Thanks for sharing the link to Pandora Comics. They seem to be more of artists than storytellers. And all their comics are about super-heroes or crime-fighters. But no prices are listed on their website at the moment. Noted.

superheroes are what most comic buffs will ask for to start with, so they are a great place to start.

However how do we co-opt the superhero idea to better suit our environment? simply having a superman clone called 'naijaman' or 'oduduwa warrior' or whatever doesnt cut the mustard.

The heroes of most japanese mangas can be called superheroes too, but they don't wear spandex. They are usually colurfully clothed ninjas or samurai that follow a pattern very different from the actual historical reality of these characters, or they are small girls/boys piloting giant robots.

I wonder what OUR motif will be for a superhero?

Look at Naruto and Bleach, the mangas (Japanese comics) that are captivating Nigerians. Their "super-heroes" are ordinary people with super-duper powers. They don't wear masks. Their identities aren't secret.

I don't think our Nigerian comic book heroes have to be anything like the American comic heroes. Manga heroes maybe? Maybe we can introduce the element of religion that's so strong in our culture?

In a way, naruto & bleach's main characters may be said to be costumed superheroes, too.

The shinigami always wear the white obi and black kimono, and all of them have a sword (zanpakutoh).

The shinobi in naruto all have forehead protectors, but you will also notice they have signature outfits that are more colorful and complicated than what the normal everyday pedestrians wear, and which they never change (many times the outfits can be seen to be unique to a particular family or clan)

In other words, the Japanese have modified the superhero idea to suit their culture. We may do something similar, but rather than copying the manga characters or just drawing men in spandex, maybe the artists here can come up with something original.

We have our own folklore, and our own brand of heroic fantasy. Our heroes and villains tend to use charms and commune with their ancestors rather than martial arts or mutant powers. Could it be possible that a great comic series be derived from this without being another 'eze the warrior prince' or other unappealing, village-bound tale?

My ideal super-hero will be modelled after Pastor Chris Oyhakilome, T.B. Joshua and others. These people have captured the imaginations of Nigerians to a greater level than our local withdoctors. Consider that.

you will write a comic book with a pastor as the super hero?

Have you seen Pastor Chris and his mentors Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke in operation?

They wave their hands at a crowd and everybody falls down. Now imagine a super-hero waving at the bad guys and causing them to fall down. Isn't that exciting?

if you do that i won't read it!
those things are not all true. anyone can learn CHI. that's what they do to control other people's movement. i've seen it being done on TV. not a preaching programme, a martial arts thingy.i dont believe all these falling down things cos why would you fall me down? what if my dress opens?

Yes, but why can't our super-hero use the same "chi" to fight criminals?

lol cos they are scaredy cats
but seriously, don't. if you do,it will only sell in 9ja!!!
BE WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm not too sure about the comic superhero stuff
we dont really believe in stuff like that here
even if Naruto hasnt captivated pple (in my school,thats most boys favorite thing to watch)
it isnt about the supaheroness its about surviving in this world full of dangers and the like with the talents you have which maybe latent or visible.

Just to put in my own two kobo. This is the largest collection of raw nigerian art that i have ever seen. Let me inform you that i am storing some of these images as screensavers. I am planning to taunt some of my more artistic friends to death.


IDEA: what if we had a NAIRALAND BATTLE OF THE COMIC WHIZZES. forgive the corny title but i believe it would be awesome and I can already imagine YoruNinja battling it out with the Preacher Man.

Keep up the good work. with talent like this, I see a bright future for Nigerian comic art and other related fields.

These are panels from my comic book that never saw the light of day, back in the days (2000).

Here is the one I did in (2001). This one na Yankee version of 'Black Guardian'. Another super hero that didn't see much daylight.

More Black Guardian,

Finally,

hey grafikdon!

how do i get your movie 'chika'?

Grafikdon u r too good
do u mind me asking how old u is??

Grafikdon will be a very good storyboard artist, we might need to talk maybe later.

zPixel, you sound like someone that's serious about comics. What venture are you into?

Actually, am into 3d, making of short films. Grafikdon has a sense of storytelling.

@ darkman zero I think you can get it from lagos, not sure now ;'cause it's been a long time and I have almost forgotten.

@Garmine, your uncle Grafikdon is in his late twenties.

The 2ND LAGOS COMICS & CARTOONS CARNIVAL from Sept 14 to Sept 17 might be of interest to some people here.

What do we stand to benefit from this comic carnival?

oh Grafikdon u arent old enough to be my uncle ok but definately too old for me, lol
comic carnival

grafikdon, will chika be available at the carnival

this is stricly for u Gamine.
it's a special dedication to ur work,
u're the best.
keep on holding it down.

as artistics buffs,u guys sure talk a lot. how about expressing urselves withur art work instead yapping about like hungry ducklings. LET UR ART DO THE TALKING. SHEESH!!!

What about yours, stevematrix? Surely you want to show a good example?

I wish i could draw like you guys. . .

im so busy i do not have much time to draw
im almost in my final year and the workload is enormous
and we dont yap stevematrix u have taken care of that
here is a ruff sketch done on a tabletPC i think every graphicartist shld have one

hey here anotha one