THE CONTENT FACTOR Concluded

THE CONTENT FACTOR. (Concluded)

I didn’t mean for you to enjoy that story, it’s the point I’m really after. Content in comic books goes beyond you knowing how to write or draw, in fact it goes beyond you having money either. When all fails, content is what a comic publisher can really rely on. In other developed counties comic book production is segmented and I’ll like to just mention these segments for our benefits.

The Concept: We need at this point to understand that there is a concept creator and there is a writer. Most time we tend to believe that the creator must write the story. This is not always the case even if the creator is a writer. A creator might recognize that he doesn’t have adequate comprehension about a particular story concept and might decide to hire a writer who is good in both narration and dialogue.
The Writer: for any one to qualify as a writer you must be able to write good dialogue. Writing good dialogue is not only about writing how people speak but also able to differentiate who is talking. I have read scripts where everyone seems to be talking the same way (I mean between a professor and a Kindergarten) and though the story may be so interesting and a page turner you finish the book realising something was missing. Any way this is not a tutorial segment and dialogue is not all that makes you a writer.
Artist: These are the guys who transform the words into pictures; pictures that we sometimes want to die to have. Being able to draw again does not make you comic artists as there are certain rules of paneling and story flow that you must understand. I hope in subsequent write ups to talk explicitly about being a comic artist.
Colourist: His medium could be digital or the more customary mediums of pastel, poster colour or gouache. Everyone seems to be going digital nowadays though.
Graphics: Now this can really kill your work if you don’t get it right. I was reading one of our Nigerian comic titles recently and the graphics just killed it (spoilt it). The Mast head was terrible and the word balloons were just horrible. For the purpose of the Nigerian factor I have grouped lettering, layouts and Cover designs under the term Graphics because one person can actually do all of this stages(I hope I don’t take that back later). A good graphical design can go a long way to boost the appearance of your comic especially the cover.
The Editor: Overlook this guy at your own peril. Most of the errors that we encounter in publishing usually occur because this position doesn’t exist or is merged with any of the above. The job of the editor is to help everyone else on the team to see what they have missed. Sometimes the writer, Artist, Letterer and graphics man could make a honest mistake that only the editor can see and point out immediately since he is not emotionally attached to the work. Anyone who reads comics can be your editor really but a good editor must understand all the rules that guide the writer, artist, colourist and letterer.
The Publisher: In this part of the world everyone is selfishly trying to publishing their own books so you would hardly see individuals or organizations wishing to publish your comic book except there is really are large worm at the end of your hook.

I think that sums it all up. It’s of my opinion that if comic publishers can get the content of our books right, hiring the right people to handle each aspect so that when a customer picks up a Nigerian book its very difficult to differentiate it (in terms of content and not story line) from its foreign counterparts. If we can publish books that meet up with the standard quality set by American or Japanese comic book publishers, we can also sell at the same price with good reasons for doing so. Not just by asking the customers to be patriotic and go buy crappy, not well made books just because they want to support Nigeria. They worked for that money you know? I think they deserve to spend it on quality.That’s all for now, phew! Next time I’ll be looking at another challenge our comic industry needs to face to become great indeed. Yeah, it’s the Business aspect of Comics. This again is a big issue. See you then.

THE CONTENT FACTOR

THE NIGERIAN COMIC INDUSTRY:
A Candid Diagnosis by Ayodele Elegba

THE CONTENT FACTOR

I’m not saying we don’t have good stories to tell because we do (I like the resolve of comic publishers trying to also Publish Nigerian oriented stories too). I have heard so many nice materials from various creators, lovely stuff. Fantastic motives but you know, I’ve come to realize that most of us still don’t know what a comic book story should look like. We have a good story but we don’t yet understand how to tell it in panels and pages. A good comic story is collaboration between a writer and an artist, this I have discovered is usually lacking either because most times the writer hardly or never collaborates with the artist. What happens most times is that a person (a lay comic reader, lets call him Golibe) has an idea, there is a flash in his head. “This story is fantastic” Golibe tells himself. He immediately calls an artist (if he doesn’t think he can draw too) and tells him about the concept. The artist is like well it’s a good idea but where is the script.

Golibe scrounges up his lips and goes back home. He hasn’t really written anything before except his final year exam but he decides it’s a challenge and in a week or two he writes down his ideas and because its his thought alone he is so much in love with the idea that he doesn’t see any fault at all. He rushes down to the artists and gives him the script. The artist reads the script (or tells the writer that he has) and immediately confesses that he would be ready to work on the script if Golibe could pay such and such amount of money. Golibe is excited, he bounds off and clears up his account (or gets a lone from his rich uncle)and immediately heads back to the artist so that he can finish the artwork in less than two weeks. Golibe goes home leaving the artist with the script. Our artist lets call him, Akpan, doesn’t pick up the script until after a week because he’s either drawing another comic book or just looking for other means of surviving. He only remembers the script when Golibe calls to ask “How far?” “Its going fine” Akpan responds, “In facts I am almost through”.

Akpan is confused, he doesn’t do his thumbnails, neither does he run his pages by the editor (who doesn’t exist), and immediately he begins to draw twenty pages of comic book in less than a week. As predicted Golibe comes for the finished work and because the artist has this thing with shadings and because its his strory, and off course because money has already changed hands Golibe doesn’t seem to have any choice because he has a deadline to meet. He thanks Akpan and rushes off to the press. He doesn’t know jack about printing except that he has a particular price in mind and is ready to stay within that budget even if it affects his quality (Can you really blame him, I mean when you think of how much he will have to sell his book).
The printer also wanting to have a sizeable amount of profit cuts so many corners that the comic book has so much shrunk in size, paper quality and off course print superiority. The printer wraps up the comic books quickly before Golibe comes and stick the finest print on the package to create the illusion that Golibe requires. Golibe is excited, he cant wait to get home and begin marketing the comics. He chatters a cab to carry the one thousand copies(Its better if ) of comic book home and as the taxi driver tries to spark off a conversation, Golibe flips through the decoy copy carefully. His smile slowly transforms into a frown, his excitement fizzles out slowly like a HEART OF AFRICA Re-branding project by Nigeria. He is alarmed, he notices that the paper quality was of lower quality, the size of the book was smaller and there are so much blurred images he begins to wonder if the whole comic book was a flashback. He immediately picks up his phone to express his displeasure to the printer but all he got was the “Network Busy” ring back tone. Having tried over a hundred times and with his battery blipping empty Golibe realizes what had just happened. He calms down slams the comic book on his lap and begins to think if readers would still be willing to pay the cover price for such a shoddy quality.

Golibe has no choice now, he has already invested so much money and with just a little enthusiasm left he goes on ahead to put his comic book on the supermarket shelf (that’s after many rejections) and a customer comes by and picks it up. Immediately he realizes its Nigeria by the poor quality and he is finally put off by the cover price. He puts it back on the shelf and works away not buying a copy. Golibe is on his knees at home praying for sales.

THE NIGERIAN COMIC INDUSTRY:
A Candid Diagnosis by Ayodele Elegba

(INTRODUCTION)

Would you allow yourself to be diagnosed by a doctor who you are not sure of? Well I wouldn’t. I have asked myself this question even as I go on to diagnose our emerging comic industry which I believe is in a “still birth situation” waiting for some resuscitation from its various mid wives in the likes of comic makers and stake holders alike. So what gives me the audacity (not of hope) to diagnose this industry in such candid and into your face type that I hope to do in the remnant of this Seven or Eight Part write up?

Well with a true sense of modesty and humility (what I’m trying to say is that I still don’t know it all and anyways there where others like Wale Adenuga, Ikebe Super and Andy Ackman, Kaptain Africa who had gone ahead). I guess simply put, I’ve been in this industry long enough to do so with scars and medals to show. I mean I started to do comics PROFFESSIONALLY (not just reading) in 1998 when i joined ICstudios and co-created the comic title DARK EDGE. That’s like almost a decade…WOW. Any way, I also was responsible for the marketing of the three editions of the same Comic book spanning about five years and as such got a taste of what it’s like to publish and sell a comic book. I wouldn’t say I was totally successful doing all I did back then, if I did I am sure there wouldn’t have been a need for this article since all comic makers would in one way or the other still be benefiting from the work done, beside we would have had a bigger and stronger industry by now (10 years are you kidding me?). Yeah what I am saying is that it didn’t all go well back then because there where some factors (Villains) which I encountered back then that hindered me from achieving all my set goals. All of these challenges unfortunately, I regret to say, are still there today.

Apart from trying to push one of Nigeria’s “most famed” modern comic books, I have also worked either in close quarters consulting or as a mere hired gun with individuals and companies that had the desire to publish comics, some of them have faced these same challenges and afterwards closed shop while the dogged and still passionate ones continue to fight the battle believing that one day they will win the war. And off course you have the younger and newer players who desperately believe that they have the comic idea that would revolutionize the industry and consequently save Nigeria’s comic Dom. And finally again I have gone back into publishing and am currently back in the field and once again have fresh information on what the terrain is like. So I am not here to talk about research from 1998, I’m talking about fresh material, as fresh as me coming back home soaked in sweat and tired just yesterday trying to market COMICPANEL magazine.

All right, to close this first installment writing let me just itemize the challenges I faced in 1998 and still facing in 2009. If you are already publishing comics you should be familiar with them by now and for you trying to break in I’d suggest you pay close attention because there’s no use trying to pray that you wont face them because they are as real as corruption in Nigeria. These set of articles are not intended to scare you nor meant to suggest that we dont have one of the most financially rewarding industry in the world, this article is meant to step you down from the euphoria of emotions and bias for comics (as a mere lover of good art work) to the reality of comics as a business enterprise that has with it all the trappings of any business consortium. Here goes nothing:
1. The Content Factor
2. The Business of comics
3. Marketing and PR
4. Distribution or Circulation
5. Sales
6. The Island mindset (I can do it alone mentality)
This is not to suggest that these are the only problems warring against us, only that in my opinion if we as comic makers can get this basics right all other challenges would be easily surmounted. I’ve got to go now, my back aches like hell. Next time I’ll dig deeper into this challenges so we can understand our villains better and I promise to give you real life situations so you no what’s up. Till then, remember, now is the time...lets talk COMICS.

FEATURE

THE NIGERIAN COMIC INDUSTRY
A CANDID
DIAGNOSIS
By Ayodele Elegba
COMING SOON

INTERVIEW

Awakening The Creative Storm
(Conclussion)

How many editions of the carnival have you done and what’s been the impact?

We’ve had three editions (2004, 2005 and 2007) and tell you what, because it was born out of an innocuous premise of letting people come together and discuss comics, I think in it’s third edition it has succeeded in that. Meaning that, for comics who are even out of the mainstream (in the Nigerian sense), for people to have been meeting annually, three times, I think we have done something. However, last year was a bit pivotal in the sense that we were able to organize this animation workshop (something for the kids they were able to learn and make cartoons, and they were encouraged more to do their arts).

I come from a generation when if you told your parents you wanted to be a cartoonist it’s ridiculous because parents chase you to go read. However, we’ve come of age and seen the country overrun by people who have fake degrees and eventually it means they weren’t getting too much of an education either. We definitely live in a “hypocritical society.” However, one of my dreams is to be able to push these so-called lesser-recognized art forms. I want somebody to be able to live on his comic drawings and just dedicate himself because I think, ultimately, life and nature teaches us that whatever you know how to do very well depending on how good your financial education is you can make a living.

Taking a look at the future of comic business in Nigeria, what do you see?

I see great things. For anything to survive in Nigeria, frankly it must be part of the culture. You must make it such that when people wake up they cannot take it for granted. I mean people must buy that thing, stock it, eat it, and drink it. And how do you do that? You need to make that thing revolve around general things people do.

So, for instance, the carnival is one of our efforts at making sure these “lesser forms of arts” become a culture. And we want to make the carnival a very huge centre-piece event at the end of the year where people are coming from the diaspora. And usually, the light of the carnival is concert-music-party kind of atmosphere; we want it to be the gathering of young people anywhere, and where creativity and entertainment is just it! So when people see comics, they subconsciously associate it with intelligence, creativity and fun.

And when do you see that actually happening?

It has already stated happening. The last carnival for example, was attended by SABC and City Press (a newspaper from South Africa). You know, I got a letter from a lady from South Africa who had really been impressed by what she read in the paper.

I may not be able to tell you the number of years but I think we’ve started and we’ll keep doing what we are doing with more sense, more good counsel, more creativity, more introspection, more great contents and more unpredictability as well. And with a very structured, disciplined and focused drive towards the vision of making the comic carnival a byword for intelligence, creativity and fun, sooner than later, we’d be there.

What’s government role in boosting comic business in Nigeria?

I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but right now, in many things, government is like an irresponsible parent who you cannot wait for to get things started in your life. The best you can do, you do as you can. Look at it: to run a business in Nigeria is obviously as twenty times as hard… you provide your own power, you provide your own water and security (in fact, if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident, you’ll be the one to provide your own burial ground as well!).

So, as regards to doing comic business (and by the very morphology of that kind of business) it would be privately driven… and frankly, life teaches you to fight for what you want. So, you work hard; think hard and look at partnerships you can forge to help you.
It’s really hard. For example, look at the epic comics –we are trying to tell the stories of our heroes past to show that no matter what we are going through as contemporary people, there are people who have lived this life, and that we have a strong heritage of warriors, right thinking people. For example, Chaka Zulu is a worldwide celebrated military genius and his military campaigns are studied in almost all war colleges around the world…. So, any country that neglects its youths will suffer it.

Your advice for upcoming artists?

I think we should encourage the writers more. We have good number of artists and we need more good writers. And if you are a good writer, please try your hands at comics writing. Well, for artists, try and read more because arts is about visualizing and articulating ideas.

However, maybe the whole comic thing is not bringing in enough money, please stick in there; if it gets too bad find a small part-time job and keep pushing it. Life and nature has never disappointed anybody that kept pushing it.

2ND COMIC PUBLISHERS FORUM

2ND COMIC PUBLISHERS FORUM

It became an established fact that comics have come to eventually come to stay in Nigeria after the just concluded 2nd Comic publishers forum held at the CORA office on Bode Thomas St. in Surulere. The well anticipated but private event schedule for 12pm on Saturday 21st began a little after 1 pm when Yegwa Ukpo the initiator of Nigeria Comic Book Showcase opened the meeting with a short prayer.
The meeting rolled on quickly with Ayodele Elegba (Publisher: COMICPANEL) moderating and in attendance were Sewedo Nupowaku, partner Revolution Media, Wisdom Omon (Stallion Comic) and publisher Guardian X, Peter Amadi (Black Horse Comics), Yemi Adeyemo (House of Treasure), Hanson Ohen (Prex Limited) and publishers of KABOOM, Tunji Anjorin (Panaramic Entertainment), Ibrahim Ganiy (IC Studios), Kayode Onimole (Crasher Comics) and Revolution Media’s Ayodele Arigbabu.
Issues discussed at the meeting cut across problems facing both existing and aspiring publishers in Nigeria and includes such issues as upgrading the quality of comic printing, comic distribution/circulation, print consistency, recruiting and training of more professional artists and writers, content censorship as it affects soliciting sponsorship and advertisers, government backing and off course the actual sales of comic books.
The issue of forming an association was also deliberated upon and while some like Ayo Arigbabu and Yemi Adeyemo believe that having an association will go a long way to sustain the industry, Ayodele Elegba however believes that having an association is not the paramount need now in the industry but a platform for comic publishers and readers to meet and transact business. In line with this he went on to mention the potentials that the UCPN initiative by Ibrahim Ganiy could have if looked upon as more than just an online community for comics but a medium to actually pre sell comics to registered fans. This was however not fully accepted as an ideal due to it commercialization and the fear that it might be hijacked by a few individuals connected to such website. Others acknowledged the benefits of this type of website for use in soliciting for adverts and possibly getting bank loans but believe that it should be set up by an independent body who takes it strictly as a business and markets its service to other comic companies for a fee.
The planned Lagos Comic Walk, 1st Naija Comic convention and the Annual Comic Seminar was also deliberated upon. The atmosphere was filled with a lot of controversies, opinions and unfinished comments and it was later agreed that the meeting be adjourned till the 25th of April when more detailed information about this venture and others could be well discussed. The meeting ended around 4pm with a prayer from Hanson Ohen and group photographs.

Awakening The Creative Storm

Awakening The Creative Storm (part one)

Sewedo Nupowaku, the head of Revolution Media Limited, a media and entertainment company in Surulere, Lagos is passionate about comics. “When I see people who tumble their noses at comics,” Sewedo declares, “I turn my noses at them and say, ‘These folks don’t even know anything!’” He takes us through the hassles of comic business in Nigeria, the ironic role of government in starting a business, and optimistically, what the future has in stock all in this no-holds barred interview with Ayodele Elegba and Wole Adeoye.

CP: How long have you started this journey?

Well, I don’t know how to recount the genesis but I do know we were registered officially under a business name, Evolution Media in 2001 though we didn’t do anything ‘ground breaking’ (I use that humorously) until 2003 when we did our Moremi show. We were a bit ambitious (myself and my partner, Ayo Arigbabu) –we really wanted to rule the world and we did what we might and we had some positive reviews including from The Guardian.

Before then, we have been pushing a number of things – comics and the rest, so last year (January 2007) we became a limited liability company.

What are the challenges of running such a media outfit?
The truth is: first of all, we live in a third-world country and one of the pivotal things that show a country is third-world is that a lot of endeavours in there are not too developed, so to speak. So, we grappled with the very idea of being in such a country where a lot of things aren’t that developed –infrastructure, financial system and other basic stuff. However, in such a country, people most often than not are preoccupied with the lowest rung of the Marxillonian Pyramid, that is, [concerned with] the basic physiological needs of food, shelter, and clothing. And usually, things like entertainment are not exactly people’s cup of tea.

But in all these, we foresee that the entertainment industry itself is developing and the potential is there. Look at what is happening in our music industry. So, we hope that for comics, animations and the rest, this will happen and we are determined to be at the forefront, pioneering an explosive kind of growth in acceptance and awareness. (And that’s why we are embarking on Action TV to drive comics and animations.)

The reward has really been minimal. A lot of people are still struggling. The challenge of distribution and funding for comics can be very fundamental. Apart from the South Africa-produced Super Strika, there’s really no consistently produced comic magazine in Nigeria. The challenges are huge: logistics, funding, distribution, and even getting the right hands. However, the reward is that you can almost taste and touch the future –some sort of creative storm coming. But this is the time for hard work, due diligence, creativity and innovation.

How do you maintain balance having left a ‘paying job’ to set out on your own?
Well, I’ve not really worked for so many companies. My first job was as a web-designer with an internet service provider (now named Prodigy); my second job was working as a copywriter and chief service manager with an advertising agency (Blue Seal); and went on to co-found a design agency called DNA Communications Alchemist (along with the publisher of M2 Magazine) and after a while we had to move on. From there I went to work as the creative director of a communications consultancy called Xcelerate and eventually became client service manager on the MTN account (we were actually taking care of their Public Relations).

So, in between working at these places, I wanted to concentrate on myself and I wanted to live my dreams. The truth is everyone will take a gamble [when you set out] and it’s always far better to be your own man. When you work for someone, it’s just an apprenticeship period –a rite of passage so that you get contacts; know how things work; have mentors, and when you own your company you too will become a mentor, a facilitator to people who are not actually expected to be with you forever.

Your experience doing cartoons, comics and the carnival

Frankly, it’s been great. I’m very passionate about comics and I’m the type that when I see people who tumble their noses at comics, I turn my noses at them and say, “These folks don’t even know anything!” because from time to time, I see these same people who turn their noses at comics go and watch the movies and they say, “Oh! Look at that!” But I feel there’s no big deal about what you are seeing. We’ve seen these comics when we were six years old, for God’s sake. When they see Venom in SpiderMan3 they feel ‘wow’ but I read my first Venom comic when I was eight or nine and I had said ‘wow’ way back. I also noticed that usually a lot of my folks who read comics seriously might not necessarily become geniuses but their grasp of the spoken word, their grasp of creative themes and elements is very high, and they tended to be mavericks in their way of thinking. They became very unconventional although some stopped reading comics because of issues of pricing and issues of themes (and frankly, even in the books we read our taste changes as we grow).

So, I’m very passionate about comics and feel I should facilitate people getting to know the joys of comic book reading. It is a fantastic medium, because more than anything else, over a book it has the strength of visuals. (Now, I’m reading Bourne Identity and the author is talking about the cobble stones on the street of Paris. I live in Surulere; there are no cobble stones for God’s sake. How am I going to know what cobble stones are? But in a comic book I can see what cobble stones are, and still enjoy the narrative.) And where comic even has something over movie is because in a comic book you can articulate anything visually which, if you are going to do that in a movie, it will take millions of dollars in computer generated imagery (CGI).

So, comic is cheaper, visually more entertaining and satisfying method than any other medium, and of course, [comic] comes in different genres –romantic-based, comedic, action-packed comic books and those that deal with mysticism. Moreover, comic books have ways of dealing with serious subject matters that you won’t believe. Such issues ranging from poverty, rape, identity, etc. And that has been the idea behind the Comics & Cartoons Carnival. It’s meant to bring people together to discuss, exhibit, show and buy a whole lot of things. Generally, have fun and get something out of it.