Superheroes, epic adventures, fantasy are words that quickly float to mind when you think of comic books. In Africa, this is even more prevalent with a significant body of work playing around those themes. But that’s barely scratching the surface of African comics.

In Cameroon, Waanda Stoudios is going against the grain and telling stories grounded in the everyday realities of the country’s youth. With stories such as Android Night, the creators, DADA and Cedric Minlo are showing different shades of living as young Africans, the sort of thing you’d expect from Nollywood (and all the continent-wide derivatives flicks).

The essence of the comic is captured in its synopsis: …”during a trip with friends in a trendy bar in Yaoundé, Mengo the handsome boy meets the beautiful: Lynshie. The rest of the evening is decided. Soon, it will be home”.

Editor’s Note

Vivid and warm colours; vivid during the day due to the dust in this red town, red owing to its laterite. The warmness does not cool off in the evening, on the contrary, it becomes hotter with people meeting. We meet in front of a bowl of steaming pap, behind a beer shimmering with ice-cold perspiration.

We speak to each other or we remain silent: we drink, together facing each other while chatting or alone, in silence, one’s nose dipped in the pap, lips zipped by one’s neck. We like each other, hate each other, shut ourselves up, open up.

Android Night is this universe where people meet, this potpourri of people with different looks and backgrounds in search of an adventure, literally or figuratively. Dream hunters, fantasy merchants, pleasure makers.

We wake up in Ntaba and sleep at Bastos, we have beans for breakfast and a ‘panther’ for dinner. Face to face with Yaoundé, a town they know well, Cedric Minlo and Darius Dada give us a breathtaking narrative of modernity and connectivity. A story at the heart of its two authors, young modern and connected.

What is Android Night?

When Mengo meets Lynshie in a drinking spot in Yaoundé, all the ingredients were combined for a wonderful evening: she is sexy, far from timid and her lips have the spicy taste of the favourite cocktail of modern women Android Night.

Mengo is a hunter, a ‘good player’ who kicks to score, shoots to kill. But as the night unfolds, the young man will discover the other side of the Yaoundé jungle. In Yaoundé, one can go out as a predator and end the night in the shoes of the prey, especially when one is chasing a panther.

Deep-rooted in the warm nights of Yaoundé, the story of Android Night shows the trendy youth of the Cameroonian capital. A nocturnal, modern, connected and free fauna which plays with the shade and light in a town of contrasts to fully live the Cameroonian dream.

Breakfast in an open-air eating spot at Mvog-Ada and waking up in the arms of a panther in Bastos. Or almost…

The Creators

Darius DADA (script)

Soung Meke Louis Darius (aka Darius DADA) is a photographer. His works on Cameroonian football have been exhibited at the Yaoundé Congress Hall and those on everyday Cameroonian life were exhibited during the inaugural exposition of the Contemporary Art Gallery of Yaoundé.

He has his origins from the East region of Cameroon and was introduced to photography by his father at a very early age. Darius DADA is a certified teacher from the Higher Technical Teachers Training College and is a multi-talented artist who knows no limits. Sculpture, drawing, dancing, music, painting, cinema, comics, cartoons, still, moving, real and virtual images; his areas of expression expand with time and experience.

Android Night is the child of an excellent collaboration with Cedric Minlo who is also a trained teacher. Via these comics, DADA and Cedric present a series of short stories narrating our daily lives in our wildest imaginations!

Cédric Minlo (art)

Born in 1992 in Yaoundé, Cédric Minlo has been drawing since a tender age. He was awarded the price for Mboa BD 2011, where his light drawing, funny stories captivated the Jury. In 2013, he joined the KIRO’O GAMES team – the first video game design studio in Central Africa – where he offers his illustration skills creating non-playable characters and miscellaneous items in the Aurion game: Legacy of Kori-Odan.

He published a short story in the Rio Dos Camaroes collective album, his graphic style asserts itself as much as his mastery of the script. The album ‘Rio Dos Camaroes’ was presented at the Algiers International Comics Festival (FIBDA) in 2013.

Moreover, Cedric Minlo is part of the ‘Ekiee’ adventure, the 100% comics magazine alongside Paul Monthe and Yannick Deubou Sikoué, where he works specifically on the series Lycee Mozart.

Android Night which was published by Waanda Stoudio in 2017 is his first. With a script by Darius Dada, the story immerses us into the atmosphere of Yaoundé nights with colourful characters. Cedric Minlo regularly publishes his works on his Facebook page, Cedric and the Brush.

The Publisher

Waanda Stoudio Publishing House is engaged in publishing comic authors, Africans in general and Cameroonians in particular. Their aim is to produce a professional content in relation with Africa.

Waanda Stoudio develops an artistic production for the general public whose major criteria are the search for a roots label, made of authenticity and originality both in terms of scenarios and drawing.

After the serie Ekiee was published, Android Night follows in establishing our editorial project.

Android Night and all the other comics are available for purchase on Waanda Stoudio’s website.

All photos captured by Alexandre M. Djengue.