The Quintessential African Comic Book Superhero (by Guest Blogger, Mutendei Writes)
In an age where African culture and history is boldly and voraciously reasserting itself through diverse relatable historical and cultural legends being brought to light in captivating stories, one has to ask where comic book artists fit into this?
As a writer and producer of African
historical- and culturally-based comics myself--alongside the other short
stories, scripts and novels I produce--I can unequivocally tell you that there
is no shortage of quality material, artists, and writers out there within the
African continent and African Diaspora.
However, this is where the quagmire begins.
With so much vivid content coming out, to the best of my knowledge there has
been no discussion or formalized characterization of what entails the
quintessential African Superhero or Superheroine and where they rank in terms
of power scale and influence among the emerging universe of producers and
consumers of African comics.
This in my opinion is both a good and bad
thing. Good in the sense that there are no limits to the varied, vivid stories
Africa can tell, yet bad in the sense that there is no interconnectivity of
hierarchy within the world of characters, African artists on the continent and
in the Diaspora, have produced.
A little friendly competition never hurt
anyone, and would facilitate the massive crossover event that would set an
unshakeable independent agenda for African comics in the continent and
Diaspora.
Below follows a list of commendable comics so
far produced (with plenty others I am sure that are on the way and soon to be
revealed):
https://squidmag.ink/free-african-comics/
6
African superhero comics to look out for (youneekstudios.com)
5
African Superheroes You Need To Know (okayafrica.com)
Check
out these super inspiring African hereos | ONE
10
Must-Read African Comics and Graphic Novels (bookriot.com)
African
Storytelling Meets Comic Books With These New Superheroes (nbcnews.com)
5
Kenyan Comic Books To Look Out For This Year – KenyaBuzz LifeStyle
Now Vortex Corp has pioneered in creating a digital platform for such African comics spanning Africa, and The Americas (North and South), yet this is only the first step in which could be a much larger paradigm shift.
Netflix for Comics? Yasss! – KenyaBuzz LifeStyle
Imagine a comic book world where Icon and Rocket…
…show up to face off against
characters like Africanum and the Speedster,
|
|
Or
characters from the mythological world of Sanamu and Muhonja and the other
characters of Avandu Vosi studios (https://www.avandu.co.ke/
) face off against other mythological counterparts from the Shadow Walkers
universe among others.
Imagine a crossover event where African and
Black Diaspora independent comic book characters Lwanda Magere and the Goddess
Oya meet their Marvel / DC counterparts (African
Superhero Short Film 'Oya: Rise Of The Orishas' Debuts Online - OkayAfrica)
I mean the levels.
As always, key considerations in any
crossover, battle royale event would be:
1) Origin Story
2) Power Levels
3) Supernatural Considerations
4) Warrior/Training History
5) Key Mission(s)
It definitely would make for an interesting character based battle royale. One can only hope. Who knows what the future holds, as Africa and Diaspora creatives continue to build.
Read more from Nairobi-based writer (and Kya Publishing promotional partner) Mutendei Writes at https://mutendeiwrites.com/.
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