Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
That problem is in the early stages of being remedied, and Nnedi Okorafor is part of the solution.
Luckily, shes been offered to readers in a growing number of comics narratives.
Yes, that Garfield.
I never felt very welcome going into comic-book shops.
That was the feeling I got whenever I walked into comic-book shops.
So even though I was interested in comics, I didnt read them.
The way that I was really introduced to comics was through the newspaper.
Back when we had newspapers, I loved the daily comics.
The black-and-white and then the color ones on Sundays.
I was into silly little things growing up Garfield, especially.
Garfield was my favorite.
I was really, really into Garfield.
Honestly, I can recite facts.
I know the day Garfield was born.
It was June 19, which is my daughters birthday.
I know the very first comic, I know all the iterations of Garfield.
I can draw Garfield because I was obsessed.
What was it about Garfield?It was the drawing style, oddly enough.
Theres something about the broad black lines.
And then, of course, Garfield was very moody.
And it was an animal.
I liked seeing the thoughts of creatures.
I discovered graphic novels during my second masters degree in literature.
It wasnt because of anything that I was doing in class.
So I would open them up and I was like,Oh my god, these are comics.
And I just started reading them.
That was how I discovered them.
I discoveredThe Rabbis Cat.
[Will Eisners]A Contract With Godwas the first one, and that remains my favorite graphic novel.
Im obsessed with that one.
That was one of the inspirations ofLaGuardia.
How didA Contract With GodinfluenceLaGuardia?
It wasnt like it was a political diatribe like,Okay, were trying to say something.
It was more that [author Will Eisner] was telling these stories.
It was for an anthology for DC VertigosMystery in Space.
That was in 2012.
He was like, You seem like someone who would thrive in this medium.
It was a no-brainer to me.
I was like, Oh, yeah, definitely.
He was coming to me with a small project.
I like to start small.
I dont like to jump in the deep end before I know how to swim.
Then with Marvel, they came to me.
They were like, We think youd be good at this, what are you interested in?
So that conversation has led to the things Ive done so far.
And thenLaGuardiais the same thing.
That has always been a comic, always.
Ive been working on that for years.
I already had an idea.
What was the earliest kernel ofLaGuardiato arrive in your mind?I think there are two.
And I cant tell you why.
I cant tell you why Im obsessed with it, but I am.
It messes up so many paradigms.
I think thats a big one.
But withLaGuardiain particular, it was the airport.
As in, LaGuardia Airport?It was literally the airport.
I just had multiple incidents there where I felt very alien.
And it stuck with me.
Its usually characters that come to me, but also energy, like rage.
I felt rage many times in the LaGuardia airport.
Immigration is a big issue in my family and being the child of immigrants.
But I think that we also need to see optimism as well.
Imagination is key to imagining the possibilities and the solutions.
Weve got climate change, right?
I dont want to say inevitable, but I want to say its inevitable.
These things exist and theyre terrifying.
So we need to find solutions for humanity.
And being all gloom-and-doom is not going to help us figure out what the possible solutions are.
These immigrants come to Earth, and they come with their own knowledge.
There were aliens that came and dealt with whats happening in the ocean.
They created things in the ocean that consumed the … you know the garbage islands of plastic?
They had things that consumed those.
Im very interested in Wakanda.
I had serious issues with Wakanda.
And also a lot of my comics friends were like, you gotta do this.
I can expand things.
I think it was Stan Lee who created it.
And its no judgment on them, but thats really where I think its issue came from.
The excuse is,Well, if we let people know, theyll consume us.
I get that, but its still problematic.
So its somewhat unrealistic.
But Im just using that metaphor.
And then theres the fact that vibranium is out and used by other superheroes.
Even Captain America, his shield is vibranium.
Captain America gets some vibranium but no other part of Africa gets vibranium?
Wakanda keeps to itself but takes lots from the rest of Africa, if you look at the cultures.
I address that inShuri, at one point.
They speak Hausa, which is a West African language.
So they take from the rest of Africa but they keep what they have their resources for themselves.
This is really problematic!
Like, off the grid.
They just wanted to be who they were.
So, TChalla has to kind of become one of the people and we get to see the people.
When you have this punch in of government structure, theres a hierarchy.
And the stories always kind of focused on the top of that hierarchy.
So, withLong Live the King, you just see Wakandans who are just living their lives.
TChalla has to interact with them just as a person, not as a king.
That was important to me to portray that kind of moment in the narrative.
It expanded just the idea of the people of Wakanda.
And withShuri, theres something that Im doing with Shuri thats very intentional.
Yes, okay, fine.
Lets get that out of the way.
She looks like me and shes basically based on me.
[Artist] Tana Ford is incredible.
I worked with Tana Ford on some of the Marvel stuff and shes an incredible illustrator.
That was, I guess you could say, intentional.
People keep saying that to me: She looks like you, she looks like you.
Yeah, she looks like me.
One thing aboutLaGuardia: its not a comic to read quickly.
Its not a comic to just think,Oh, this is likeMen in Black.
The way I wrote this, theres detail in every single panel.
Every single panel, theres story happening.
Its meant to be read slowly, its meant to be savored.
Look at whats happening in the background.
I guess you would call it a dense comic.
Because thats how life happens.
Theres a lot more going on.
I like to drop a reader in the middle of it.
