Why I created comic book based on African folklore – Greg Anderson Elysée

Greg Anderson Elysée is the creator of fan-favorite comic-book ‘Is’nana The Were-Spider’, which explores African folklore and mythology, blended with contemporary characters and settings, making for a compelling mix. We caught up with him, and he spoke about the second volume of his creation, more were-creatures, his unique approach to independent publishing, and more. Herewith, […]

Greg Anderson Elysée is the creator of fan-favorite comic-book ‘Is’nana The Were-Spider’, which explores African folklore and mythology, blended with contemporary characters and settings, making for a compelling mix. We caught up with him, and he spoke about the second volume of his creation, more were-creatures, his unique approach to independent publishing, and more. Herewith, are excerpts:

Daily Trust: The first volume of Is’nana was a hit with critics. With volume 2’s release looming, what should fans look forward to?

Greg Anderson Elysée: Fans should look forward to more awesomeness from Is’nana the Were-Spider, kicking more butt than he did last volume and being more assertive than passive. He’s growing more into his own as not just a fighter, but also as his own person. So we’ll be seeing a bit of that. Some sick and demented were-bees, hornets, and wasps who were brought into this world because of Is’nana, and they decide they want to take over since they weren’t getting respect in their world. 

There will be some gore and more body horror, a lot of wisecracks from Anansi the Spider because we have to stay true to the original stories. Some tension between father and son, and we’ll see how their relationship has sort of changed since Is’nana has spent some time in our world. 

Also, a beautiful Black family fighting hell and back for each other against an evil family of bugs. I thought it was imperative to focus and showcase a loving Black family. Last but not least: amazing art by Daryl Toh and beautiful colors by Lee Milewski and the rest of my team, Joshua Cozine on the letters and Walt Barna on the covers. 

People continually ask for more representation of color with original stories, and this book is that. We’re following a Black boy who is trying to discover his place in the world and it’s a type of story you won’t get anywhere concerning his backstory, his supporting cast, and the villains and journeys he faces. 

It’s a fun horror-fantasy book with some coming of age themes and essentially a father and son story with some heart. Despite the craziness and sick horror, I try to give it a feel good tone at the same time. I’ve been told a few times and reminded recently that some people found it quite inspirational reading.

DT: Speaking of tone, Is’nana has fans young and old. Does this wide appeal restrict you in the sense of the stories you’d like to tell, as opposed to stories you could tell?

Elysee: Funny you ask that. The very first time I was developing the idea for the character and his story, Is’nana was going to be an adult, and it was going to be a mature book. Over time that idea started to shift and he became a young teen. I really wanted to push the legacy theme and a character starting to discover who he was and question things. I also think it’s fun watching a young person doing extraordinary things. I started to write the story with a teen and adult audience in mind, but surprisingly to me kids fell in love with it, along with their parents. 

The art by Walter Ostlie in volume 1 really lends to a very fun, quirky, and dynamic style that can appeal to younger readers. And while there are some scary imagery and themes for adults, I believe younger readers are drawn by the art, cool characters and action, and the fact that they can read it and not feel like they’re being talked down to.

So no, I don’t feel any actual restrictions, but I would like parents to be aware that there may be some themes I may not sugar coat, especially down the line where I’ll have Is’nana exploring his teenage social side.

DT: For the benefit of readers yet to experience Is’nana, what’s your character’s origin, and how did you come up with it?

Elysée: So Is’nana is from an alternate realm called The Mother Kingdom. Anansi the Spider is one of the only figures from that world who can travel to our world. Unfortunately, he is also believed to be the life line of the Mother Kingdom. If he is gone too long, there’s a strong possibility that the Mother Kingdom may die and cease to exist. Is’nana, who is a little spider, finds a way to come to our world to save him but in doing that, accidentally breaks barriers between different worlds, causing some chaotic characters to travel around and come into our world. In coming to our world, he gets a human form comprised of spiders and finds his father. They then work together to stop these creatures that escaped into our world.

The general theme of the story came about my wanting to educate and introduce people to more Black mythological characters. I was feeling discouraged when I would mention Anansi or other Black folklore characters to people, even Black people, and they were lost as to what I was talking about. Which is why I had that first scene in the beginning of Vol 1 with Anansi doing that stand up show and no one knowing who he was, which made him unable to set up his final joke. 

In a way, I felt that some of the legacy of his, and other Black characters, were dying among many of us so that became the actual plot of the comic. Is’nana represents the legacy striving to keep the traditions and roots alive in this day and age.

DT: All writers have their methods, pre-work routines, etc. How do you get yourself ready to write?

Elysée: Main thing, honestly, is simply getting yourself to write. A lot of people say they have ideas for stories but don’t do anything with it. So my first method is simply to use that time when I’m sitting down to use that free opportunity to convert that idea onto paper or my notes on my phone. From there my mind would jog and come up with things to go along with that idea. I don’t jump into a draft just yet, I’ll probably plot out the general story or write a scene with dialogue between characters, or prompts and main beats that come to mind. Eventually I’ll start to piece them together and flesh them out.

It’s mainly having to manage time. I have so many things going on, and sometimes when you have free time, you just want to relax and not do anything. But I need to get things done so I have to will myself to just write. Once I start, it’s really hard for me to stop and I get extremely irritated and frustrated if I get stopped or pulled away from it.