Transcript

Speaker: Hi, I'm Crypt, the Ancient Blood, and I'm here to geek out on manga, manual, light novels and other types of comic books. Welcome to this episode in which I continue my interview with Radu of Tana. Enjoy. When I was living with other Africans at some point, I was living with people from Togo and Kongo. I was also hanging out with

Speaker: people from all over a bunch of different African countries. And when they would cook their rice, using my rice cooker, mind you, and they would put a bunch of stuff in it, they would put oil, they would put salt and a bunch of spices. I don't think rice cookers were meant to take all those ingredients.

Speaker: Indeed, indeed. So I was really shocked. I was like, what are you doing in this poor rice cooker? Why would you do this? What you should have done is proballed it in it and then now move to your pot. Yeah, but actually, it works. Actually, it's like you cannot deny the results. It's technically it's a technically valid method. It was just I was not familiar with it. They even cooked stuff. They even fried stuff in the rice cooker like bacon and tomatoes and

Speaker: and onions, you know, basic stuff, if you want. Yeah. So yeah, on one hand, I was like, this is wrong. But then I was like, maybe it's not that wrong. But it's still wrong. But yeah, in Madagascar, we cook the rice very plainly, very simply. And then we have the other stuff. We have the sauces and the soups and the broth and everything. And you add it yourself afterwards.

Speaker: Yeah, we don't have to have like jollof rice. So like stew or something? Yeah, so basically like every African and everyone at Jasper was like gatekeeping jollof rice by lying about it and joking about it like, oh no, like I lost all my teeth after I ate jollof rice or all kinds of horrible things that happened to me. Don't try this. This is horrible. Don't try this. Jollof. Yeah.

Speaker: So that was funny. Okay. So you were talking about tapas before. I don't know if it's specific to tapas, but

Speaker: A couple of your issues of Andrava, you would show off, let's call it fan art from other creators. Yes, yeah, guest art. Guest art, that's it. And you would also do the same for other artists to draw their own characters and stuff. Oh, really? You found my guest art for other webcomics? You work hard. It's actually fun. Research is fun, so long as it's a topic you're interested in. I'm trying to think back of how many guest art pieces I've done. Not that many.

Speaker: So that's actually what I wanted to talk about. To me, it felt like there's this community that you're a part of, artists and the rest, but how did you guys come to find each other? How did you guys create the community? Was it all on tapas? Was it somewhere else? Was it everywhere? Kind of everywhere, I guess. The last one I did was for Vain Glorious, I think. Yeah, that's the last one I found.

Speaker: Yeah, that was the last one, which is a webcomic published on Hivork by an Australian artist called Kelly, who's very fun, very nice and very funny. Bye Kelly! And Kelly and I, I think we found each other on Twitter. So yeah, a bunch of artists these days.

Speaker: maybe it's going to change soon because twitter is such a wild place anyway but uh for the last years artists have mostly been on twitter as far as i can tell twitter

Speaker: Tumblr was very big at some point also, but not so much. Instagram is very complicated. You can do things on Instagram, but personally it never really worked out for me. If it's just finding people and connecting with people, Instagram and Twitter, for me, those were the best places.

Speaker: Tumblr, I've never understood how Tumblr works. Tumblr is the most mystifying place for me when it comes to sharing art and trying to connect with artists. Why? How? Sorry, let me answer your question first. Okay, so basically either on Twitter or on Tapas or on Webtoon,

Speaker: No, not weapon just tap us because tap us is a good commenting system you get notifications where people comment Yeah, there's also a private messaging system. So, you know if you find someone and you really like they work you can tell them And if they want to check out you work to and like it Oh, there's also a mastodon Some I'm not there anymore these days, but okay, I tried after Elon bought Twitter and

Speaker: But I never really dug into it. I'm not really a fan of social media. Like at all. But yeah, me. But yeah, basically what happens is you tell someone you like their webcomic and if they like yours too, and then at some point if you have a break during your comic or something like that, you try to tell them, hey, do you want to draw some guest art from a webcomic? And if they say yes, and they have the time to make it, then you have some guest art. It's pretty cool. Sounds nice.

Speaker: I know certain industries like writers collaborating isn't always that easy, especially if one of you is supposed to be a lot bigger than the other. Yeah, people... Not everyone is as secure in their self -worth and their passions. You are a crypto. People make themselves feel special the way they can. I think it's less about making yourself feel special, at least for me.

Speaker: growing up I was a weirdo, I was a freak, probably even into my childhood. I think people were still calling me that. And that was just because I was interested in things or doing things that they did not understand or were not popular. And to me, I just embraced it. Like was the worst that can happen. So me and my friends, like we just redefined a lot of things.

Speaker: Yeah, stuff like weird. Yes, I'm weird. And what else? Like, it doesn't, it's supposed to hurt, because they say it's spitefully. But instead, you show them that no, actually, it's an accolade. Imagine it to the list of things I am. Same thing applies. Yes, or like being a bomb would call ourselves bombs. But then we, that's because we're freelancers. And it's, you know, a bomb is supposed to be somebody that has

Speaker: no occupation or no source of income and it's just there. Maybe living on the streets and stuff. So it would be funny because our community didn't understand freelancing at the time either. So we would call ourselves bombs, but we still get work or something like. Wow, you guys are so cool. Or we could still afford to do certain things. So couch potatoes, we would call ourselves that too, because apparently we spend too much time watching stuff

Speaker: or playing games, but they probably spend more time than you because at night you're probably working because that's the best time to work. Just funny things like that. I think you're right about the self worth. I think you need to become comfortable with yourself and the flaws, not just the pros, but also the things about you that are supposed to be

Speaker: bad or off or make you different. Those are things that you should celebrate the most, I think. And you will definitely find other people like you that believe the same things you do and eventually you guys can build the community around it. You don't need everybody to like you. Like everybody should have an opinion. Everybody should be free to have their own opinions and the rest. Just don't for sit down and everybody else has to do it. Yeah, I feel similarly. One thing I would say

Speaker: This was all very, very cool. You're very cool and inspiring and I'm like what you say and how you've inspired your community and you shared your passion like relentlessly despite the opposition. That's like really, really, really cool. One thing I will say, first of all, is that I feel like in third world countries, third world regions like in Africa, for example, Latin America,

Speaker: I feel like being an otaku or anime game fan was relatively easier than in the West, in countries like the US, especially. Because personally, every time I would see a nerd get bullied in a Western show, I would always kind of think like, this is really extreme. Man, just like Naruto, it's not that big of a deal.

Speaker: much more valid reasons to persecute your fellow man you know what I'm saying for me that stuff was always almost ridiculous in how how extreme it was and me personally growing up in high school I did feel a bit like an outcast not like an outcast but like just a tiny bit weird back then I listened to a lot of pop punk music and I had sound

Speaker: tribe of fellow otaku people so yeah we had it good it was nice it was a great time but also not everyone was openly into Naruto and other stuff like that back then and then in university my social circle started expanding a bit more and actually anyway yeah and some people who I identified as like the cool kids would tell me that they also like Naruto

Speaker: So I'd think, oh, okay, so you like that too? Oh, okay. Oh, good to know. And you're not ashamed to admit it. Back then I thought, okay, it's great. It's great. Let's change it. I think it's a society that has shifted because I've actually seen what you described as a big extreme. Oh, in Nigeria? Yes. And it's, I think it's, if I even till today, there are people that still have to put up with stuff like that.

Speaker: I've had to defend younger kids because maybe I'm passing, but I happen to be around and I hear other kids bullying them because they're interested in anime or something like that. Yeah, so it's still going on, but I think it's a lot better now than it used to be.

Speaker: Yeah, yeah, no. Yeah, definitely. Now it's our guys are even doing the bullying like they would say they would find people insulting others because they don't watch anime or something like Yeah, why should that be a problem? Yeah, I remember before I got married

Speaker: Um, people would say that the only reason why I hadn't married was because I was looking for an anime fan. I said, no, I'm not like, I'm looking for somebody that would respect anime. So you don't have somebody complaining constantly that because you're watching anime or playing a game or something, because she would still be watching stuff she enjoys. She'll probably be playing Candy Crush on her phone too. Like, so it's not like you're doing anything out of the norm. It's just that the, the style or the taste is different.

Speaker: So here there was a time when Indian movies were really popular and then I think seeing Filipino shows then those Latin American shows at one point even now I think they're still kind of really popular but then Korean shows have now taken over like these things have been popular at one point in time or the other but then I'm very sure that if in the 90s you had brought Korean shows to them you would have turned them away. But now they're fans.

Speaker: So it's like a cultural shift. And if you're swimming against the tide, people will complain. Yeah. Where does it mean that the content is any less than what they are watching or what they are enjoying at that point in time? Indeed. Very wise words. Very wise, man. Now that you've mentioned it, I think there's another thing also about our regions that makes us more open -minded. It's probably different in Nigeria because you guys have Nollywood, right? Yes.

Speaker: But Madagascar, like, growing up, there was some, like, some very, like, made Madagascar movies, right? Okay. Nowadays, there's a lot more Madagascar productions. There's a bit of a renaissance of Madagascar cinema, I would say, you could argue. Not the most impressive of renaissance, but you know, they're trying their best. Oh, no, I was too mean. That was mean. I'm sorry.

Speaker: Anyway. But yeah, growing up, I was like, yeah, just give me whatever, man. Just French stuff, telenovela, American stuff. I don't care. I don't have my own stuff. You know, I'll watch your stuff if it's good. Like everybody should enjoy what they enjoy. Like you shouldn't be forcing people to like your stuff. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, what I'm saying, what I'm trying to say is that our country, we didn't have our own stuff. There was only other people. There was a lot of other people's stuff. Yeah. So yeah. So yeah. Okay. Funny story. Funny story. I used to think that Jesus was from Madagascar. Can you guess why?

Speaker: Yeah, because you didn't see him anywhere else. No, that was not why. Because they would play movies with very rare stuff. Madagascar dubs movies. And Jesus was in there. Jesus movies. So I would see Jesus speaking in Malagasy on the TV. So I thought like, yeah, all those other people as Hollywood

Speaker: stars, French movie stars, all those people there. Yeah, there's somewhere out there, I guess, making their stuff and everything like good for them. Yeah. And it's pretty impressive stuff. Like, yeah, that's cool. But yeah, at least we have Jesus. I was like, Jesus was my country's contribution.

Speaker: To the world. As far as I understood it back then, he looked like a pretty big deal. So I was like, hey, at least we have Jesus. So how did you feel when the bubble burst? You found out that, no, he's not even from Africa. I was... Oh yeah, I was fine with that. It's not that big of a deal. Because also growing up,

Speaker: If you've seen pictures of me, you will notice that I'm pretty light skinned. Especially the parts of my body that do not get to see the sunlight. But Madagascar people, we're essentially an Afro -Asian mix. There's people from Proto -Taiwan and people from Mozambique, Bantu people from Mozambique.

Speaker: Yeah. And Austronesians from Proto -Taiwan. And they arrived in Madagascar around 600 years ago. So, DNA has had a lot of time to mix, you know? Yeah. So Madagascar people like, it's a huge lottery. You never know what you're gonna get. Hair texture, eye shape, lips, nose, skin tone. And that actually sounds cool.

Speaker: Yeah, in some ways, it's very cool indeed. I can see parents and grandparents making beds. Yeah, that would be funny. If they're open minded enough about it. Okay, actually, yes. Depends on people. But yeah, in my family, I'm definitely one of the ones with the lightest skin. My brother, I think, has the darkest skin among us siblings.

Speaker: at least growing up his hair is also kinky and my sister also had pretty kinky hair growing up i hope no one takes offense to the word kinky hair i like i like the word kinky hair

Speaker: that sounds like a you problem if you don't like it man I'm sorry I'm sorry but anyway so growing up and in the capital there would be people from all over even more nowadays but people from all over the different provinces and regions in Madagascar right so growing up I was around the Malaysian people basically

Speaker: Some people look more African than others, and some people look more Asian than others. But basically, you don't really question that kind of stuff growing up. It's just like, yeah, it's us, we're here. This is what we look like. This is all very normal. But yeah, but growing up watching foreign content, I was thinking like, okay, so some of those people kind of look like me. None of them look really like me, you know?

Speaker: So I always had this impression of like, so what am I? What am I? Where am I? Where are we? What is this place? What is? So yeah. Yeah. So when I learned that Jesus was not actually from Madagascar, I was like, yeah, no, it makes sense. I was like, the hair was, I guess the hair was a dead giveaway about it. I was too naive.

Speaker: Okay, so, earlier on you mentioned Korea. Yes. I heard on a grapevine that you're not at Madagascar right now. I think you've mentioned it earlier. I'm not in Madagascar. Right now, huh? Indeed, I am not. I'm in Seoul. I'm in Seoul, Korea right now. So, what are you doing there?

Speaker: I am a third -year animation student. I'm a third -year animation scholarship student at the Korean National University of Arts. Thank you very much, Korean government, Korean taxpayers, Korean Ministry of Culture, and everyone else who helped me get here. Thank you, thank you. There's a way you mentioned this scholarship, bro. I'm sure you probably want to get into it later on, but then there's a way you mentioned it that just reminded me of an efiku, like

Speaker: Yeah, we would call it somebody that knows book too much. So you know, I'm really smart. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah, let's talk about this. This is I like this. Let's talk about this. Okay, so if you think I'm really smart, and talented and special and things like that, please don't.

Speaker: And also, if you've been to school with me, most of, most of, for most of my town in school, you already know I'm not that smart. So it's, so it's good. Actually funny thing about the scholarship, when I got it, the language of congratulations email, the acceptance email, it was so over the top.

Speaker: And so congratulary in tone that it went to my spam folder. And I didn't know about it until someone else called me to tell you, wait, they even called. Have you checked your email? Because, you know, we sent you something like weeks ago and you should have called us by now to say thank you. And we haven't seen actually my friend, my friend from the embassy called to congratulate the

Speaker: And I was like, what are you talking about? They even called my other friend, my Korean Canadian friend in Canada, to tell him, hey, your boy's not responding to our email. Is he OK? No, maybe he was like, nah, he's not impressed with your face. Oh, yeah, actually, yeah, Gmail was not impressed by your email. You sounded like a Nigerian prince in your email. Exactly.

Speaker: So that happened. And then afterwards, a very, very, very long time. Every time I would, I would joke about it, actually, because one word that they repeated often would be the elite. You could be like, oh, congratulations. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: No, I'm saying, no, I'm telling you it's wrong. And I was joking with my mom, I was like, so what's it like being the mother of the elite? Every time I would do something stupid or mess up, I would be like, yeah, that's how it is. That's how we do it. That's how we roll. You wouldn't get it.

Speaker: Like I would trip and they'll be like, I caught me sleeping. But you know, that's the life for you. So how easy was it to get the scholarship? Like, it was not easy at all. It was not easy at all. I would have not been able to do it without the help and support of a lot of people. And asking for help is not easy either. Even just I still don't know how to ask for help. You'll get there.

Speaker: Hopefully. Yeah, as someone who's helped a lot of people and he keeps helping a lot of people. Who's that? That's you, Crypti. You're the one. Well, how? Anyway, anyway, but yeah, but seriously, for a very, very long time, every time I would think about how I was a scholarship student, knowing myself, like how much of a lazy procrastinator, lazy bum I am, I was like,

Speaker: This is very disappointing. This really ruins my image of scholarship students. How could you guys let me slip through the cracks? Yeah, it's like, my god. Embarrassed. Embarrassed. Yeah, but also I need the money. So you know, I'll take it. Nowadays, my thinking has shifted. But since then,

Speaker: Since then, like I said, a lot of people have worked very hard for me to get here. And I cannot deny them for the sake of my ego. This reminds me of my favorite quote from Gondam. Gondam. I am blood at all levels.

Speaker: Oh, okay. I haven't seen that one. I think it's one of my best because it's, it's, it's, it's a sad reason, but then because of the child soldiers, I don't know why, but it just resonates with me. Favorite quote from the anime was this woman girl royalty type thing. I think it was a politician or something. I said, she has a responsibility to everybody that helped her get to where she is. So that's more or less what you just said. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: powerful stuff. Which character said that? I remember her name, but she's supposed to be like the benefactor you'd understand when you watch it. Okay. But it's a bunch of child soldiers that work for this private military force. Then the force gets decimated and they're left with the kids. Is she a minor character or is she? No, she's a major character. Oh, okay.

Speaker: I don't know why, but Lacus Klein keeps on coming to my mind when I think about her. Lacus from Wing, I think. Oh, Wing. Wing was my first Gundam. I need to watch Wing properly. Wing looks really cool. But yeah, Gundam is a very cool franchise. I haven't seen that many Gundam stories, but I like what I've seen. No, I love Gundam.

Speaker: I have a friend that was a huge fan, like the biggest fan I knew of Gondam. He was such a big fan that when I introduced him to Code Geese, he refused to watch it for years. And it was, people couldn't understand why. It was just, have you, it would be people asking, have you watched Code Geese? He said, no. Why? And I was like, yeah. And that's how it would be. So eventually I told them that, okay, see, the reason why this guy probably hasn't watched Gondam, I'm sorry, Code Geese up till now is because he's afraid that it's going to steal

Speaker: this slot he has given to Gundam and he looked at me like, how did you know? Okay, I like that. But yeah, I think we should always, it doesn't matter what your relationships are later on in the future, but give credit to those that helped you get to where you are always. Well, first you need to realize

Speaker: who helped you get to where you are? Actually, yes. You need to know that they exist. And this is the part they plead. Yeah, which is also difficult in a capitalistic society where the story of the self made man. Do you want the person that told you that there's a scholarship that exists? Or do you want the person that drove you to actually apply for the, like, it's

Speaker: There are so many people. Even before I got in the scholarship, everyone who told me that I should pursue a career in art and that my artists, they like my drawings and that I could become, I could make something out of it. Anyone that's ever seen value in my drawings, I think. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, the person who told me about the scholarship also, they were, I really need to do more, give back more to them because

Speaker: For most fans, I think your way of giving back, the people that inspired you, that kept you drawing, even when you did not believe in yourself, those people, I think just by doing it, you're rewarding them. I hope so, yeah. One thing about me also is that... I don't know how many people feel this way or can express that they feel this way. I guess it's a very privileged thing to say.

Speaker: started with on Java, but nowadays I feel this way about all of my stories. Yeah. And it's funny because what I want to say is that I don't feel like they're my story. Like, they're not just mine. I have nothing is mine alone. I, I am. Actually, there's a, I mean, let me give you a cool quote. Yeah. Oh, actually, I think I remember it.

Speaker: The quote is that nothing about me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever met. Yes. That is a cool quote. Yes. It's pretty good, isn't it? It's not for me. It's not for someone else. It doesn't matter. No, it matters because on the internet, if you don't credit people. Okay. And no, yes. But still you remembered to remember. Yeah.

Speaker: But yeah, so, yeah, for example, Hanzawa, it's like, it's like, it's not my experiences, stuff I see, other people's lives. Like we briefly talked about it, but like, my experience, if you try to see what part of my personal life is in Hanzawa, it's not the most intense, there's barely any of it.

Speaker: It's not my story. It's not mine alone. Like, yeah, sure. I'm the guy drawing it, I guess, but it's a people's story. Yeah. Yeah. It's our, it's our story. That's why, that's why I'm trying to say us an hour a lot right now. Celebrating, like I said, in this period of celebration of the cancellation of our, I'm saying like, thank you for this. We made this together. Yeah.

Speaker: Obviously, that's not a very good way of thinking if you're trying to make money, but like I said, very privileged. The world goes around in a certain way, so that's why you see millionaires having foundations and doing philanthropy. There's a way giving back actually helps you move forward. I mean, yeah, you have to believe that, yes. Okay, I found the name of the... I cannot pronounce this, I apologize in advance, but

Speaker: Nothing of me is original. I'm the combined effort of everyone I've ever known. Is a quote by Pala, Pala Nook. I don't know him. In Invisible Monster. So Charles Michael Chuck Pala Nook is an American novelist who makes trans, transgressionals fiction. So yeah. Maybe I should check out the book. Do you have the time to check out? Well, if I get the audio book,

Speaker: And then I listen to it while I'm doing other stuff. Then yes, I do have the time. Yeah, audiobooks are very nice. Thank God for audiobooks. Like I still prefer physical books. Nothing beats holding a book in your hands, flipping the pages and everything. But with so little time, I just had to succumb to audiobooks. So where do you listen to your audiobooks? Audible? Audible, yeah. Okay, okay. I think they have the best selection for now.

Speaker: Yeah, definitely. But yeah, there was a time when I used something called LibriVox to listen to Russian literature. And it's amateur stuff. It's all people doing it for free. So the quality varies, kind of varies. But yeah, that's the cool thing about Creative Commons. It's like, hey, it's here. Let's all enjoy it together. And on the other side of that spectrum, you have

Speaker: companies like Apple, yes, creating a not AI narrator zombies. So, so they can create infinite audio books without even properly compensating. Anyway, like this is another entirely different rabbit who about to jump into it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Let's look at there too. Like we said,

Speaker: The cynical stuff will be for Sunday night. Let's get the casual and chill and nice and vibey. Okay, but do you do commissions? Sometimes I try, but that's complicated. Damn it. Why do you ask? For everybody that wants to commission you to do art for them, duh. There's not that many people who want to commission.

Speaker: But the people who do, the people who have, everyone who's ever commissioned me or who's ever considered doing it, you guys are the best. Thank you so much. Oh my God, you're the best. Actually, I recently took some commissions real quick because I'm getting Clip Studio Paint. Now on, my webcomics will be made on Clip Studio Paint. Adobe can go die in a ditch as far as I'm concerned.

Speaker: Yeah, it's going to look much, much, much, much better. It's great stuff. Thank you, everyone who's given me money so I can buy Clips Studio Paint. Yeah, I think they just upgraded the software one. I think that's the one that they had. Is it a Paint Studio or something studio? And they merged them into this one. I don't know that much about it, but there's a lot of stuff on the Clips Studio Paint. It's frankly amazing. And the price is just criminally low. Yeah, there's animation now.

Speaker: I have not tried it yet, but yeah, you can do manga, you can do webcomic, you can do vertical scroll webtoon style stuff, you can do animation, it's amazing. When I still had hopes of pursuing art years back, I remember somebody gave me a copy. So yeah, I remember it's, it's, I don't know, it's just impressive. Every time I see it, it's like, they just keep on getting better and better and everybody keeps on, like people keep on jumping on it. Like see, you know? Yeah.

Speaker: And there's even, even the pipe, even the, right now they have two options. You can buy, you can, you have a one time payment option. That's the one I'm getting for now. Or subscription. Yeah, or subscription. And both financially, both are very, very interesting. It's like, it's just amazing. It's just great. I will happily give my money to companies like that. Oh, and speaking of AI art,

Speaker: Obviously, a lot of very greedy companies can't wait to implement that stuff. Some of them have been a bit more careful about it because they're afraid of legal repercussions. But overall, greedy people are gonna greed, you know? Are you afraid of AI art? Are you afraid I would steal your jobs? Oh, that's a good question. Excellent question.

Speaker: Right now, I'm not. Once again, I'm very privileged in that regard. And one of the reasons is a very, very cool reason, actually. Yeah, basically, not too long ago, like a couple months ago, some Lagos -based Nigerian artists pointed out that

Speaker: mid journey. If you tell it, if you say, for example, show me an African superhero, show me a Nigerian Spider Man. Yeah, I remember those pictures. Yeah, you saw it. So so it was like, we still have hope like that kind. They can't beat us in our own game, at least not for now. Yeah, the thing about the stereotypes about Africa and how much how little

Speaker: the rest of the world cares or knows about African culture and life and folklore and history. That niche was always there. That was always a good storytelling opportunity. But now, it's even more interesting.

Speaker: In fact, I remember those images and a lot of them looked like Black Panther, which just reinforces my point about Black Panther. People have not heard our discussion about Black Panther. I'm sure I've mentioned it like anywhere and everywhere.

Speaker: I haven't listened to more lifeblood. I know it might not even be on lifeblood. Maybe I mentioned on lifeblood, but I tried. I'm not attacking any body or anything, but then... Someone goes and says Wakanda forever and Krifti's over there like, Wakanda never. How about Wakanda never? How about Selah? Okay, it's not that bad. It's just that the way we celebrate it, it's the best thing since Jollof rice, not toast.

Speaker: I don't agree. It's just a lot of Western symbolism and ideas go into the designs or the characters and the clothes, the technology. So it just feels like a skin. It's like you're putting an African skin on the ideas and concepts that already exist. Yes, yes, yes. I agree.

Speaker: So even the way it's like a mishmash of different cultures, because you have different languages, you have different, like, it's just a mess. Wakanda, they should have just picked an African country and created a dialect out of it or something. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I agree. I agree. But, but, but Crypty, Crypty, you talked about this. We have to be kind about this. No, I am kind. I am kind. Like, I'm not attacking anybody. I'm just saying that, you know, it's nice that we have, yeah,

Speaker: Black Panther and hopefully would we will get more authentic? African yeah superheroes Yeah, but again, I'm really a fan of this superhero genre in general, but you know those that are fans Yeah, yeah, oh you should look you should check for Captain Africa in Nigerian comic strip guide I used to be in newspapers. I'm not sure if he's still in newspapers, but you should check him out Okay. Okay. It's also now. It's also the same thing but

Speaker: I'm not saying it's excellent. I'm not saying it's bad. Just check. Adventure is a Captain Africa mighty jungle Avenger. You get my point. Yeah. One thing I want to say about Black Panther though is especially to the African Americans. I listened to this one day. It's like African Americans are Black Americans.

Speaker: you're allowed to enjoy Black Panther. Yes, you are. Even Africans are allowed to enjoy Black Panther. It's not a hate thing. It's just when people say it's an authentic African, you know, we're finally getting an authentic African superhero. No, actually we're not. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't watch it. I'm a huge fan of B movies.

Speaker: And I like them because they are. No, no, no. I'm just saying I'm not calling black. I don't use that example. Like, okay. Like I wouldn't call Tarantino a Scorsese, but I love Tarantino stuff because of some of the nonsense that goes on in them. So it's not about perfection. It's about what the media, the emotions, the media evokes in you.

Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Look, I don't understand why I love it so much. And it's okay. Like, they don't. You know, like, you should read Solan in. Okay, I will. Yes. And then cry along with me. Then you're gonna have to wait for the big man tears.

Speaker: Did you check out the demons destruction? Yes, actually recommended in the episode. Oh, yes. It's the same manga. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Who was it that I said should check it out? Anyway, anyway, I'd like to make a closing statement regarding Black Panther. Michael B. Jordan is obviously a national treasure. He's amazing.

Speaker: I want to thank Michael B. Jordan's mother for raising him and sharing him with us. And also, I know that it's hard for you, ma 'am, to see your son get brutalized on TV and in theaters all the time, but you still let it happen. Thank you very much, Michael B. Jordan. Okay, so that's number one. Number two.

Speaker: Killmonger is my favorite villain in the MCU. Yes. And even when he goes bad, like some people argue in the second half of the movie, he becomes evil and he wants to conquer the world and suddenly it's out of character, blah, blah, blah. I disagree. I love him even more because of that. And for me, Killmonger represents very, very, very well.

Speaker: the way that I imagine black Americans feel about Africa and the relationship of Africans. Okay, when he puts it like that, then yes, I kind of agree with that. Yeah. When Killmonger says things like... A on T. No, not that, not that. That stuff is just cute and funny. We talked about that, but when Killmonger says things like... When Killmonger's dad tells him that

Speaker: Even when he comes to Africa, people will not welcome him and will tell him that he's the one who's lost. As much as I could, I think I felt that. And then when he replies that maybe we're not the ones who are lost, maybe we're the ones who need to remind them it's a way. And when he wants to hurt the world back because the world hurt him and rejected him, when he says that he wants to be

Speaker: buried in the ocean like his ancestors who jumped from the slave ships. For me, his honesty about his rage and his sadness and his rejection, his rejection of the world because the world rejected him. For me, that's very, very powerful, very human stuff. That's like, I love all of him.

Speaker: I agree. I haven't seen his character in Marvel What If. No, you don't. You don't. You don't. OK, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Gripty. I will never see it. And I haven't seen Wakanda forever. I've tried. Oh, you tried. But don't worry, I'll get through it. I'll get through it eventually. And then we can have our Wakanda episode.

Speaker: Maybe not this podcast, maybe a different show. Okay, so there's this thing we do at the end of the show where I share a reading list with listeners. Now the list has to consist of things for people that are interested in what we discussed and people that are not interested in what we discussed. So you get to do the honors this time. Give us a call. Let's add a mix to it.

Speaker: Strictly African comics, if you have... Strictly African comics? Do you have that many? Oh, do I have any? Oh, I do have any. Okay, so... For fans of Handrava and then for non -fans of Handrava. To maybe two or three of each. Okay, so... Okay, okay, so... Okay, so these are by women from Cote d 'Ivoire, the Ivory Coast. Yeah.

Speaker: And I love them a lot a lot. They're slice -of -life African comics. I think I know the comic you're about to mention. If it says that, it's on the list. You probably know it. Is it a market? No, it's not a market. Keep on going, keep on going. So one of them is a children's comics called Akisi.

Speaker: Akisi, Tales of Mischief. I only have one volume, unfortunately, but I love it a lot. It's really fun. And the other one, I think it's her more popular work, which she writes it and her husband illustrates it. I think this is Ayah of Yop City or Ayah du Yopougon in French. Yeah, I think that's it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Which also has

Speaker: which also has an animated adaptation. Oh, it does. I didn't know that. The comics go on for much, much longer. So it's like a long -running story. There's even stuff that happens. There's even a character, as far as I know, there's a character who moves to France. But they keep in touch with the protagonist. It's real, authentic.

Speaker: authentic like sincere african slice of life story it's it's just beautiful honestly i need to watch it yeah um it was on the list the reason why hand driver beat it for me was because of the art i prefer hand driver's art oh okay so with the stuff on her head walking and in that scene i think in the first issue or something where she's like in the market or something kind of stuff on her head

Speaker: crowd of people. That's the image I saw and now it has to be this one first. Oh, okay. Well, there's very similar imagery in those two comics I mentioned. The art style is not as anime, manga, spy. But yeah, for me personally, it's like,

Speaker: Even just seeing the colors, seeing the textures on the clothes and seeing the markets, seeing the red soil. When I see that stuff, well, my soul burns slower. It's just... One thing.

Speaker: One thing worth mentioning is that these kind of works, like I said, Marguerite Abois, she's a writer, but the illustrator, at least for Aya of Yop City, is her husband, who is a Frenchman, I think, he's a Frenchman. And he got the imagery right. And he got it very right, because he's

Speaker: because he's her husband so i'd like to think that he cares about what she cares about okay i looked him up he's uh he's uh he's a white man white man easy french let's check uh but yeah but so france uh helps support promote and uh help a lot of uh

Speaker: A lot of African, especially in French speaking countries, a lot of African art in music, in cinema, in theater, in animation. There's a lot of stuff that gets made thanks to French artists helping African artists. Do you know Kirikou? No. You don't know Kirikou? No. It's an old school animation. I'll write it here.

Speaker: I guess, I don't know how famous it is outside of French -speaking countries. After I did the list. This stuff is great. This is also animated in France. It was made thanks to French people. Let's be honest about it. But also it's authentic African stories also. It's written by African people also. So please don't let that stop you. Please know that.

Speaker: That's how it got made. That's also why it's good. Art is art. Quickly, tell us where we can find you on socials. You cannot find me. I'm not supposed to find you. No, it's fine. There are some places where you can find some part of me.

Speaker: You can find me on Instagram and Twitter. Let's stick to Instagram if you want to see my major comics and animation works.

Speaker: you can find me on instagram at rado kelly. I'll just write it in the chat. All of that will be in the show notes, don't worry. I'm not that active over there. This past month I've been kind of active because I'm doing a thing but after this I'll be off the grid again. Yeah, I'm going back in the comfort of the darkness.

Speaker: okay then um so that's another one on the bug i'm glad you guys came to listen and i'm glad roger was able to you're not you're not giving suggestions oh me no suggestions i'll use this episode yeah oh oh really can i give one more then maybe yes you can you can i feel like being greedy okay give me a give me another theme more african comics yes all african oh okay okay let's just give it a bit

Speaker: Wait, wait, wait. I don't know. This is this is complicated. If you type African web comics on Google, as far as in my experience, you can find some stuff.

Speaker: But it's like superhero stuff. Yes. And I'm not really interested in superheroes. So, yeah, I cannot. I cannot. I'm glad they exist for the people who like that kind of stuff. But I cannot. I cannot say I've read them. So, OK, let me think about it. I'm drawing a blank here. OK, never mind. I got nothing.

Speaker: I think I'm going to keep this part. If you give me just a bit more time, I can find something. Does it have to be a comic? Does it have to be a comic? Okay. If it fits under the category of light novel, maybe. Light novel? Okay. Okay. Can it be an animation proof of concept trailer?

Speaker: I guess we can let it slide. It's not even African. I'm really stretching it. I'm sorry, this is the best. Wait, have you seen... Okay, wait. Have you seen... I think it's by the studio line animation.

Speaker: it's uh hold on i need to look it up thank you for your patience have you seen the animator short for the mighty grand python no i don't think i've seen it

Speaker: okay so i'll read you the i'll read it to you then the grand uh the mighty grand python is a short film about a young british girl connie who travels to the caribbean island of saint lucia for her school holidays with her family okay okay check it out okay i don't know that much about this thing it came out some time ago but

Speaker: It's those things we mentioned, like moment you see it, it's not African, like we just said, it's the Carribeans. But the colors, the vibes, the textures, right away, it just feels right. So maybe enough people watch this old pilot and talk enough about how much they love it. Okay, never go mid. It's just the pilot. It's not even a pilot.

Speaker: more of a trailer proof of concept trailer but it's one minute and a half so and it's good stuff so check it yeah it does look good oh yeah you like that don't you use them chill yes yes i do yes i do oh yeah no no but i mean if it's mecca i don't mind kurtis either i'm not like that guy oh i love kurtis actually for your friend why don't you

Speaker: Well, if they haven't made the jump yet, they should watch The Witch from Mercury. Yeah. Okay. Actually he has stopped watching Gundam too. Like hasn't watched the last couple of seasons. Like he just got traumatized. So yes, I've been trying to figure out which one to get him to watch. So maybe The Witch from Mercury, but then I think second season just started on Crunchyroll. Like they only did the first half or something like that. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, so I think it's just that it was about to start something like that. Yeah, because I think the guy who did the who who was it? Someone who had a major part in code? Yes, he's working on. Okay. Maybe it's from all these school school stuff. Oh, yeah, it's by the writer. It's by the code case writer, who's called the Ocochi

Speaker: Okochiichiro, I think. Okay. So yeah. Adding to the to watch list. I haven't watched it yet either, by the way, but you know. And I watched the first maybe three episodes. It's not bad. I still prefer my I am blooded orphans, but then it's a different take on. It's not bad. It's not bad. It's gone down like. Yeah. There are very few gone down that are bad.

Speaker: Usually if they're bad and they're just okay. Oh, okay. Okay My favorite Gundam right now is Thunderbolt Okay, no thunderbolt was really good like that had some serious CNN vibes and production value was Yeah, okay done when have you seen Hathaway? I have yes, I

Speaker: It's not over yet. So yeah, yeah, but I like it. But yeah, it's really well made. It's really well made. I like the vibe. I don't know enough about the OG series to fully appreciate it. Thankfully, I have a friend who who explained a lot of stuff to me like the context but

Speaker: I want to know how Half -Away ends. And almost all the shows are somewhat connected loosely, like in the universes and stuff, the tech. Yeah, I know. Gundam is a very impressive franchise. And the OG director, what's his name? He's also very funny. He's a bit of a meme lord, actually. He's a bit of a troll. I really like that.

Speaker: Okay, people, so the first animated recommendation on Lifeblood comes from Radu. Oh, it's the first one. Animated one, yes. It's usually books. Thank you, thank you. Yes, yes, yes. Ashante, Ashante. And that's it. Thank you all for listening. I hope you had fun from me and Radu. But okay, I don't know about Radu. Maybe he doesn't really like you guys.

Speaker: Yeah, thank you for listening to Crypty. We have found him if you guys had given him a chance. He's had a lot of fun. Me too. So, take care. Keep all your things you love and see you in the next one. Bye. Bye.