Chuck D to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of ‘Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Back’ With New Graphic Novel
Chuck D has announced a new graphic novel, Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps, inspired by Public Enemy’s 1991 album, Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Back. Apocalypse 91 the graphic novel will be released in November via Z2 Comics, one month after the album celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps is anchored in 1991, but leaps into a strange futures with an array of speculative fiction stories. Among the contributing writers are comic and graphic novel vets like Evan Narcisse, Regine Sawyer, Che Grayson and Troy-Jeffrey Allen.
“Other interpretations of my work always make me think differently about it,” Chuck D told Rolling Stone in an email. “I’m rooted in the original thought so it’s interesting to see how something like this goes and how it becomes its own thing.
He added: “I think the stories relate to the songs, which are futuristic, so I can see where it galvanized their art. But I’m not going to be energized by a song I did because that’s like backtracking but it’s good to see the energy the other artists get from it. Then I can add to it and see if we come up with something new.”
Chuck D, who’s spent much of the pandemic focusing on visual art projects, will also contribute artwork to Apocalypse 91. “I think the future of my art is to not tread upon areas I’ve already done as a song,” he said. “But in general my work is more futuristic and I’m about the universe so those concepts from the album are definitely carried through in the novel.”
Apocalypse 91: Revolution Never Sleeps is available to pre-order. The graphic novel will be released in multiple editions, including a version that comes with limited edition vinyl and art prints.
Along with announcing the graphic novel, Chuck D also launched a new NFT collection featuring some of his artwork on the platform Foundation.
