We loooooove comics, video games, funky digital art and animation or as some of you like to call it, cartoons ?. For the longest time, we only consumed these art forms from abroad. You know, lots of DC, Marvel, Shonen Jump, manga, Cartoon Network, anime…that sort of stuff.

We started wondering what these art forms would look like if they came from Africa. It was easy to say, nope, Africans definitely don’t make comics, or games or good animation. 

Imagine our surprise. We’ve never been so happy to be wrong!

We found stuff like Nkarim Chronicles, Aurion: Legend of the Kori-Odan, Legend of Ngong Hills and illustrators like Juni Ba, Venus Bambisa, Kobe Taylor and Kudzai Ngundu. Elated doesn’t begin to describe how we felt. All we knew was, we needed to find more.

And that, dear friend, is how we began our journey into documenting comics, games, animation and more from Africa. Of course, there’s more to this but we’d rather talk about that with you over a beer or in Kadi and the rest of the kids’ case, malt and wafers. 

So, what’s Squid Mag? 

Why Squid Mag though? 

Short version

It’s a cool ass name. It’s unique and we got an awesome mascot to go with it. Plus, it goes well with our motto, Ink Creativity and website link. 

The boring version

Imagine the art world as a vast ocean, with different magical creatures and a guardian (that’s you). Our guardian loves to drop food in a particular spot and that’s where the big guys love to swim. Through no fault of theirs, they gobble up all the food leaving none for the others. In fact, they even go after the little food that trickles down to other parts of the ocean. 

What’s an obscure squid to do to ward off these predators and get your attention and food? We know. Defend itself. How do Squids defend themselves? You guessed it, squirt ink.

In that ink lies wild adventures, fantastical beasts, golden creators, unputdownable stories and entertainment you’ll hate yourself for not discovering sooner. 

Seeing as ink (digital and physical) is pretty much the foundation of art, it’s a good thing that we’re Squids and we defend our favourite art forms with ink. This defence mechanism is a metaphor for how African creators are painting our realities and fantasies in an ocean of canvases; an ocean that is increasingly encroaching and erasing our narratives. 

That’s why our motto is also Ink Creativity. Quite poetic, ain’t it? ?

So, what does Squid Mag do again? 

??‍♂️Pay attention young Padawan. 

We’re your go-to resource for finding the best comics, video games, animation, sick art and insightful conversations about the geekdom we love so much.

We’re doing this through this website, the Bahari Blue Database (directory of African comics, animation and games) and Awam (free-flowing African speculative fiction). 

Here are some of the things we do here:

We’ve also got a good relationship going with Kugali, Accra Animation Film Festival, African Animation Network, Pyria Gaming, Avandu Vosi, Bill Masuku and pretty much everyone. We’re also a subsidiary of Dark Lantern Media along with Noanyi, Once Enough and YPKI.

Who the hell thought this was a good idea? ?

Oh, that’s us, Kadi Yao Tay and Kofi Sydney Asare sometime in 2015. Crazy thing is, we still think it’s a bloody good idea and are going on strong.

We’ve luckily found other weirdos along the way who also think the same. They are Nana Yaa Serwaa Osei, Tobi Oluwafemi, Cassandra Mark and Kiyindou Yamakasi. Get to know them on our team page.

Others are/were Fafa and Elom Macauley, Elizabeth Temitayo Johnson, Dela Attikesse and Kevin Sampong. 

That’s all about us.  Now over to you. Drop us a line and let’s get to know you.

Don’t forget to follow us on all socials, @squidmag everywhere.

Oh, almost forgot. We’re on a mission to spread the joy of African creativity to every corner of the galaxy and we need you. 

Join Us