Earlier this year, Joe Satriani announced that he was temporarily hanging up his electric guitar in favor of his sketchpad in order to create an epic, sci-fi-themed comic book series, Crystal Planet.
Now, after the release of the first two installments, the third issue is now available to be ordered, with the five-part graphic novel series rapidly reaching the halfway point in its limited run.
Created in partnership with fellow guitarist Ned Evett, Crystal Planet is described by Satch as “a vivid space odyssey” that follows the main protagonist – the aptly named Satchel Walker – on his journey to end an intergalactic conflict through the power of music. Rad.
Now, the blurb for issue three, without giving away too much, teases that Walker, armed with his father’s old guitar, is on a collision course to uncovering “revelations about his past that will likely cost him his future” while the threat of his enemies looms. Hooked yet?
Of the upcoming issue, Satriani says, “Everybody loves vintage guitars. What about guitars from the future? Satchel’s got one that can destroy incomprehensible enemies and restore order to the universe with a sound that he alone can configure from it. Guitars are cool.”
If you’re wondering how one of the finest guitar players in history got into the art of comic book writing, it all began back in 2013 when Satch and Evett made an animated video for Lies and Truth, which turned out to be a hit among fans.
Satriani explains, “[It] got us thinking we could expand the clip into a Crystal Planet sci-fi epic. Ned and I formed Satchtoons, a company focused on creating animated content, and we got to work on scripts and demos for the Crystal Planet pilot. Seven years later, thanks to Llexi Leon and Heavy Metal, here we are with our first comic book series!"
The third issue of Crystal Planet is available to preorder now ahead of its November release. If you need to grab issue one or issue two in order to get up to speed, those are also available now in limited quantities.
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