Is’nana the Were-Spider: Showtime KICKSTARTER LIVE NOW!

Gregory Anderson Elysée is a Brooklyn-native, Hatian-American writer, director, model, and, above all, educator. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of getting to know him over the past few years and I hope that I don’t make him uncomfortable when I say, Is’nana the Were-Spider: Showtime is not only the best book he has helped to produce but it is the most important.

Elysée could not accomplish this feat alone, of course. The main story, illustrated by Blanco and colored by Davis-Cooper, plays a major role in carrying the narrative. The movement illustrated through the breakdance sequences is frenetic and tangible whilst evoking an early Wu-Tang-esque vibe. The same goes for the moments of savage police brutality that creates a gut-punch for the reader as onlookers plead. That moment, after a couple of dozen pages of lighthearted fun and the introduction of an Impundulu (a sort of vampiric bird from African mythologies), lands like a ton of bricks. The tone changes as quickly as the cultural mores in the United States in 2020. The air grows thick in the room and heartbeats hasten. Did I mention that Elysée is an educator? Because he is, in multiple capacities.

The additional inclusion of the “That’s the Ticket” short story, illustrated by Brame and the support of ANDWORLD Design– the lettering company founded by black letterer Deron Bennett– goes the distance in showing that this book is one that is fully representative of where the industry needs desperately to be right now. Stories, in voices of those that are affected the most, about the things that must change if we have any hope of moving forward and being a better nation must become the norm. A better humanity. Is’nana’s battles against the horrors of this world are on the frontlines of the battle for racial equality in the United States while also looking deep into an all-too-often erased Afro-history to bring a balance to the current national discourse in a fresh and exciting way. BACK. THIS. PROJECT.