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Joel Maxime Jr. (@hood_comix) Joel joins us on the Black Superheroes Matter Podcast. Coming from Chicago, Illinois Joel is a multitalented illustrator, art director, curator, sculptor, martial artist, producer and an overall versatile individual. Crediting Hyde Park for its rich culture and beauty, his projects range from environmental consciousness, to economic disparities, gender equality, and more. Right now, Joel is focused on comic book illustrations and writing stories for his series Hoody, a hip-hop graphic novel.
Notable Time Stamps:
Covid-19:
3:28-3:45 “Covid was invigorating. It gave me time to think and really get my whole game plan together”
12:57-13:15 “That affected the way I thought about my whole motif for creation, everything became more practical and more logistical and functional based of like why am I doing this? What’s the end goal? How many people can it affect or help? And more serious things of that nature.”
Creating in Chicago:
5:21-5:54 “It’s been really depressing here, the police situation in Chicago gets worse every year. As everyone hears, we have so many coverups. I also base this whole universe in Chicago, my whole comic book series are all based in Chicago.”
12:30-12:55 “There was no way I could afford a canvas, that was not going to happen in college so I automatically diverted to found objects. Most of my art was found object art from the beginning and it kind of changed the whole concept of me making art until I could afford to buy paper, notebooks, and canvas”
15:30-15:47 “All of my art comes from being inspired from found objects in the city and if you’ve seen it, it’s about social justice and equality. All of my comic books are about social justice or people or what’s around us”
Being a Black Artist:
23:13-22:30 “When we get to the illustrators who are being propelled to this high level, a lot of them simply just copy or they just make a Japanese character brown or they make a popular derivative you know?”
34:25-34:49 “One of the quotes in the manga handbook- before I burned it was ‘protagonists are slender and tall with straight hair and antagonists are usually dark and short with curly hair, small eyes, big teeth, and round noses’ this is a quote basically describing Black people and the whole book is like that. It tells you things like the protagonist stands straight and is never dressed in Black unless it’s a suit, it’s ridiculous”
What are you currently working on?
51:10-51:40 “I’m working on events and parties, smaller versions of C2E2…. I’m working on my own Con”
51:48-52:00 “I now have a music fest and it looks like it’s going to be sustainable, it looks like it’s going to keep going. It’s getting pretty big, its July 4th“
52:15-52:37 “I think I’m going to start a comic book fest for Black people that’s not just for kids or based on the Black Panther phenomenon. The last thing I’m going to do is start a Black Art Con in Chicago”
Key Links:
Instagram: @hood_comix
Graphic Novel: Hoody Series
Facebook: CraveArts
Hey, this is Steve. I played football at Oregon State University and University of Hawaii. Now I doodle cartoons and blow stuff up on camera. I also make web comics too. Hopefully I can make this whole thing a full time gig so I can make the big bucks to pay for Medical School! (Fingers Crossed) If you would like more thought-provoking content or a quick laugh consider supporting me on Patreon, checking out my webseries Eyelnd Feevr, or checking out links to my other projects below:
Eyelnd Feevr Webseries | PDX Black Rose Podcast | Stuck E Podcast | Black Superheroes Matter | Artist Portfolio | DIY Arts Tutorials & Blog |