Z2 Comics/Grateful DeadThe Grateful Dead graphic novel Grateful Dead Origins was originally going to be released in April. It was then pushed to June, and now it’s coming out July 31. But you can get an advance look at it now over on RollingStone.com.
Rolling Stone has published an amusing excerpt of the graphic novel that’s been shared by Z2 comics, depicting the time that the Dead appeared on Playboy After Dark, a TV show hosted by late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. You can watch actual the January 1969 appearance, which featured performances of “Mountains of the Moon” and “St. Stephen,” on YouTube.
What you don’t see during that appearance is what the comic purports to show: the band spiking the coffee backstage with acid right before the show goes on the air.
Z2 has also shared a previously unreleased version of “St. Stephen,” from the band’s 1969 release, Aoxomoxoa. It’s the first West Coast live performance of the song, and it’s taken from a live recording of an August 1968 concert at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. That concert is included on a vinyl LP that comes with the deluxe version of the graphic novel.
You can hear the song at RollingStone.com as well.
Grateful Dead Origins documents the group’s formation and its early days, as well as its emergence as one of America’s most important and enduring bands.
By Andrea Dresdale
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