New comic book heroes

When Antoine Mitchell beat all levels of the video game Final Fantasy VIII, the result for him became a quest to create his own fantasy tale, with well-drawn characters and an enticing narrative.

Mitchell’s comic book-in-the-making, Sankofa’s Embrace, follows the same path as classics such as The Lord of the Rings that create their own mythology. But Mitchell was inspired by various African cultures for his work.

A performance/visual artist, the Norwood, La., native says the project embraces the ideologies he represents as an activist in the Baton Rouge African American community. The title in itself is representative of West African Akan culture, where the word sankofa means “go get it,” “go back and fetch it” or “remember the past.”

“I hope that Sankofa’s Embrace serves as a way of self-esteem for black children who pick it up. I want them to see a variety of black women and black men, even though I’m not using terms of race,” Mitchell says.

While inspired by a fantasy video game, Mitchell attributes good old-fashioned comic books as his first interaction with art, citing Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men as his favorites. Comic books also hold a deep connection to his memories of a sickly childhood, when comic books were given to him as treats for being well-behaved during doctor visits. He’s been creating his own mini-comic books since 1990, when he was about 9.

“I would draw the comics on ?8.5 x 11-inch copy paper, color them with color pencils, staple the sides of it and have a book,” Mitchell says.

His process has gotten more advanced since then—for Sankofa’s Embrace, he used Photoshop to color in illustrations—and it definitely proved to be conceptually more advanced than its predecessors.

“The solid theme of this comic book is balance and imbalance,” Mitchell says. “As Sankofa states, go get it, each character has a purpose they must fulfill.” One character, he says, must bring balance to a world on the verge of destruction, while another must destroy the world and build a new one if the task fails. While this fantasy world has its own rules, races and religions, Mitchell says it is still grounded in real-world themes like love, rebellion, politics, war and self-conflict.

When the project is finished, he plans to follow the grassroots campaigning of his independent hip hop comrades with fliers, promotional comic book teasers and a website. And while his schedule also includes art commissions and a full-time job, he says this comic book is one of his highest callings as an artist.

“This encompasses my whole life,” he says, “how I grew up, how I’ve evolved and the responsibilities I have now—not only as a husband, but also as a man who cares about humanity, and in particular, the African American community.”

For more information about Mitchell and Sankofa’s Embrace, visit poeartry.net.