Roye Okupe's Blog, page 6

E.X.O. Fan Art Competition

First of all we want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in the E.X.O. fan art competition! It was an amazing event with so many awesome entries. Picking the top 3 was EXTREMELY difficult, so we decided to expand the selection to 6 (See gallery below, click ot enlarge images). Now we need your help picking a winner. It’s pretty straightforward. Each submission has a name and number and you can vote using the polling system below by selecting the corresponding number. You can view full images for each one below. Please share with as many people as you think would be interested participating by using the social buttons below.

*VOTING CLOSES AT EXACTLY 7PM EST FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30th.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Remember you can buy the E.X.O. graphic novel now on sale! (Your chance to save 30%). Click here to take advantage of this offer. Also available on Amazon, Jumia, Comixology and iBooks.

CLICK TO BUY THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

 

We would like to honor every one who participated. Below is a gallery of all the submissions.

 

The post E.X.O. Fan Art Competition appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

Creating An African Superhero Part 2: Persistence Pays

So due to popular demand, I’m finally getting around to writing a follow up to my latest blog post: How I Created An African Superhero: Don’t Be Afraid To Fail. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do. It’s really a great read, I promise. As I mentioned in that blog post, that was the first in a series of posts I will be writing about. They will basically follow my journey so far (lessons, triumphs, challenges etc.) about how I created and am currently promoting my first Superhero Hero graphic novel titled E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One. If you haven’t checked that out please do as well. You can read chapter one of the book here free of charge! Today’s post will focus on the title: PERSISTENCE PAYS.

I love the way the dictionary defines persistence: firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. I purposefully highlighted two words from the definition. Obstinate can be used interchangeably with stubborn. I honestly feel like to achieve the slightest bit of success not just in comics but in general life, you have to have some element of stubbornness. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean you should be unruly, but what I mean is be stubborn when you put out a picture or demo of your work out there and it gets 0 likes. Be stubborn when a random troll on social media writes you a paragraph about how your idea sucks and how it will never make it anywhere. Be stubborn when you email bloggers to check out or review your stuff and you get no responses. Be stubborn by taking it in the chin, going back to the drawing board to re-tool and then try again. I’ve always believed life is not about what happens to you, but how you react and adjust after things happen to you. Those issues I listed above all happened to me. There was a time when I would post E.X.O. art/updates on social media and literately no one would comment, or times I would get Facebook comments that my character/story was a hack or when I would spend sleepless nights emailing a minimum of 20 bloggers only to get 0 responses. To be honest those things truly hurt, but hey I’m only human. What I’m most proud of is I found a way to learn from it, adjust and then make a comeback. The second word I highlighted is difficulty. I don’t need to spend too much time on it because I believe it’s self explanatory. Absolutely nothing good in life comes easy. The road to success is one of the most difficult journeys in life, if you are not willing to pay the price, then you’ve already lost.

Click to Read the E.X.O. CNN interview

To drive this point home, I want to share a personal story about how I was able to get E.X.O. on CNN. If you had told me that I would be featured on CNN 2 months before I had even released my first graphic novel, I would have told you to get out of my face. The irony here is that as much as I believed getting on there was a long shot, I never hesitated to try. This is one of the things that has truly helped me so far. No matter how huge the mountain ahead of me is, no matter the amount of fear I feel approaching it, I always at least give it a try. The worst that can happen is that you fall, but then you pick yourself up and adjust. The journey to get on CNN took 6 months. 6 long grueling months which started February 2015.

CLICK TO BUY THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

It’s fun to note that while I do get a lot of questions as to how I got on CNN, BBC, MASHABLE etc. (which I will explain shortly), I’ve had some people mention that I have paid for these articles, or I have a secret network I use to reach bloggers. Lol, I honestly wish I had that kinda dough and connections. But anyway, I digress.  The first thing I did in February was spend hours and hours on the web trying to search for anyone at CNN who had ever written about an African superhero. I figured they would be more likely to write about mine. After 1 week of 0 results I decided to refine my search a little bit. So instead I focused on finding CNN articles that journalist had written about Africa (Nigeria to be specific) and then I got some hits. I found an article about a Nigerian startup that was written not too long ago. I then proceeded to contact the blogger on twitter by following him and sending him a tweet about my project. Crickets… I tried and tried for about 3 weeks and I finally got a response. He had mentioned he was out on vacation and that he would forward it to a colleague. Yay! Celebration time, I’m going to be on CNN! Or so I thought. What followed was another month of crickets. At this point I started to feel like maybe I’m in over my head, I mean CNN? What have you done to even warrant an article on CNN? But I believed in my product and felt like I had something unique to add to the industry so I made a slight adjustment. I started to approach smaller bloggers and while those weren’t easy at all to get on, they where slightly more inviting than the big boys. I got a couple of decent articles and decided again in March to try, this time I had some credibility, if they did a search on me at least something would pop up. I found another article on CNN about an African project and actually spent time reading it. I found the person on twitter and luckily, she had their email listed on their profile. I crafted a very brief email introducing myself, but to be honest I feel like what was key here was that I actually took sometime to talk about the article she wrote. It also helped that others had written about me.

Boom! The next day I got an email saying can we have a chat tomorrow? In my mind I was like heck yea! I can even call right now if you like. We spoke the next they and she mentioned she had been looking for something like mine to write about for a while. She said it’s a definite lock and we would do the story next month in April. Celebration time again, I’m getting on CNN… Or so I thought. I contacted her again a month later, ready to go and then she laid it on me. Sorry Roye my editor wants to focus on some other key stories we can’t ignore right now, so its a no. But keep in touch. Once again I felt that voice in me saying “I told you, you aren’t good enough.” But still I refused to give up and this is where persistence pays. I could have chosen to be bitter. But I politely told her I completely understand and that I would keep in touch. Over the next 3 months I sent an email every week to her (total of about 12 emails), I maybe got 2 responses, but I took it in the chin and kept sending polite messages. And lo and behold, out of nowhere one day she emails me and says Roye we are good to go, I’ll call you next week. And the rest is history.

What I’m I trying to say here. Sometimes, you just have to keep going at it, even though it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. You know what you are doing, you know why you are doing it, so keep at it. If you make mistakes adjust, if you fail, learn from it, if you get rejected, take it in stride and always be polite. There are people out there in the world who are waiting to experience exactly what you have to offer. You just have to be persistent. If you keep digging eventually you will strike gold, and if you don’t, at least you know where not to dig anymore.

 

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Roye Okupe is a veteran creative specialist who holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in computer science from The George Washington University. His passion for animation led him to found YouNeek Studios in 2012, an avenue that would allow him pursue his dream of creating a diverse library of superheroes. Roye released chapter 1 of his debut, superhero graphic novel titled: E.X.O. The Legend of Wale Williams, a superhero story set in a futuristic Nigeria. E.X.O. was received with critical acclaim and has since been featured on CNN, Forbes, BBC, The Huffington Post, Mashabe and more!

SHARING IS CARING
0

 

Subscribe For Updates & To Read Chapter 1 of E.X.O. FREE!


Your NameYour Email*

NameThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The post Creating An African Superhero Part 2: Persistence Pays appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

Creating An African Superhero: Don’t Be Afraid To Fail

You know a lot of people regularly ask me how I’ve managed to take E.X.O. as far as it has gone. To be honest up until now, I regularly gave varying answers depending on where exactly I was in my journey at the time they asked. I rarely take time look back to see some of the things I have accomplished, which depending on who you ask can be a good or bad thing, but today I decided to. And honestly I’m no where close to where I envision myself to be (still working hard everyday to get there), but I’m so thankful that I’m miles away from where I was a year ago. So, today I decided that I would start to write a regularly series titled “How I Created An African Superhero”. Each story will have a theme and pick on a lesson I had to learn/I’m learning (most of the time the hard way) on my journey to create a successful, mainstream African superhero. Today’s topic is: DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL.

This is probably one of the most important life lessons I’ve had to learn and one I’m still learning everyday. I’ve had the idea to create a Nigerian superhero probably all my life. Growing up I always wanted to have my own superhero stories told to the world. Stories featuring characters from Nigeria, where I was born and raised. But my biggest enemy was fear (And to be honest, money, but that’s a story for another blog post). In 2008 after I completed my Master’s In Computer Science, I started to get that itch to “try”. But the voices in my head had other ideas. “Nobody will watch it”, “You’re not good enough”, “You have no money”, “You know nothing about running a business”, “You’re too stupid” etc. This fear paralyzed me for 4 years until I decided enough was enough. I honestly cannot pinpoint one moment or one instant as to where “everything changed” but I think for me being fulfilled has always been a priority for me, and I knew until I tried, I would never be truly satisfied with my life. So in 2012 I begged family and friends for some money, saved an additional sum and then produced an animated test pilot for E.X.O.

At this point, you expect me to say the rest is history right? Wrong! I shopped that animated pilot around for 2 years, looking for a distribution deal and/or an investor to get the full animated series made. But EVERYONE I approached said NO! I even had a mentor of mine (an Executive producer who had worked with organizations like Disney) tell me that the pilot I produced was, and this where his exact words “complete rubbish.” Another reputable producer told me to change the race of the main character, stating “No one is gonna watch an animation based on an African main character”.  At this point I was devastated, all my money spent, all my efforts and plans executed, but zero results. This was an extremely crucial point in my life and a moment where fear could have crippled my dream. It would have actually made sense to give up. I had tried and I had failed. But then what I realized was that there are two ways to look at failure, as the end of something or the beginning of something better. I chose the latter, I learned from my mistakes, went back to the drawing board and began a 7 month plan to come back with a vengeance.

CLICK TO BUY THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

To cut a long story short, it was then I decided I would take matters into my own hands, and tell my African superhero story as a graphic novel first, build my fan base organically and then eventually use that momentum to get back into the animation game. Ironically the test pilot I created, which one of my mentors said was “rubbish” was the same thing I used to raise $10,000 on Kickstarter and produce the E.X.O. graphic novel that has since then been featured on CNN, Forbes, BBC, Huffington Post, Mashable & more. What am I trying to say here? It was only at the point where I decided not to let the fear of failure hamper me that I was able to achieve a little success. Don’t get me wrong it hasn’t been all roses and butterflies, I’ve had so many discouraging episodes since then, even as recent as this morning while I’m writing this. I still don’t have a deal for the animated series and there are so many goals I’m yet to achieve But, one thing is certain. I will always do my best not to allow fear dictate my future, because I would rather fail while chasing my dreams than look at myself as a failure 20 years down the road because I didn’t try.

 

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Roye Okupe is a veteran creative specialist who holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in computer science from The George Washington University. His passion for animation led him to found YouNeek Studios in 2012, an avenue that would allow him pursue his dream of creating a diverse library of superheroes. Roye released chapter 1 of his debut, superhero graphic novel titled: E.X.O. The Legend of Wale Williams, a superhero story set in a futuristic Nigeria. E.X.O. was received with critical acclaim and has since been featured on CNN, Forbes, BBC, The Huffington Post, Mashabe and more!

SHARING IS CARING
0

 

Subscribe For Updates & To Read Chapter 1 of E.X.O. FREE!


Your NameYour Email*

NameThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The post Creating An African Superhero: Don’t Be Afraid To Fail appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

E.X.O. Fan Art Competition – Your Chance to Win $100!

So it’s OFFICIAL! In honor of ‪#‎Inktober‬ there will be an E.X.O. fan art competition! The winner goes away with a $100 CASH PRIZE! (submissions will close October 31st). It’s been an amazing reception since the launch of E.X.O. in August. From features on CNN and Forbes to Universities ordering copies to use for their courses. But none of this would be possible without the unrelenting support from the fans! As our way of saying thank you, we decided to run a fan art competition with a $100 cash prize for the winner!

The rules are simple:

1. You must pick any of the main characters from the E.X.O. graphic novel (EXO, Fury, Oniku, Twoshots, DREDs). Check out the gallery below for references.

2. Draw them in whatever pose, location, style (Inks, color, paint etc.), background you see fit (draw multiple characters in one piece if you like).

3. IMPORTANT*** you MUST upload your submission to your page (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter) with the hashtag ‪#‎TLoWW‬ and tag us @YouNeekStudios.

4. All submitted art MUST be age appropriate for kids (no profanity).

5. *Submissions END OCTOBER 31st, after that my team will pick the best 3 for final voting. The one (out of the final 3) with the most votes wins, simple!

6. Make sure you SHARE, TAG and COMMENT to inform any artist that doesn’t mind winning a cool $100.

Note: Cash prize will be delivered via VISA gift card, PayPal or Western Union depending on the location of the winner.

Gallery

The post E.X.O. Fan Art Competition – Your Chance to Win $100! appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

E.X.O. Behind The Scenes Featurette Part Two

The last couple of weeks have been so awesome for the E.X.O. book launch. We sold out on Amazon where we’ve since garnered a 5 star rating, sold out copies of the book at the Lagos Comic Con, Had celebrities endorse the product and even got a professor at St. Johns University to order a bunch of books for his class this semester. I honestly feel blessed and honored to be at the helm of such a great project. If you haven’t gotten your copy of the book yet all I ask is you do me one favor. Watch the video above which gives an in-depth background of all the main characters. Hopefully this will persuade you to get your copy :).

And remember You can BUY THE 136 PAGE E.X.O. GRAPHIC NOVEL TODAY by following this link: bit.ly/1HAwAKQ (international shipping available). The book is also available on Amazon and Jumia (Nigeria/Africa). Please support me if you can by grabbing your copy today and sharing this news with anyone else who you believe would enjoy E.X.O.  and please share the video/link if you can!

Thank you for following me on this very long and rewarding journey. Stay tune for more E.X.O . news in the upcoming weeks, the best is yet to come!

Featured on CNN, FORBES, BBC and more, E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One is a superhero story about redemption, set in a futuristic, 2025 Africa! The 136 page graphic novel follows the journey of Wale Williams, an impetuous young man who inherits a suit with super powers after his father goes missing. Tricked into returning home to Lagoon City, Nigeria following a five year absence, Wale embarks on a journey to investigate his father’s mysterious disappearance. As he comes to understand the suit’s powers, Wale realizes he must restore hope to his city by preventing catastrophic attacks from the sociopathic, Oniku, leader of an extremist group called The CREED.

 

The post E.X.O. Behind The Scenes Featurette Part Two appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

E.X.O. Behind The Scenes Featurette Part One

Ever wondered what exactly went into putting together the E.X.O. project? Ever wondered why the project even began? Or what some of the pitfalls were on the journey to putting together the first animated clip as well as the 136 pages of the graphic novel? Well look no further. In this behind the scenes video, I go in-depth into what my motivations were for starting the E.X.O. series. I talk about what it took as well as what’s next for the project. So please check out the video and let me know what you think in the comments below.

 

Also, remember you can BUY THE 136 PAGE E.X.O. GRAPHIC NOVEL TODAY by following this link: bit.ly/1HAwAKQ (international shipping available). The book is also available on Amazon, Amazon Kindle[digital] & Apple iBooks [digital]. Please support me if you can by grabbing your copy today and sharing this news with anyone else who you believe would enjoy E.X.O. Please share the video/link if you can!

The post E.X.O. Behind The Scenes Featurette Part One appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

Fury Full Bio

Universe

Youneek Youniverse

Real Name

Unknown

Aliases

Fury, Purple Problem

Identity

Publicly Unknown

Citizenship

Unknown

Place of Birth

Unknown

First Appearance

E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One

Origin

E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One

Significant Appearances

E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One

Occupation

Unknown

Known Relatives/Connections

Unknown

Group Affiliations

Unknown

Education

Unknown

Physical Attributes

Height:  5’11

Weight: 135 lbs,

Eyes: Black

Hair: Black

Friend or foe? Enemy or ally? No one truly knows when it comes to Fury. After their “coincidental” encounter, it becomes clear she knows more about Wale’s history than she’s letting on. Extremely proficient in combat, Fury fights with what appears to be the ancient martial arts technique known as Ninjitsu. That, coupled with retractable blades from a pair gauntlets and boots that allow her to move (in short bursts) close to the speed of sound, makes her a lethal opponent in battle.

Art by Chima Kalu

Powers

Fury has the ability to move (in short bursts) at super speeds. She has been clocked at traveling close to the speed of sound and is believed to possibly move even faster. Fury has also been seen to leap from the ground onto buildings as high as 150 feet. It would seem her metallic boots somehow give her these incredible powers.

Abilities

Not much is known about her personal life, however, reports have suggested she is extremely adept at stealth and covert operations. It is rumored she once brought down an entire CREED base without being spotted. With soldiers reporting all they remembered seeing before being knocked out was a purple streak.

Combat Skills

Fury’s combat style suggests she is well versed in the ancient martial arts technique Ninjistsu. That combined with her speed makes her an incredibly evasive combatant, who more than often frustrates her foes by being virtually untouchable. Her agility, grace, speed and quickness, mixed with a natural affinity for aggressive attacks, make her a serious issue for her foes.

Weapons

The Fury gear was designed primarily for speed, agility and evasion. It is comprised of two gauntlets with retractable blades as well as a pair of metallic boots with air vents. It also has a metallic mask that conceals the lower part of the face (from the nose down) only. When triggered, the blades retract from the upper wrist opening. The boots are capable of generating huge amounts of instantaneous energy that allow Fury to move at hyper speed in any direction. However, these speed bursts are limited to a maximum of 50 yards. The boots batteries are charged by kinetic energy Fury generates as she moves.

The post Fury Full Bio appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

EXO Full BIO

Universe

Youneek Youniverse

Real Name

Adewale “Wale” Williams

Aliases

EXO, EXO-NOVA, Herald of Peace

Identity

Publicly Unknown

Citizenship

Nigeria

Place of Birth

Lagos, Nigeria

First Appearance

E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One

Origin

E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One

Significant Appearances

E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams Part One

Occupation

Computer Scientist, CEO/Founder of Williams Works, Hero

Known Relatives/Connections

Dr Williams (Father), Lola Williams (Mother), Jide Williams (uncle), Timi Williams aka Blaze (Brother), Zahra (Love Interest)

Group Affiliations

—

Education

Bsc Computer Engineering, MsC in Computer Science

Physical Attributes

Height:  6’2, 6’4 in EXO Armor

Weight: 210 lbs,  230lbs in EXO Armor

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Over confident, reckless and impatient; These are some of the words that describe this “hero in the making”. Wale’s genius makes him audacious, which more than often leads him into dangerous situations. However, throughout his journey, his bravery, selflessness and strong will show why his true calling is to be a hero. Wale was born and raised in Lagoon City, Nigeria, but fled the country after a tragedy involving his father’s work. This changes Wale’s life forever as his incredible love for his father slowly turns to disdain.

Five years later, Wale returns home due to his father’s “mysterious disappearance” were he finds a Prototype Nanosuit left behind for him. A suit that grants him the ability to manipulate force fields. With his new found motivation to save his city, the E.X.O. suit gives birth to Wale’s alter ego “EXO”, as he tries to defend the city against the sociopathic Oniku. Leader of an extremist group called The CREED.

Art by Babajide Briggs Adebimpe

 

Powers

After having nanites injected into his bloodstream by his father, Wale developed improved reflexes and a heightened use of all five senses. The nanites also act as a power source for the E.X.O. suit granting him super strength, flight capabilities, plus the ability to generate and manipulate Force Fields. Due to the regenerative nature of XION (which the nanites are constructed from), Wale also heals faster than regular human beings.

Abilities

Wale has always been a genius with computers and technology ever since birth, his supreme understanding of technology, computers and their hardware always gives him an advantage in situations surrounding them. While he has both an undergrad degree in computer engineering and a masters in computer science, he lacks the scientific expertise necessary to modify his E.X.O. suit. While not a genius level inventor/scientist like his father he is a capable engineer and a gifted problem solver.

Combat Skills

After being constantly bullied at the age of five, Wale requested his father put him in school for karate lessons. He then went on to become a 2nd degree black belt in two years, becoming a child prodigy. Following his departure from Lagoon City, Wale continued his karate training whilst adding other forms of combat training (such as mixed martial arts Brazilian jiu jitsu). Five years later, he would go on to become a 5th degree karate black belt. Mastering karate and adding secondary martial arts techniques has made him formidable in hand-to-hand combat with a unique blend of acrobatics and striking whether he is inside or out of the E.X.O. suit. Wale’s passion for training comes from his hatred of bullies and the willingness to defend himself and others from all types of oppression.

Weapons

The E.X.O. suit is capable of creating and manipulating force fields, whilst also granting Wale superhuman strength. At full power it can reach flight speeds of Mach 2. In battle, the E.X.O. suit generates force fields/barriers that protect from incoming attacks and projectiles as well as force field constructs (force blasts, force beams, force waves etc.) for attacking opponents.

In the case of underwater dives and space exploration, there is a hidden mouth plate that merges with the visor to create an internal air supply and filtration system that can last for up to one hour.  The suit is also equipped with an artificial intelligence called G.A.I (Genomic Artificial Intelligence), which possesses partial genetics and memories of Dr. Williams. G.A.I comes equipped with a radar, heat and motion detectors, an indications and satellite radio system that allows for audio and video connections.

Dr Williams, creator of the E.X.O. suit, composed it with 99% XION (Pronounced ZION). A unique and extremely rare element. XION has 10x the density of steel while being 1/3 as light and is almost as flexible as plastic. It also has an uncommon characteristic called inorganic renewal, which allows its molecules to regenerate after being damaged.

The post EXO Full BIO appeared first on YouNeek Studios.

Whatever Your Dreams & Aspirations Are, You Can Do It!

So, I just want to drop a quick jolt of motivation this week for anyone out there that may need it.  Yesterday as I was going through my morning routine of promoting E.X.O. on social media, a strange New York number began buzzing on my phone. In my mind I was like “really, another telemarketer this early in the morning?” But I said what the heck and picked up the phone ready to stick it to them! But lo and behold it wasn’t a telemarketer. On the other side of the line was a very sweet and soft spoken lady named Anna. She proceeded to introduce herself and to cut a long story short, she was calling from Saint John’s University in New York. She mentioned a professor had read chapter one of E.X.O. and wanted to order some books for her class this semester! WHAAAA???!!

CLICK TO PRE-ORDER E.X.O.

Awesome isn’t it. After stuttering in shock for about 5 minutes I was able to give her the information she needed for the order! It wasn’t until 10 minutes after I dropped the phone that I realized that I am finally starting to live my dream. I’ve always dreamed of writing my own stories and sharing it with the world and now with my book launching, it’s really about to come true!  I have come a long way since March 2012 when this journey began. To be honest with you at times I truly wanted to give up. On the outside it may look like I have it all figured out but I promise you I don’t. I’m learning every single day. However, the one thing that keeps me going is the fact that I have a dream I truly believe in. As difficult as it gets some days (13 hour work days, various issues with financing, countless rejection from people I believed would help me etc.), I kept on telling myself, keep moving forward and one day it will all make sense. And now, in about 3 weeks I will be holding a physical copy of my first superhero graphic novel! So what is it that you believe in? What are your dreams, goals and aspirations? What is that itch that just won’t leave your mind? Whatever it is, I’m here to tell you, you CAN do it, you CAN make it happen, you CAN make it come true. But the Harsh truth is it’s really only up to you and only you. Only you can decide to take that bold and scary step.

Rather than write a paragraph or two with step by step instructions you may or may not understand (maybe I’ll do that in another post

Will Marvel get Africa “Right” in the Upcoming Black Panther Movie?

For most African comic book enthusiasts it was a complete joy to hear that Marvel was in talks with a female director to take on the role of bringing the live action Black panther movie to reality. It was even better news to hear that they were engaging the acclaimed and highly praised director of Selma (2014) a movie about the civil rights movement, Ava Duvernay. I for one was as skeptical as ever. The reason for my skepticism stemmed not only from the fact that Marvel is behind this film and their recent movies assume a very adolescent tone but from a more personal opinion; one which is deeply rooted in my identity as an African and the knowledge that neither Marvel nor the creator of the Black Panther himself know about the real Africa, therefore they couldn’t possibly know what Wakanda really is.

Earlier this July it was reported that Selma Director Ava Duvernay had declined the offer from Marvel to direct the film after meeting the cast and the executives. A lot of diplomatic terms were used in her comments to the press regarding why she turned down ( or excused herself) from the film but in a nutshell she cited avoiding future creative differences about how Marvel wanted to tell the story and ultimately tackle and integrate the Black Panther into the Marvel cinematic universe. She spoke to essence magazine saying,

“I’m not signing on to direct Black Panther. I think I’ll just say we had different ideas about what the story would be. Marvel has a certain way of doing things and I think they’re fantastic and a lot of people love what they do. I loved that they reached out to me. I loved meeting Chadwick and writers and all the Marvel execs. In the end, it comes down to story and perspective. And we just didn’t see eye to eye. Better for me to realize that now than cite creative differences later. “

I am of the opinion that her views and ambition was to create a realistic an non stylized version of the kingdom of Wakanda which is the world (or country ) from which the Black Panther T’Challa comes from . I am also of the belief that Marvel knows that the classic representation of Wakanda in the Marvel comic books needs to be kept consistent with the film though the so called classic representation of Wakanda is backward, underdeveloped and down-right derogative. I feel as though MARVEL has a challenge to represent Wakanda with a high level of sophistication and technological advancement without shattering the American and European belief that Africa is a backward place which is trapped in the stone age. I believe our current reality of being strong, intelligent, educated and sophisticated people is more unrealistic to their audience than comic book super heroes themselves.

The representation of Asgard, the world where Thor comes from in the second Thor film was heavily modified from Norse Mythology in order to give the impression of superiority and technological genius. By that I am referring to the flying air craft and aesthetic of Asgard. I’m also talking about their references to having advanced medical procedures which they could not use to help even Jane Foster. However there is no reference to medicine or spaceships in the original mythology of Norse gods. My point being; in order to imbue the gods of Asgard with an aura of superiority which supersedes that of the worlds super powers in reality, Marvel needed to step it up a notch. The question is: are Marvel and Kevin Feige willing to accord Wakanda some sort of African Authenticity? Will Johannesburg (As seen in The Avengers Age Of Ultron ) look more modern or less sophisticated than Wakanda by the time the credits start rolling?? Or are they going to succumb to western perceptions (that they would fear to shatter) which state that Africa is a dark place where everyone runs around in mud-hut villages hunting impala with bones going through our noses?

I’m of the belief that the depiction that Duvernay was going to give was going to stay true to the beauty and potential of Africa as seen in countries with modern and Advanced infrastructure such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and all the others I can not name due to limitations on word count. I am of the strong impression that the so called future creative differences or incompatible ideas had much to do with representation of culture, spirituality and maturity of the African continent which would have been too profound for Marvel’s large American adolescent audience.

Don’t get me wrong I am not saying that Ava Duvernay was the perfect person for the job; What I’m saying at this point in time is that, the best person for the job can only be someone with a strong, authentic and long term relationship with the African continent while also having vast knowledge of the Marvel universe and the Black Panther comic books in particular. Either way, Wakanda is a puzzle that Marvel created but can never solve without offending or misrepresenting Africa and Africans. I will be following the production of the film closely but I suspect it will be a long one.

 

The views and opinions represented in this article are the authors own and do not represent the Opinions of Youneek studios.

Eugene Ramirez Mapondera is an entrepreneur, comic book artist and professional illustrator based in Harare Zimbabwe. He has a Bsc in Political Science From the University of Zimbabwe and writes articles for www.sigmadigital-studio.com and www.comexposed.com He also has IMDB film credits for his work on American indie films such as Boston and UK produced film The Secret Princess.

 

 

SHARING IS CARING
1

 

Subscribe For Updates & To Read Chapter 1 of E.X.O. FREE!


Your NameYour Email*

PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The post Will Marvel get Africa “Right” in the Upcoming Black Panther Movie? appeared first on YouNeek Studios.