INTRODUCTION.
Comics is anything that causes laughter. It can also be a periodical containing strips intended primarily for children. It is a medium used to express ideas with images, which is frequently combined with a text or any other visual information. In comics, textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. The chief purpose of comic is to provide entertainment value of story telling through sequential art, which can be worthy on its own value. Comics can equally inform, persuade, and encourage new behaviours in its readers. Comic strips are a series of adjacent drawn images, which are usually arranged horizontally, and are also designed to be read as a narrative or even a chronological sequence too. Most comic stories are usually original in form. However, words may be introduced within or near each image, or they may be dispensed with completely in some cases. If words were allowed to dominate the image, they are likely to become mere illustrations to the texts.
THE HISTORY OF COMICS IN NIGERIA.
Nigeria's Comic Republic, the largest publisher of independent comic books in the whole of black Africa, has entered into an agreement with Emagine Content and JackieBoy Entertainment to adapt its catalogue of Black African superheroes for movies and television. According to a Hollywood Reporter, Comic Republic is known to have published African-based films such as Ireti, the story of a university student in Ibadan, and also superpowers like Aje, a fantasy title that was inspired by Yoruba spirituality and mysticism, as well as the Vanguards, which centers on an avengers-style team of superheroes. Most of these titles are rooted in traditional African mythology, folktales, and cultures. However, the first project planned under the partnership is a feature drama adaptation of Ireti, which is regarded as the first African female superhero. The goal of the new venture, the company said, will be to portray a positive global influence of Africa and eradicate all previous misconceptions. It is a great time to be alive, especially since we are in a world in which diversity has taken center stage. This is an effort that will bring African heroes and its stories to the screen because comic gets the chance to be a part of black history worldwide. The ideal, said Ben Phelps, Emagine CEO, is a significant push towards diversity on the screen for all black superheroes. It is now high time to expose all the heroes from different African backgrounds. It is the ability to create role models for the future generations to come in such a unique way that comes with the responsibility to ensure that the story telling is original.
THINGS TO NOTE IN AFRICAN COMIC HISTORY.
* The 2018 Hollywood film, Black Panther, which was based on a fictitious African country, Wakanda, became an instant blockbuster success, by grossing a worldwide total of over one billion dollars and also becoming one of the highest grossing solo superhero films in history.
* The film has recorded numerous accolades, with about seven nominations at the 91st Academy Awards alone including the first nomination for Best Picture for a superhero film and also the first Academy Award win for an MCU film with wins also for the Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, as well as the Best Production Design.
You can see from all these that, black African comic history has indeed come a long way in tandem with developments of the enterprise worldwide. The Hollywood film, Black Panther, which was based on a fictional African country, Wakanda, became an instant blockbuster success, and all concerted efforts were made to highlight African Superheroes ever since. The Nigerian Comic Republic, an independent comic book publisher, has signed a production deal with Emagine Content and JackieBoy Entertainment in order to adapt its catalogue of all African superheroes for both film and television purposes. Through this, they want to tell African stories in unique ways.
THE QUEER COMICS.
The primary objective of Queer Comics is to make our lives visible. No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, Tribeca Film Festival 2021, and directed by Vivian Kleiman, gives a glimpse into the lives and work of such comic artists as Alison Bechdel, Rupert Kinnard, Mary Wings, Howard Cruise, and Jennifer Campbell, who were all part and parcel of the development of the first queer comics in the underground comic scene in Europe. Kleiman is known to have done a remarkable job in using the enormous energy of the pioneering artist with the contributions of younger artists to frame their comic works within the larger context of inter-relating identities and the history of LGBT community. Asked about the creative influences that shapened her film: No Straight Lines, alongside her other works, Klieman talked about how the impact which her close friend and artistic colleague, the late Marlon T. Riggs, continues to exert on her creative input, especially with regards to her decision to engage with non-linear storytelling. In fact, Riggs it was who actually introduced Klieman to one of the most prominent subjects in 'No Straight Lines', the featured cartoonist Rupert Kinnard. This film evokes laughter with limitless humour of queer comics while at the same time engaging with the global AIDS crisis and most other historical LGBT political oppression. The film has successfully blended history with narrative, and it ultimately does justice to the rich history of queer comics in the whole of Europe and also other parts of the world too. The Rise of Queer Comics spans over 40 years of comic history. At this juncture, it is pertinent to ask how it was eventually decided who to feature and what materials to include? Klieman explained that he had wanted from the outset to profile a selection of people so that the viewers would ultimately have an emotional connection with them as individuals and not just mere names on the screen. Klieman's long time friend and an expert in the history of comics was used to edit the first anthology of queer comics known as No Straight Lines. Initially, there wasn't any dynamic connection with younger people, and that made the assembly of the first rough cut to feel stale. It therefore became necessary to include what is generally known as snippets from young people, young artists, and also young queer artists too. This infused the piece with the necessary vitality which was initially missing. The film was primarily directed at younger people in the US. The film was meant to show a generation of young people who struggled and found a way for self expression and a way to triumph over personal hindrances, that could be obstructing their lives. It was not really thought that the film will have any appeal to international audiences. However, the producers were surprised that the film was actually more than well received by many programmers worldwide. Historically, if you wish to retain your artistic authenticity and roots, you can tell the story in a non-linear manner, especially if you do not trust your audience to follow the storyline.
You really do not need to have a three acts structure and you also do not have to tell many decades of queer history chronologically. Historically, the outbreak of COVID 19 has mandated the removal of a few things here and there in the film, which has basically slowed down the process of producing comic films worldwide. The comic strip is primarily a mass medium that is printed in either a magazine, newspaper, or even a book. In addition, the definition of comic strip contains a text inscribed within balloons inside the picture frame, which aspires to a certain orthodoxy in the US, though that is not workable and could have excluded most strips created before 1900. However, the term graphic novel is now known to refer to longer and more coherent novel-like stories, although the term sequential art is also commonly used too.
CONCLUSION.
Reading a comic is akin to engaging in an act of both play and problem solving, and the relationship between word and image, as well as the sequence of panels on a page, and the non-linear nature of the reading experience, all engage the reader in unique and challenging ways. If you study the history of comics as has been explained herein, you must have obviously understood that, there is a sequence that its originators have uniformly adopted even when they used different approaches and modalities. Notably, they all began with choosing an idea first. After that, they wrote the stories whether imagined or otherwise. Then, next followed researching the crafts of making comics before planning the layouts. From there, they all proceeded to creating a set of rules for the drawings. They drew the necessary illustrations before choosing a suitable format. Finally, they all selected an appropriate book making tool to conclude the process. The overall entertainment value of comic storytelling through sequential art can be worthy on its own merit. However, comics can inform, persuade, and encourage new behaviors in its readers. That is basically the purpose of comic books as authored by most agencies whether governmental or private.
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