A new world of legends Tanya Combrinckdiscovers the fresh art styles and authentic stories being created within the continent’s growing comic culture

Yussuf says: “More than a style of design, Afrofuturism has become a movement; a statement announcing Africa’s giant strides towards the future and beyond. ”

“Egyptian art is where the tradition of summarising detail into style began,” says Paul.

“Every design choice I make reflects the spirit of oral tradition, making the world both mystical and lived-in,” says Gbenle.

© Paul Louise-Julie. All Rights Reserved.

Ten years ago, if you looked for African comics, there weren’t many big titles and the scene was fairly niche and underground. Today that has all changed.

Not only have comic publishers sprung up all over the continent, but the last decade has seen artists from those companies collaborating with the likes of Disney to produce animated series such as the Emmynominated Iwájú (Disney+), Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (Disney+), and Iyanu: Child of Wonder (Cartoon Network, HBO Max).

“African comics have exploded in the past five years,” says Paul Louise-Julie, creator of Yohance, an African space opera comic and soon-to-be-unveiled animated short film. “I started doing this back in 2015. At the time, African comics weren’t really a thing. Then all of a sudden, I started noticing other creators coming up parallel to me, such as Kugali in Nigeria and Avandu in Kenya. It was really invigorating for me to see these distinctly African visions, emerging like phoenixes all across the continent.”

“I want to show an ancient Northeast Africa that looks as majestic as what we’d see in modern fantasy today,” says Paul.

© Paul Louise-Julie. All Rights Reserved.

As a freelance comic artist who has worked for a number of African publishers, Yussuf Adeleye tells the same story: “What started as a small, tight-knit group of comic book enthusiasts has now rapidly developed into several massive communities. You can see this when you attend any one of the comic conventions such as Comic Con Ibadan (Oyo state, Nigeria), Comic Con Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa) or OtakuKon (Harare, Zimbabwe). Major conventions like these, along with the growing number of local publishers, have been instrumental in bringing African comic book fans together.”