Dreaming of a comic explosion

The organiser of the Comics and Cartoons Carnival, Sewedo Nupowakwu, speaks on the prospects and problems of the Nigerian comic industry.

"Comics are life, or at least a creative representation of life. They're a bonafide medium of expression depending on what you put into it. You can talk about anything in comics," says Sewedo Nupowakwu, comic enthusiast, illustrator and writer, who has been living his dream of publishing comics through his Revolution Studios.

Comic, not cartoon

Nupowakwu's romance with Nigeria's comic industry started 15 years ago; he took a decisive step towards bringing comics to the awareness of Nigerians in 2005 when, along with kindred souls, he convened the first Comics and Cartoons Carnival. It was held as part of the Lagos Book and Arts Festival (LABAF).

Apart from making the comic industry vibrant, Nupowakwu also wants to right a perceived wrong. "People mistake comics for cartoons. Comics are a graphical illustration of issues and idiosyncrasies, but cartoons are funnier. Comics can be very serious. It's as exciting as any medium out there. Hollywood makes a lot of money from comic books turned into movies," he says.

Journey into comics

Nupowakwu's conduit into drawing and writing were comics and the popular children's illustrated Bible text, ‘My Book of Bible Stories'. It became obvious where his destiny lay when he drew comics in primary school, made illustrations for his church press and almost mortgaged his sandals in secondary school for comic books.

Although he read law at the University of Lagos, the illustrator still found outlets for his creativity; and he joined an advertising agency instead of a law firm in 2002 after graduation. "There was no place for me to express myself in comics because there were no (comic) publishers then," he explains.

The idea of a forum where comic and cartoon lovers could meet was mooted soon enough, with other creative minds like Ayo Arigbabu, who took over from novelist Jude Dibia in writing the dialogue of ‘Moremi', Nupowakwu's first comic. With more people showing interest, he contacted the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) for a cartoon and comic segment to LABAF.

"Everything is finance"

Things have not been easy. "Our capacity has been hampered by a lack of resources and time," Nopuwakwu says. "We are still at that stage where it is difficult to get the attention we need. If people feel we are not relevant, the energy will dissipate, even with the little pockets of creativity doing their thing. In Nigeria, everything is finance.

"It's a chicken and egg thing. Unless people get to use comics to put food on their tables, companies will not show interest." But with the emergence of big companies like Pandora Comics, who were among the sponsors of the 2007 cartoon carnival, Nupowakwu believes the future is bright.

Joining the mainstream

Happily, Nupowakwu has discovered what he considers a way of breaking into the mainstream. He says, based on research, the Nollywood route looks best, and with his upcoming ‘Nollywood in illustration' series, Nupowakwu feels he may have found a way out of the woods.

The first of the series is titled ‘Nollywood's Finest'. "It will be like well told soap operas in comic form," he says. With Joy Isi-Bewaji (author of ‘Eko Dialogue') writing some of the stories and women making a large chunk of the target audience, the odds seem to favour him. His targets also include Nollywood watchers who he hopes will be bowled over by the illustrations and cerebral content.

Apart from working closely with Nollywood stars, Nupowakwu also plans to start a series around the musical group, the Roof Top MCs. "To push comics to the mainstream, it is important to make comics people can relate to. Something down to earth that evolves round real life situations that people can identify with." He reveals that it was Fela's mother that advised him to work on material that people can understand.

The upcoming Comic and Cartoon Carnival in November, he says, "is truly going to be an international event. We are getting participants from outside the country. This fifth edition is going to be a blast."

The artist, who fantasises about making illustrated versions of books like ‘Forest of a Thousand Demons', Wole Soyinka's translation of the D.O. Fagunwa's ‘Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole,' has a word for the public: "Comic lovers and publishers should work smarter, not harder. Anyone who will finance this industry is sitting on a gold mine and will reap great financial rewards."