Howdy, fellow Questers!!
Welcome back to a very special episode of TEX'S Back-Issue Quest, where you can find all that comic book knowledge that you can't get in any college!
Today marks the second anniversary of the death of one of the GREATEST, most prolific musicians to ever walk the planet: Prince Rogers Nelson, better known to the world as...PRINCE!! The perspicacious pop star from Minneapolis, MN., burst onto the music scene in the late 70s with his sensual showmanship and a profound musical genius that guided him in creating a new sound - a new sound that drew inspiration from diverse genres of music like R&B, Funk, Soul, New Wave, and Rock. The multi-platinum artist was an extremely gifted music writer, producer, singer, and performer, who was known to be able to play several instruments with amazing skill. He earned great success with legendary hits like "When Doves Cry," "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "Batdance," "Cream," and the incomparable "Purple Rain" - a song which thrust Prince into a new level of stardom after being featured on his hit film of the same title, released in 1984.
Sadly, the genius that was Prince passed away on April 21, 2017, at the young age of 57. It's lucky for us that he blessed us with musical and cinematic works that will make him live on in our hearts. Oh, and there are a few comic books that featured The Purple One as well. Today, we'll talk about this one:
Feast your hungry eyes on my copy of Prince and The New Power Generation: Three Chains of Gold from Piranha Music! In this comic, Prince and the NPG are on tour in a fictional Middle Eastern country when the beautiful princess, Mayte, takes an intimate interest in The Purple One. But before Prince has the chance to make ALL her doves cry, the princess' father is murdered by his own power-hungry brother who then sets his eye on Princess Mayte as he looks to possess the Three Chains of Gold, the symbol of absolute rulership of the country. However, unbeknownst to her evil uncle, Mayte has given her chain to Prince who is safe and sound at his home, Paisley Park, in Minneapolis. Or is he?
Not at all.
Soon, the Purple One and The NPG will have to face blood-thirsty assassins, rescue an alluring princess from the clutches of her murderous uncle, and save an entire country from total ruin. I guess it's just a day in the life the mighty musician from Minneapolis!
Fabled comic book writer, Dwayne McDuffie, absolutely killed it on the writing on this story! Sure, it's a story about a superstar-turned-superhero, but McDuffie keeps the cheesiness to a minimum, the action to a maximum, and the humor set nicely on "stun." I don't know if McDuffie actually met Prince, or just used what he saw of him in movies, interviews, and music videos, but he really makes Prince's personality larger-than-life, extremely lovable, and a bit naughty - just as one might expect from the supremely talented, super-sexy, diminutive Don Juan:
I like to refer to this as the "Lake Minnetonka Moment" (Purple Rain fans will get it).
Here, Prince gets down to butt-kicking business, with a bit of humor as a chaser.
Oh, Prince! You Sexy MF!
Three artists put some heat on their pencils and made this comic smoke: David Williams, Deryl Skelton, and Steve Carr!
The representation of Prince in the latter is simply amazing...And a bit haunting.
If you're a fan of The Purple One, whether you're into comic books or not, you should probably have Prince and The New Power Generation: Three Chains of Gold in your collection of Prince memorabilia. It's a fun read, a real collector's item, and a great way to drift off down Memory Lane with one of the greatest music artists to ever grace the stage: the artist FOREVER known as...PRINCE!!!! On to the Fun Facts!!
FUN FACT 1 - Prince and The New Power Generation: Three Chains of Gold accompanied Prince's 1994 direct-to-video movie, "3 Chains O' Gold," featuring songs from Prince's "Love Symbol Album." While I don't have access to the film, I can hook you up with the music videos on YouTube: Love Symbol Album.
FUN FACT 2 - Writer, Dwayne McDuffie, was one of the most prolific and respected African American comic book creators of all time. Sadly, he passed away in 2011, several years before Prince. McDuffie co-created The Dakotaverse, and such amazing characters as Static, and Icon, wrote legendary runs for comic book several characters and groups, like The Justice League, and Deathlok, and branched out into writing, story editing, and production of TV shows like Ben 10, Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. McDuffie also wrote several films in the DC Animated Universe, including "Justice League: Doom," and "All-Star Superman."
FUN FACT 3 - Kirstie Alley appears in both the film and the comic as snoopy, dauntless reporter, Vanessa Bartholemew.
FUN FACT 4 - The Middle Eastern princess, Mayte, was portrayed by Mayte Garcia in the film (and her likeness was used in the comic). She is actually an American actress, dancer and singer of Puerto Rican ancestry. Eventually, she would marry Prince, and bear his only child, Amir, who passed away just six short days after his birth.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Prince was absolutely one of my favorite music artists of all time, and it was a bittersweet honor to take a bit of time to remember him today. May he rest in eternal peace. Thanks for visiting! Here is a little something to take you on home:
FUN FACT 2 - Writer, Dwayne McDuffie, was one of the most prolific and respected African American comic book creators of all time. Sadly, he passed away in 2011, several years before Prince. McDuffie co-created The Dakotaverse, and such amazing characters as Static, and Icon, wrote legendary runs for comic book several characters and groups, like The Justice League, and Deathlok, and branched out into writing, story editing, and production of TV shows like Ben 10, Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. McDuffie also wrote several films in the DC Animated Universe, including "Justice League: Doom," and "All-Star Superman."
FUN FACT 3 - Kirstie Alley appears in both the film and the comic as snoopy, dauntless reporter, Vanessa Bartholemew.
FUN FACT 4 - The Middle Eastern princess, Mayte, was portrayed by Mayte Garcia in the film (and her likeness was used in the comic). She is actually an American actress, dancer and singer of Puerto Rican ancestry. Eventually, she would marry Prince, and bear his only child, Amir, who passed away just six short days after his birth.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Prince was absolutely one of my favorite music artists of all time, and it was a bittersweet honor to take a bit of time to remember him today. May he rest in eternal peace. Thanks for visiting! Here is a little something to take you on home:
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