On the fiftieth anniversary of the the Doors' iconic album Morrison Hotel, the surviving members of the band, Robby Krieger and John Densmore, are working on a graphic novel exploration of that album's songs, themes, and context.
According to the publisher Z2, the graphic novel "will feature some of the lore that led to their status as the architects of counterculture, influencing artists, poets, and outsiders for generations to come, set against the backdrop of the close of the free spirit of the 1960s into the tumultuous 1970s. A decade in which women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays, lesbians, and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality and many Americans joined the protest against the ongoing war in Vietnam."
The graphic novel anthology, likewise titled Morrison Hotel, will be written by Leah Moore, with art by Marguerite Savauge, Tony Parker, Christopher Mitten, Vasilis Lolos, and more.
"Very few bands have had such lasting importance to American rock history as the Doors, and to be able to work with them directly is unreal," Z2 publisher Josh Frankel said in the announcement. "To have been afforded the honor to add to the band’s enduring legacy with their first comic anthology further cements Z2’s status as the premier publisher of comics for music fans, and an honor we don’t take lightly."
Z2 plans to publish the OGN anthology on October 13, and simultaneously released a limited edition version which will include an exclusive fiftieth-anniversary edition 12" picture disc of the complete Morrison Hotel album, three exclusive art prints, and a slipcase to contain it all.