The four-color world was where I found my solace. My father introduced me to this world and opened the doors of my imagination. From that moment forward, I wanted to tell stories. I wanted be a comic book creator.

This desire took me first to the University of Michigan where I obtained my BFA in Illustration and Photography. I soon traveled to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where I completed my studies earning an MFA in Visual Communications. During this time, I my first foray into my chosen profession as a penciler for the controversial B.L.A.M. Comics series Jigaboo Devil and created package design for Manga Entertainment.

I did my thing and paid my dues. And, I’ve combined my love of music with my art creating CD covers and such for outfits like Revolutionary Music, Esntion Records, Elephanthaus and Real Estate Records to name a few, but my dream was to create comics, to tell stories, to add my voice and vision to that world. I wanted to play nice with the big boys and work on their concepts. However, when I would try and work with their concepts, my concepts kept coming to the fore. Buddhism dictates to follow the path of least resistance. I chose to walk that path.

In 1999, I formed Griot Enterprises, a publishing company and creative studio. I also created its flagship property, The Horsemen, which was a critical success when it came out in 2002. The first Horsemen volume, Divine Intervention was released 2010 with The Horsemen: The Book of Olorun and Outworld: Return of the Master Teachers released in 2012. I was also the Lead Writer and Art Director on the graphic novel Hip Hop Chronicles for Spacedog Entertainment in partnership with Universal Music Group. I’m currently working as lead artist/ art director on Taletown, an independent Facebook game for Tuxedoman Entertainment as well as an animated music video for the rock band The Ex-Senators.

Oh, I also have a podcast radio show, Ghetto Of The Mind, which can be found on iTunes. You should check it out. It’s pretty good.

Recently, I was an Associate Professor at the Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg, teaching courses in Animation and Video Game Design. I’ve been interviewed and name-dropped in various publications such as GQ Magazine and the New York Times and written articles for various magazines and online journals. I’ve also been featured in the book Black Comix and spoken at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and The Smithsonian National.

http://www.griotenterprises.com/
http://www.facebook.com/jazintellect
http://www.facebook.com/horsemengraphicnovel

Black Character Revolution
A Retrospective Of 1970′s Saturday Morning Animation Art Featuring Black Characters

Below is the Black Animation artwork that comprises the Funky Turns Forty: Black Character Revolution 60 piece exhibition. This expands upon the 40 piece exhibition by adding art from the 1970′s animation feature films Coonskin and Hey Good Lookin by Ralph Bakshi and the animated opening to Soul Train. The exhibition also includes art from animated features that build upon the foundation of 1970′s Black animation, such as BeBe’s Kids (1992) and Our Friend Martin (1999).

For more information or to book this exhibition, please contact the Curator, Sista ToFunky.

Black Character Revolution
A Retrospective Of 1970′s Saturday Morning Animation Art Featuring Black Characters

Below is the Black Animation artwork that comprises the Funky Turns Forty: Black Character Revolution 40 piece exhibition. This exhibition features art from the 1970′s Saturday Morning cartoons.

For more information or to book this exhibition, please contact the Curator, Sista ToFunky.

According to the Huffington Post in an interview this past February on Australian radio station 2Day FM, the 48-year-old singer said he simply felt he owed people — many of whom were “generally saddened” by the split — an explanation.  ”While they don’t really have the right to know details of our private life, I felt that those people at least had a right to some kind of explanation,” he said. “When you publicize your marriage as much as our marriage was publicized, when you renew wedding vows, when you do all those things you are giving them a picture of an ideal relationship, of a relationship that people aspire towards, so when it goes south you can’t all of a sudden take the philosophy of Celestine monk and decide to go for a vow of silence, it doesn’t really work like that.”  Seal also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Piers Morgan Tonight, which served as forums to offer an explanation.  Seal told DeGeneres — he and Klum simply “grew apart after a while” — the singer said both appearances were booked months in advance to promote his new album, “SOUL 2.”  Seal and Heidi’s union defied racial prejudice and negative stereotypes.  “Soul 2″ is Seal’s eighth studio album.

SOUL 2 features remakes of hits from Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Rose Royce, The O’Jays, The Spinners, Teddy Pendergrass, Smokey Robinson and Major Harris.  Seal’s first SOUL CD featured covers of gems from the likes of James Brown, Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Denise Williams, Ann Peebles and Curtis Mayfield.  Green’s “Here I Am” and “I’m Still In Love With You” are included on SOUL and the crooner’s “Let’s Stay Together” is covered on SOUL 2.

Both SOUL and SOUL 2 are welcome and well produced presentations for the artist.  There’s something about SOUL 2 however that comes across bolder than the the first offering of covers on SOUL.  Maybe it’s a different intonation in his voice after having done the first one, putting him in more of a comfort zone the second time around.  Listening to the lyrics and his delivery on his rendition of The Chi-Lites classic “Oh Girl,” one might say maybe it’s a new emotion that he’s feeling that’s brought out a blusier dynamic to his delivery.  Perhaps it’s the magic of working with Trevor Horn on the second SOUL release that was absent on the first one.  Maybe it was just the song selections on the second one being more contemporary that make the performances a bit more compelling.  In any case, it’s working… Seal’s new SOUL 2 is a brilliant display of his talents as a singer, harkening to Rod Stewart’s string of standards.

A couple inspired by the union of Seal and Hedi, my wife and I were saying it’s unfortunate that their love wasn’t enough to sustain their marriage, while we fully understand that people grow apart.  They’ll undoubtedly continue to flourish individually as their family steadily grows – we wish them every happiness.

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I introduced myself to each and every vendor as the Curator of the Museum of Uncut Funk and I offered an opportunity to exhibit their work in our Aesthetic Grooves blog at the museum.

I look forward to attending this event next year and the possibilities of working with Alex to spread the word about Kids Comic Con. It’s a much needed event and if there is anything that I do to support more young people reading I will do my part to help Alex and his Kids Comic Con.

http://www.kaganmcleod.com

http://CompanyManComic.com

If The Boondocks was feminist, it might look like this…

Follow the self proclaimed radical Black feminist, Naima Pepper (who has a White mama), as she deals with the contradictions of her own life in various ways—lashing out in Tourette Syndrome-like rants about gentrification, white supremacy, and apathy. Both she and her fraternal twin brother, Miles Pepper grew up in a mostly White and Asian neighborhood. Miles Pepper reflects a popular culture aesthetic and mindset. As they navigate through the world with their best friends, Renee Aanjay Brown and El Ramirez, their identities and neighborhood start to change in front of their eyes.

Please visit (H)afrocentric: the Comic at: web: www.hafrocentric.com FB: www.facebook.com/hafrocentric Twitter: @hafrocentric and Email hafrocentric@gmail.com

Living in a world inundated with pop culture themes, imagery, and consumption, I use the, once disposable, medium of comic strips/books to explore these forced topics in a deceptively innocent format. Sneaking below the radar using cartoon visuals, panels, and word balloons I’m able to examine topics ranging from the effect of technology on our civil liberties, to the social effects of pop culture (TV shows, video games, etc), to the deconstruction of the global phenomenon of Hip Hop music.

The Hip Hop Family Tree is my attempt to discover the intricacies required to create a megalithic movement, by focusing on a subject that is near and dear to my heart. The unique art style and approach that I’ve concocted on this project is to create a comic strip that looks like it was essentially ripped out of time, and possibly created in tandem as Hip Hop culture was forming in the 70’s throughout the 80’s. This is achieved by taking the hand crafted artwork and using the computer to painstakingly mimic out dated, and arcane printing restrictions. I find this digital part of the process to be an interesting juxtaposition in and of itself.

One grand scheme that seems to be apparent, with each successive piece of work that I do, is to open the world of comics up to people who may not have considered this medium a valid storyform in the past by exploiting its easily accessible nature. Falling into a certain monopoly with the topics I explore, I am elated, and have the pleasure of marrying people with similar outside interests in pop culture to the direct form of comics. I also take great pleasure in introducing fans of comics to the obsessions I appreciate outside of my chosen medium.

Ed Piskor

To see more of Ed’s work please visit: The Hip Hop family tree archive. http://boingboing.net/tag/hip-hop-family-tree
Ed’s other sites are www.edpiskor.com and www.wizzywigcomics.com

We have to support the endeavors of our entertainers, peers and colleagues in order for all our dreams to manifest.  I had the fortune to speak with Mr. Pendergrass on a couple of occasions, you can hear our chats here:

http://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/01/19/the-teddy-pendergrass-interview-part-one/

http://museumofuncutfunk.com/2011/02/26/the-teddy-pendergrass-interview-part-two/

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Please check out the COMPANY MAN COMIC at http://www.CompanyManComic.com - It’s updated Mon – Fri. So check it everyday!

You can also visit the Company Man Comic Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CompanyManComic.

You can contact Frank Jordan at Toonmanaz@gmail.com.

Willie, also known by his artist alias, Suicidal Assassin, is the elder brother and a former student of the sequential art program at the Savannah College of Art and Design.  His love for the hip hop culture can easily be seen in the panels of the comics he illustrates.

Jerrod is a graduate of Clemson University, with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He designed and currently maintains the BOSC Comics website.  He also handles much of the scripting and lettering.

Their debut comic, titled BlackGuard, was created in November of 2010 and is now in its second chapter, called “Psycho Therapy”.  The first chapter, “Monkey See… Monkey Free?!”, ended in late 2011.

www.bosccomics.com

Trel “Fave” Robinson is an illustrator/graphic designer who created A PUG NAMED FENDER, a music-inspired webcomic centered around a pug and his friends with frequent guest appearances from contemporary soul and hip hop artists.

He has been drawing for as long as he can remember – with childhood dreams of becoming a cartoonist. By the time he entered college, his aspirations shifted to music when he started playing the piano and went on to direct gospel choirs. He spent the late-90s and 2000s producing music while working as a marketing exec in various industries from radio to consumer goods.

This all changed in 2010 when his beloved pug, A Pug Named Fender (yes, that was his whole name), died unexpectedly after sterilization surgery. For the first time in over a decade, he chose to grab pen and paper to memorialize his friend in an online comic strip. Robinson was also an avid blogger and podcaster who showcased indie soul and hip hop – so he infused the comic with illustrated renditions of his music heroes (i.e., The Roots, Eric Roberson, Ledisi, etc.).

He never took an art class, so Robinson immersed himself in the comic world through countless YouTube tutorials and webcomic message boards. This enabled him to give APNF a polished look and feel through the use of hand-drawings as well as digital coloring and lettering.

In 2011, Robinson launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to produce a printed version of APNF’s online episodes. The book is currently still in production and scheduled to be released in Summer 2012.

As the popularity of the webcomic grew, Robinson was commissioned to design the album artwork for Eric Roberson’s “Mister Nice Guy.” He also has a blog of illustrated musings called “Favedoodles” (www.favedoodles.tumblr.com).

Robinson works as a marketing manager in the telecommunications industry and maintains a number of websites focused on his creative expression from music, art and writing. He currently lives in Houston, Texas.

For more information on Trel Robinson and A Pug Named Fender please visit:

www.allthingsfave.com

www.apugnamedfender.com

This is something new that’s in the subway that’s at the subway station at 23rd street and Lexington Avenue.  The key words are “Help Point.”  23rd and Lexington is not a primary place and/ or location that something like a “Help Point” is necessarily required in New York City.  Why?  There’s generally help in the area or in pretty close proximity.  Areas in New York where “Help Point” kiosks are more than likely to be needed are uptown, downtown or in the outer buroughs.  Despite this blatant reality, the first “Help Point” kiosk is at 23rd and Lexington Avenue?  In fact, there are three of these kiosks along the platform, going downtown as well as uptown.  The photo at the top of this article is a view of a subway in lower Manhattan, not far from where the tragic events of 9/11 took place.  The three photos you see below are pictures of train stations at 116th Street and Lexington Avenue, just north of 23rd and Lexington; at 125th Street and Broadway in Harlem; and a rat infested Wilson Avenue station in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.

Lower Manhattan, Uptown and the outer buroughs are where something like a “Help Point” would be most needed, as that’s where the most help is required for people riding the subway.  Granted we all need help at different points and/ or at various places at different points in time, however, subway stations uptown, on the lower east side or in the outer buroughs are absolutely places where help is warranted, not in mid-town.  This is basic knowledge, not something that requires a great deal of thought.  So why is the first kiosk of this kind at a station where it more than likely will not be needed?  Hmmm….  What’s your opinion?  Leave your funky comments below.

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Thanks Kagan…Sista ToFunky!

Kagan McLeod has been illustrating for magazines, newspapers and design firms since 1999, after graduating from Sheridan College’s illustration program. He began work as a staff artist for Canada’s National Post newspaper, and has since had work published in magazines around the world. He lives in Toronto with his wife, two daughters and hound dog, Buddy.

Please go to Kagan’s websites and check out more of his work.

http://www.kaganmcleod.com/

http://ooohandilikeit.blogspot.com/

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/kagan-mcleod

Part I: “Space Traders” – Directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Trey Ellis. Based on a short story (Faces At The Bottom Of The Well) written by Professor Derrick Bell, the first tenured Black Harvard Law professor (see video below). A conservative Black politician must choose between his people’s survival and appeasing his white colleagues when space aliens propose to share their profound knowledge in exchange for all Black people on earth.

Part II: ”The First Commandment” – Written and directed by Warrington Hudlin. The Virgin Mary’s appearance in an inner-city housing project forces a Hispanic priest to face the hidden cultural origins of Western religion.

Part III: ”Tang” – Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, written by Kyle Baker. Based on a short story by ’60s thriller writer Chester Himes. On the dawn of the “Black Revolution,” a Black couple discovers who the “real” enemy is.

Funkadelic – Cosmic Slop

Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh, hear my mother call
Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh, hear my mother call
I was one of five born to my mother
An older sister and three young brothers
We’ve seen it hard, we’ve seen it kind of rough
But always with a smile, she was sure to try to hide
The fact from us that life was really tough
I can hear my mother call
I can hear my mother call (Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)
Late at night I hear her call
Oh lord, lord I hear her call
She said, “Father, father it’s for the kids (Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)
Any and every thing I did.
Please, please don’t judge me too strong.
Lord knows I meant no wrong.
Lord knows I meant no wrong.”
Then the devil sang
“Would you like to dance with me? (Ooh-ahh-ooh)
We’re doin’ the cosmic slop.” (Ooh-ahh-ooh)
(x3)
She was well known through the ghetto
Tricks would come and then they’d go
The neighbors would talk and call her Jezebel
But always with a smile, she was sure to try to hide
The fact from us that she was catching hell, hey!
Hear my mother call
I can hear my mother call (Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)
Late at night I hear her call
Oh lord, lord I hear her call
She says, “Father, father it’s for the kids (Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)
Any and every thing I did.
Please, please don’t judge me too strong.
Lord knows I meant no wrong.
Lord knows I meant no wrong.”
Lord!
(Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)
Hear my mother call
(Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)
Hear my mother call
She says, “Father, father it’s for the kids (ooh-ah-ooh)
Any and every thing I did. (ooh-ah-ooh)
Please, please don’t judge me too strong.
Hear my mother call (ooh-ah-ooh)
Hear my mother call (Ahhh, ahh-ah-ahhhhh)

Billy started at Warren Magazines, with a story in the legendary first issue of Vampirella dated September, 1969. “Death Boat!” was written by Don McGregor.

Graham also took some side-trips into Marvel’s supernatural mags, like Journey into Mystery, Haunt of Horror, Vampire Tales and Monsters Unleashed. Check out The Alien Plague! from Eerie #31 dated January, 1970. Also another cool find is More Than Blood, written by George Alec Effinger, from Journey Into Mystery #2 September, 1972.