Ta-Nehisi Coates gives us his 'BlackPanther'

Ta-Nehisi Coates' treatment of the Black Panther has us on the edge of our seats. In the latest piece on TheAtlantic, he writes:
"Some of the best days of my life were spent poring over the back issues of The Uncanny X-Men and The Amazing Spider-Man. As a child of the crack-riddled West Baltimore of the 1980s, I found the tales of comic books to be an escape, another reality where, very often, the weak and mocked could transform their fallibility into fantastic power. That is the premise behind the wimpy Steve Rogers mutating into Captain America, behind the nerdy Bruce Banner needing only to grow angry to make his enemies take flight, behind the bespectacled Peter Parker being transfigured by a banal spider bite into something more.

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But comic books provided something beyond escapism. Indeed, aside from hip-hop and Dungeons & Dragons, comics were my earliest influences. In the way that past writers had been shaped by the canon of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wharton, I was formed by the canon of Claremont, DeFalco, and Simonson. Some of this was personal. All of the comics I loved made use of two seemingly dueling forces—fantastic grandiosity and ruthless efficiency. Comic books are absurd. At any moment, the Avengers might include a hero drawn from Norse mythology (Thor), a monstrous realization of our nuclear-age nightmares (the Hulk), a creation of science fiction (Wasp), and an allegory for the experience of minorities in human society (Beast). But the absurdities of comics are, in part, made possible by a cold-eyed approach to sentence-craft. Even when the language tips toward bombast, space is at a premium; every word has to count. This big/small approach to literature, the absurd and surreal married to the concrete and tangible, has undergirded much of my approach to writing. In my journalism here at The Atlantic, I try to ground my arguments not just in reporting but also in astute attention to every sentence. It may not always work, but I am really trying to make every one of those 18,000 words count.

'Urbance' pilot promises to take black animation to new heights

"In the big city, gender war rises. Sex is prohibited because of a genetic deadly virus. Ruled by hate and anger, boys and girls grow up apart from each other, forming rivals gangs. Among these lost teenagers, Kenzell and lesya will fight adversity and defy all the rules in order to live their love and restore peace."
So reads the synopsis for the uber-lit "Urbance" trailer, which promises to take black animation to new heights.
While there's no release date set for the film from Canadian director Joel Dos Reis Viegas, ofSteambot Studios, there's no doubt this one will be a hit when it comes out.

Black art be ALL OVER Tumblr!

Want to find some cool black art? Head on over to Tumblr! There's tons of the stuff!

AfroPunk Tour hits U.S.

Afropunk is in the midst of a U.S. tour, having just left NYC and heading to Atlanta next month. Check it out.

Working webcomic title: 'Amistad 3000'

Kelapsar - Master of the Singularity (VIDEO)

'Kelapsar' sketches: Escape hatch art

Fight on 'Kelapsar'!!!

The action gets hot and heavy this week as the Valadians are visited by a stranger, and he has some demands. The panels above show what immediately happens. The artist and writer of this particular webcomic, Curt Johnson, aimed for an organic, schoolboy feel to the artwork. Do you think he's succeeded? Check out the Kelapsar webcomic.

More 'Kelapsar' sketches

"The Master of the Black Hole" takes a lot of work despite its simple-looking constructs.
Peep an excerpt from the sci fi novel on Blafi.com:
All of these great aoccomplishments by the suunszarians were all in danger when the civilization was visited by the Alien race known as the Quartarians and the representor. The Converter who has come to the planet to set up mass converting machines and transform entities of theplanet into a new life form in order for them to survive the coming catastrphy.

These envents cause the inhabitants of the planet to go into civil war. With the coming calamity, some suuszarians thought that they should unite and take up arms against the Aliens while some of the inhabitants (scientist and politicians) evacutions would be the best solution. khan-sar is against all combat. He is a peace loving scientist and is against all combat. But the son of a well-known politician Tra-sar. Tra-sar creates an army and preaches war against their planes enemies. First the first time ever, war and many battles breakout.

Sketches of Kelapsar Novel (PHOTOS)

Here is a first look of what Blafi has been up to lately. Kelapsar by Curt Johnson.
Check the synapsis below:

Billions of galaxys away in the star system XYRL the planet suunszar is a peaceful and harmonious planet.
There technologies and societies and highly sophisticated residents of the planet live in harmony with their
planet. All inhabitants have the ability to speak with and through the planet, making most of these societies very peace-loving and technically advanced.

All of these great aoccomplishments by the suunszarians were all in danger when the civilization was visited by the Alien race known as the Quartarians and the representor. The Converter who has come to the planet to set up mass converting machines and transform entities of theplanet into a new life form in order for them to survive the coming catastrphy.

These envents cause the inhabitants of the planet to go into civil war. With the coming calamity, some suuszarians thought that they should unite and take up arms against the Aliens while some of the inhabitants (scientist and politicians) evacutions would be the best solution. khan-sar is against all combat. He is a peace loving scientist and is against all combat. But the son of a well-known politician Tra-sar. Tra-sar creates an army and preaches war against their planes enemies. First the first time ever, war and many battles breakout.

khan-sar and his family plan a personal evacuation. Khan-sar and is wife San-sar and his baby girl Sar-sar. They were preparing their shuttle to depart when khan got caught up in a dispute with soldiers trying to steal his starship. General Tra-sar gathers his troops together to stop the evacuees from getting off the planet, siting that they were committing treason. Then an earthquake started to erupt. The end is near and Khan is still fighting with soldiers.
During the fight, Khan is freed but he comes back to the launch site to find that he is too late. His family has been shot by soldiers. War and destruction is all around.

The general and his soldiers are trying to kill Khan-sar and his world is about to be lost. He jumps into his escape shuttle and rockets right into the atmosphere in minutes. The planet is destroyed.

Coming Soon: Kelapsar

Curt Johnson is ready to unveil to you exactly what he's been up to in the last 365 days in the universe.
Enjoy this sneak peak:

**Sneak Preview** "Android River: Part 2: Ergosphere"

This is just a sneak-peak of "Android River" part 2. This page is very early to the beginning of the 10-page chapter. Check out the first part here.

Introducing 'Murk' a new webcomic

Down in the Deep South, there's a new threat to the swampland. Something mysterious is happening in a small, rural town, and it's about to get exposed. Check out the action at http://www.blafi.com/

The Hellions: About Rick Leven

Rick Leven, who actually is expanded on later in the saga, is introduced in "SuperNova" as a journalist who befriended several key government operatives in the path of his reporting. He and Anakira Simons are obviously an item and the relationship is alluded to early on in the script. Leven's true intentions are cloudy in the early parts, but clear up over time.

The Hellions: About the Mysterious 'Charles'

The Hellions 'SuperNova' story line introduces 'Charles,' a shadowy government figure, early on in the process, trying to woo Hilga Swartz (notice his hands cupping hers) to give over sensitive information relating to Epiffany Minion.
His advances are rebuffed and Hilga, who gives evidence that the two knew each other previously and maybe had a relationship, stands her ground with him and tries to turn the tables. The introduction of Charles adds to the mystique of what Minion is evidently hiding. Will we find out?

The Hellions: About 'Sheena Johnson'

Sheena Johnson goes by the online alias "Thickbone." It's a devious play on her true designs, which aren't revealed until much later in the saga. What is revealed in the first episode is that Sheena is a caseworker at the hospital, coincidentally the one that Epiffany Minion is admitted to. Also, she is in secret communications with Anakira Simons, who is revealed early in the story as a Pentagon operative.

The Hellions: About Hilga Swartz

No character is as conniving and straight-laced as Hilga Swartz, the Pentagon operative that seems to pull the strings on Epiffany Minion's desperate plans to uncover the NetherNet. Swartz has as a sidekick the just-as-evil Anakira Simons, who at once seems to be more and less of what she wants to be.

Concept Art for Hellions Finale

This is concept art for my "Hellions" sci fi soap opera. I've been toying with this one for a while. This is a scene where the Himeratti turn their backs on Hilga Swartz, guranteeing her defeat at the hands of the Hellions. This scene would be way back in the saga, probably around episode 8 or 9.

Half-Ink Sketch for "Android River"

Still stagnant about what to do with "Android River," the plot has taken a backseat to me doing art for the Hellions and the Defiers. Here is a half-ink though. I did this one day about around dusk.

Inked Sketch of 'Defiers' page

This is one of the few pages that I haven't used, but will one day. It was drawn to be about page 4 or 5 in the "Back From the Brink," episode of the Defiers. When I ink it i may use it.