Art
why creating black manga-styled comics & our blerd-owned company means the world
When Tobias (Toby) Quested, creator and owner of the facebook Blerd (Black nerd) group, Chocolate City Comics & Cosplays: #Representationmatters inboxed me a few months ago, I didn’t know that I was about to take my first step into something that was about to change the world of mainstream nerdculture. The post he shared with me detailed a Blerd-owned entertainment company that was seeking a Black, femme writer to pen an original, Black femme-orientated, manga-styled action comic featuring three, Black, femme protagonists to run in an upcoming, monthly manga/comic publication Monthly Hype Magazine.
I angsted over the decision as to whether or not to submit an inquiry; having never A: written a comic, thinking they would want someone with significantly more experience (and a college degree in some form of journalism, art, etc, of which I don’t presently have conveniently laying around somewhere), and B: it had been sometime since I’d penned anything profoundly creative due to depression and complete lack of motivation despite writing being my greatest love. Eventually I just shrugged and thought ‘What have I got to lose?’. To make a long story short, I was shook when they not only agreed to hear my pitches, they gave me a contract and a job, bought my first two chapters, would later buy six more, and hired a dope af Dreamworks animation artist by the name of Jimmy Vaughn to begin the (equally dope af) concept art of the first protagonist (and all within the span of a month or so).
By Jacqueline-Elizabeth*, AFROPUNK contributor
The subsequent sequence of events that occurred as I became more involved with the company helped me to understand why the Pre-Release of their serial manga anthology “Monthly Hype Magazine” will be instrumental in the ongoing-campaign to show the world Blerds exist as we continue the Black struggle of pushing for less segregation, and more representation.
When NBA player Johnny O’Bryant III of the Charlotte Hornets set about the task of establishing Noir Caesar Entertainment(NSZR Entertainment), he was determined to do what no other media company had ever done: provide a creative space for and by the often overlooked and underrepresented Black nerds in the world of mainstream nerd culture.
Noir Caesar is dedicated to Hulk-smashing barriers and releasing Black created, written, and produced comic, manga, anime, and other nerd-media content.
Bringing together a diverse collective of Black nerds, writers, artists, musicians, and creators, Noir Caesar has recently released its very first, pre-order copy of its monthly serial magazine, Monthly Hype Magazine:
“The first ever issue of Monthly Hype is available now for Pre-Order. Be the first to read it two months before anyone else. In this issue we have everything from super-powered sibling rivalries to gunslinging gigolos. Sit back and enjoy the only manga magazine for the unheard and unrepresented: https://www.noircaesar.com/monthly-hype”.—NSZR Entertainment
A monthly manga/comic anthologies featuring a variety of genres and themes, and similar to that of the highly-popular Shonen Jump, Monthly Hype Magazine features a collection ongoing series from and by several of the company’s most talented artists and writers, including:
Space Pop (created/written by Corey Mikell, illustrated by Sebastian Reira)
Playboy (Created by Johnny O’Bryant, written by Corey Mikell, and illustrated by Sebastian Reira)
Mythallica Lux Nova (written and illustrated by Mikhail Sebastian)
Highlighting Monthly Hype is the series, Primus 7, which has recently been adapted into Noir Caesar’s very first anime/webseries, set to debut at this year’s Blerdcon in Arlington, Virginia:
These titles and more can be read in Monthly Hype Magazine, available for pre-download for a special limited time (Friday, May 19th) and physical copies will be available at this year’s Blerdcon running June 30th through July 2nd. For more information on Noir Caesar, the staff, and for daily updates, check out their Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter. #GetHype
*Jacqueline-Elizabeth Cottrell represents the Black-owned, creative entertainment company, Noir Caesar, as their Entertainment Representative and Spokesmodel. She hosts bi-weekly vlogs that discuss Black nerd culture, and keep fans informed on what’s happening within the company. She is presently writing a script for a brand new comic-book title to be featured in an future edition of the company’s monthly, serialized publication, ‘Hype Monthly Magazine’, similar to Shounen Jump and Shoujo Beat.
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