Rock & Roll Comics: Pink Floyd

by Spike Steffenhagen, Jay Allen Sanford, Ken Landgraf

All five issues of the Rock 'N' Roll Comics series The Pink Floyd Experience have been out of print and in demand for over fifteen years. As showcased in Pink Floyd's own official box CD set Shine On, the Floyd comics chronicle rock's most enigmatic, psychedelic warriors, from their early days with stoner icon Syd Barrett, through their split (and later reformation). With art by Marvel and DC star Ken Landgraf (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird), this collection also includes updated material, bringing the saga up to 2010.

Genres: Music, Graphic Novels

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2010

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of Pink Floyd, you might read this, although other biographies such as Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey or Comfortably Numb have many more details about the group and their music. If you are interested in the graphic artwork on the album covers of releases like Dark Side of the Moon or Wish You Were Here, you might try Walk Away Rene by Storm Thorgerson, head of Hipgnosis, the company that designed those covers. The Pink Floyd Experience does not really work as a biography or as a graphic novel. For example, there is little attempt to deploy in the narrative the visual imagery associated with the band—no teacher resembling the one in The Wall, no pigs flying in the margin, no pastiches of the album covers--; rather, the book follows the members of the band in their interactions with one another, their managers, and (particularly in the latter part of the book), their lawyers. Nor, except for those parts early in the book that depict Syd Barrett’s drug use and his eventual breakdown, is there much about rock and roll excess (which I did not expect to find—Pink Floyd is not generally associated with the more wild behaviour of rock stars, such as smashing instruments onstage or trashing hotel rooms; this being the case, though, why did someone think this group would be an interesting subject for a graphic novel?)
For me, the artwork was problematic. I find that the realist style of drawing makes it difficult to distinguish among different characters and to determine who is represented in one panel or another unless he or she is referred to by name. Adding to this difficulty are those instances in which a character’s hairstyle or facial structure seems to change dramatically from panel to panel, with the result that initially I am not sure whether I’m looking at the same character or a different one. For me, the book is more an exploitation of Pink Floyd’s fame than an aesthetic consideration of their work.

Acquired Jul 28, 2011
Powell's City of Books, Portland, OR

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Rock and Roll Comics: The Pink Floyd Experience was interesting enough (me being a Pink Floyd fan and all), it just wasn't very engaging. I was a little disappointed in the writing. It's a little disjointed and there's no transition between scenes. Almost as if they're trying to fit too much story in. And little things, like when I looked up to see who Marianne Faithful was and found out the correct spelling was "Marianne Faithfull". Once, they even spell Rick Wright's last name 'Write'.

And did Pink Floyd really record Piper at the Gates of Dawn at the same time that the Beatles were recording magical mystery tout in the same studio?!?

[Pchu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this from the library on a whim. It's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. The best (?) part is, they have similar comics about other classic rock bands to which they sprinkle in references (e.g. "to get this joke, go to Beatles Experience vol. 1!"). Why were these even made?