Charlamagne Tha God Teams With AWA for ‘ILLuminati’ Graphic Novel
variety.comCynthia Littleton Business Editor Charlamagne Tha God got a tattoo of Wolverine at age 16. Next month, the “Breakfast Club” personality and longtime comic book lover is diving deeper into publishing through a deal with Artists, Writers and Artisans for a fantasy thriller graphic novel “ILLuminati.” The project will have a Kickstarter component – not so much for financing production of the 128-page novel but rather as a means of engaging fans.
Charlamagne’s goal is to shine a spotlight on the wealth of Black talent working in comic books and graphic novels. Content producers across publishing and Hollywood have consistently underestimated the level of Black fandom around key comic franchises and characters. “I’ve always been a huge fan of comic books,” Charlamagne told Variety. “Listen to any hip hop record, man.
I’m a huge Wu Tang fan. They’ve always referenced so many comic books.” Charlamagne helped create “ILLuminati” in collaboration with a group of seasoned comic creatives including Bryan Edward Hill, Denys Cowan, Bill Siekiewicz and Sanford Greene.
The plan is for Charlamagne to curate five custom covers for “ILLuminati” that will pay tribute to classic hip hop albums. The Kickstarter campaign launches today and runs through Oct.
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