Hey and welcome back to our all-ages comics column, From Friendly Ghosts To Gamma Rays! Our latest entry comes from award winning writer, Greg Anderson-Elysée! This time he’s teamed up with artist George Gant to celebrate the special day for Is’Nana.
Is’Nana the Were-Spider: Birthday Day
Writer: Greg Anderson-Elysée
Art: George Gant
Before he came to Earth and became the were-spider, he was merely Is’Nana. One of many children of Anansi, who all share the same birthday. So in order to make his special day stand out from the rest, a group of his friends have decided to kidnap the young spider and celebrate in style!
This latest adventure in the Mother Kingdom takes us back to Is’Nana’s childhood and introduces several new characters that further expand the richness of this world. We meet Ndua, a living doll; Coutee the frog; and Lil Br’er who is the son of the legendary Brer Rabbit. Elysée works his own magic to bring their friendship to the forefront with dialogue that actually feels like a group of kids just having fun. This adds to the humor and heart of the story which gets another boost when we meet the tar baby, Tumfeh. A misunderstood character whom you really feel for at the beginning of the book as Elysée paints a dark picture of Tumfeh’s life and what they’re told to expect of themselves. The relationship between Anansi and Is’Nana is also another highlight as once again we get a great example of Black familial love between a father and son. Anansi can’t understand why his son doesn’t take after him more but he’s not condemning or demeaning Is’Nana. It’s an interaction that is honest and pure. Anansi does make a great joke about what may happen between them in the future that might be a hint at what’s to come.
Being that I was familiar with George Gant’s Beware of Toddler series there was a level of cute and wholesome that I thought I was prepared for. However, I was not truly ready for what he was bringing in Birthday Day. The visual story is touching just on it’s own with Gant punctuating several moments that really make the narrative shine that much brighter. From the action sequences (who knew Lil Br’er had hands like that?) to the adorable moment when the friends meet Tumfe this story is panel after panel of cuteness and fine sequential storytelling. Since Is’Nana is in his spider form the majority of story Gant makes him stand out with the little locs added that is such a fun touch to the character’s appearance. Gant’s style paired with Elysée’s narrative comes together to make the perfect story for any young reader to enjoy and even older ones can appreciate as well.
Is’Nana the Were-Spider: Birthday Day is a comic you need in your collection so I suggest heading over to the Kickstarter right now to make sure that happens! This is another story that is much needed in comics that takes us to a place and culture usually left out of the medium. So it’s wonderful that creatives like Elysée and Gant are making sure to fill that void!
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