Grace, an upcoming graphic novel about Jeff Buckley, explores the singer-songwriters life, career and tragic death. Author Tiffanie DeBartolo (How to Kill a Rock Star, God-Shaped Hole) collaborated with visual artists Pascal Dizin and Lisa Reist on the project, which comes out April 30th via First Second/Macmillan (find it here).
The novel which includes archival material contributed by the musicians mother, Mary Guibert opens with a young Buckley bucking comparisons to his father, songwriter Tim Buckley, and developing his own material. After falling in love with a woman in New York, the guitarist ventures to the city to find his own path. The book charts his rise from obscurity to legend from formative early Nineties shows in Manhattans East Village at venues like Sin- to releasing his sole LP, 1994s Grace, through relocating to Memphis, Tennessee, where he accidentally drowned in May 1997.
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This story is more than just a story about Jeffs life, DeBartolo said in a statement. Its also a story about the impact his extraordinary talentandhiseternal spirithason everyone whodiscovershistimelessmusic.
First Second Editorial Director Calista Brillcalled the project a beautiful portrait of the artistic drive that takes somebody to the point he reached in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. The art is expressive and lively, the whole thing is a joyful ode to him rather than a solemn tribute, she added. His mother was very involved in the creation of this book, so the authors had access to a terrific wellspring of information about him. Buckleys fans will adore this book, and itll be an interesting read for people who arent familiar with his work.
Guibert, the executor of the Jeff Buckley Estate, collaborated with Rolling Stone senior writer David Browne on Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice, an upcoming book featuring her sons previously unseen, handwritten journals.
