When the musician Sila was growing up in Kenya, his aunt, who lived in the US, visited his family and left him with a gift that would change his life — a box full of comic books.
“After that I was addicted. I read them to shreds,” he says.
Superman, Fantastic Four, Batman — he read every comic book that he could get his hands on.
“But when I looked back, I realized I didn’t see much of African superheroes that I could relate to, somebody that looked like me and grew up around Nairobi or Dakar instead of Gotham City, New York,” Sila says. “So I wanted to create a comic book that the kids could be familiar with and could inspire them to read, like how I felt.”
Fans around the world can now read about the adventures of a brand new African superhero, Super African.
Sila commissioned writers and artists to create Super African. The comic opens with this future scenario for the world:
“The year is 2045. A series of economic collapses and terrorist strikes has led to the deterioration of the United States and European governments, which in turn has destabilized much of Africa and Asia.”
Sure, it’s a pretty bleak picture, but there are elements of reality in the comic, explains Sila.
“Some of those kids will grow up to face these realities, the hardships, the pollution. We want to give a real life representation of the real world and what it may be,” he says.
The first issue of Super African will accompany Sila’s latest album titled, of course, Super African.
