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Catching the Bus

13x19 watercolor and pen

Finetooning: a blog featuring cartoon, comic art, and parodies, medatating on popculture phenomena.


Mamadi the Taciturn

This painting begins my new gallery "Mamadi the Taciturn." Each piece will also be the cover of every exciting episode of my comicbook mini series in progress, of the same title. Stay tunned for character designs and visual story.



About Mamadi:

The character is loosely based off a swordsman from an oral tradition, sung by the Soninke people who reside in several countries in West Africa. The story can be looked at as a metaphor for the decline of the early Empire of Ghana (circa 300-800 AD). Historians have hypothesized the result of religious conflict, wars and desertification (cutting down trees to mine for gold). But like all mythology and epics reality tends to be dressed in fantastic allegory. Whatever the specific cultural significance my desire to develop this character is partially the curiosity of my own roots-- in fact all our roots as humans on this planet, exploring uncharted genres that need their own light... As well as a fascination with mythology, heroism and swordsmen. Through the legends and history recorded, Africa in the middle ages is a remote and amazing place.



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