by Bill.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem in the Mountain of Illustrators, September 4, 2000

By 

adam pollack (Midlothian, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix (Penguin Studio Books) (Hardcover)

After reading this book, or rather gazing in awe at the amazingly beautiful illustrations which tell in such an interesting way of the puzzling life of perhaps the greatest guitarist who has ever lived, I am left with a heightened respect for Bill Sienkiewicz. In addition, quotes from Jimi himself as well as song lyrics and a previously unreleased cd compliment the work and ensure its place at the top of any others in its genre. A must own for any fan of James Marshall Hendrix or Bill Sienkiewicz.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bill Sienkiewicz at his best, August 3, 2002

By 

Danny De Raymaeker (Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voodoo Child: Book with CD (Audio CD)

Even if comics are not your thing, the art of Bill Sienkiewicz should win you over to buy this book. About 140 pages of fully painted and truly outstanding art, make this book a landmark even in Sienkiewicz' oeuvre. It is a special delight to see him experimenting with mixed media and the computer and break out of the traditional constraints of the comics medium.

As far as the quality of the biographical facts is concerned, let's suffice to say that a more than fair amount of research has been done, but that the presentation of the material is pretty biased. Of course Hendrix was always a saintly and lovable guy. He never had a serious drugs problem and when he was busted for drugs possession he was obviously framed. What did him in finally were certainly not his drug habits but the Big Bad Suits of the record companies and his fiendish Agent, who conspired to impose an inhuman touring scheme on the poor artist, who finally died of sheer exhaustion (helped along maybe by a sleeping pill or two...). You get the picture...