Joe Satriani to release his own sci-fi-themed comic book, Crystal Planet

With a whopping 17 studio albums under his belt, it's safe to say Joe Satriani has conquered the guitar world. His boundary-pushing lead lines have inspired guitarists the world over for decades, his legacy couldn't be any more concrete.

But Satch has never been one to rest on his laurels. Now, the shredder turns his sights to the comic book world – or more accurately, looks to transport his fans to a whole new world: Crystal Planet.

Created by Joe Satriani and fellow guitarist Ned Evett and published by Incendium and Heavy Metal Magazine under the new music-focused OPUS imprint, Crystal Planet is “a vivid space odyssey where Satchel Walker, a man out of time, finds himself caught between desperate factions as they battle for resources in the perilous orbit of a dying star.

“In a bold and brutal saga of sentient storms and Wingsuit armies, it’s music, and more importantly the power and emotion that music can conjure, which could bring an end to the conflict, restore harmony to the timestream, and reveal Walker’s true place in the universe.”

The comic will begin as a five-issue series, with the first print edition of each issue released as a prestige format limited-edition collectible comic book, featuring cardstock covers, specialty foil treatments, glossy pages, and individual numbering.

“Funny how things get their start,” Satriani says. “July 1994 I’m on tour with Deep Purple and I’m warming up with my guitar backstage in a bull’s isolation cell at the Plaza de Toros in Gijón, Spain. Then and there I start writing the opening riff to a song that will become Crystal Planet and a few years later it's the title track for my '98 album release. 

Fast-forward to 2013, friend and fellow guitarist Ned Evett makes an animated sci-fi video for my song Lies and Truths using artwork from my Joe’s Art 2013 book. We projected that video on a 30-foot screen every night of the Unstoppable Momentum Tour. 

“It was a hit with the fans which 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!”

Says Llexi Leon, Founder and Director of Incendium, “Crystal Planet is a thrilling rollercoaster through space and time, it’s Mad Max vs TRON – with guitars!”

Each initial printing of the comic will be available for $19.98, limited to only 1998 copies. The first issue is available to order now, shipping in March 2021.

The Crystal Planet world will eventually extend beyond the printed page into toys and collectibles: a Joe Satriani action figure – featuring Satch in a Tri-Diver suit from the comics with his signature Crystal Planet Ibanez guitar – is already available for pre-order.

For more information on the brand-new world of Crystal Planet, head over to Incendium.