COMEXPOSED
By Kundai Chihambakwe
“There are still some people out there who believe comic books are nothing more than, well, comic books. But the true cognoscenti know graphic novels are- at their best- an amazing blend of art literature and the theater of the mind.” ~ John Ridley. These are similar sentiments shared by COMEXPOSED founders Tinodiwa Zambe-Makoni and Eugene Mapondera.
COMEXPOSED is the Zimbabwean Digital Arts Convention born out of a shared passion for storytelling and celebration of comics which was established by Tino and Eugene in 2013.
Tino, a YALI Fellow, is the founder of CCX Comics and creator of The Gift & GUNDOG, Zimbabwe’s first nationally distributed action comic book, while Eugene, an Al Jazeera guest, is the founder of Sigma Digital Studio and Euge_Media as well as the artist behind Zimbabwe’s longest running sports comic book Hotshots.
This formidable duo started their journey in June 2012 where they primarily focused on building a digital network of like-minded people with a shared interest in comic books and the comic book culture and creating a sustainable industry therein. As with most startups, Tino and Eugene had to dig deep into their personal pockets to fund their activities. The road to building awareness was admittedly a difficult one as the pair began tap into the Zimbabwean comic industry through an organic marketing approach.
The tenacity of the pair began to pay off as they started being invited to make radio and 
television appearances to discuss their work. This lead to them hosting the first Zimbabwean Comic Expose entitled COMEXPOSED in April 2015 at Alliance Francaise in Harare. This event was sponsored by Hisense, Dairyboard, Solution Centre, Goldy Bytes, Cyrex Business Solutions. It provided a platform for comic book creators, animators, publishers and artists alike from all around the country as well as the region to come together under one roof and share their passion, work and skills with each other and the greater public.
Between 2015 and 2016, the team were able to host numerous Comic Book Days which were markets for comic books. To date, 20 comic books have been produced where three of them are in consistent publication. Some of the titles include Umzingeli (Ndebele for bounty huntress), Sunblast Red, Bawt, Gambanyika, Razorman and Nyepfunyiro to mention a few.
In 2016, the duo received the prestigious Franco-German Grant which allowed them to host a two week long workshop for animators and comic book animators. Spring boarding from this, they were able to host the second COMEXPOSED that same year in August at Moto Republic Harare. It was at this juncture that they opted to move away from the event being called a Expose to it becoming a Convention similar to the internationally recognised Comic Conventions (Comi-Con) from around the world such as the, San Diego Comic-Con International, New York Comic Con, London Comic Con and East European Comic Con to name a few.
They wanted to make this event a unique experience and so decided to draw inspiration from Anime and Manga sprinkled with some modernised French culture. This resulted in COMEXPOSED with a sushi themed maid cafe. They also ran a costume play (Cosplay) competition which saw participants of all ages come through kitted as various characters ranging from Mario and Luigi, Jack Sparrow, Hulk Girl, Razor Man to Spiderman. Comic artists were also able to sell their comic books and exclusive material for the Convention.
For those of you who follow the American superhero television series The Flash, you will be familiar with Zimbabwean born Rick Cosnett who portrays Eddie Thawne in the show. Rick participated in this COMEXPOSED via Skype while other returning artists such as Kembo Chapfika and Julia Fisher helped bring star-power to the event which was attended by 300 people.
This industry is predominantly male dominated and as such, Tino and Eugene have also extended their portfolio to include getting more females involved in comic production, animation, writing and illustration. To continue fostering the growth of the industry within our Nation’s border, the pair also run weekly events with the comic community which include Tutastic Tuesdays, Speech Bubble on Thursdays and Fanart Fridays. All artists and interested parties are welcome to join!
This industry is now slowly getting the respect and recognition as other more traditional industries on the Zimbabwean playing-field and corporates are increasingly beginning to see the wealth of value in pop-culture.
This year, COMEXPOSED: CONVERGE is focused on bringing together the boldest minds in Zimbabwe to REDEFINE AFRICAN and dare the nation to live on the VERGE, the ultimate EDGE of AFRICAN CREATIVE GENIUS. Make sure to diarise Saturday 13th October and come and support this proudly Zimbabwean initiative!
Terms to Know:
Comic artist: (aka comic book artist, graphic novel artist,or comic book illustrator) is an artist who specialises in enhancing writing or concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books, or graphic novels.
Animator: an artist who takes drawing and inanimate objects and gives life to them through the illusion of movement by displaying multiple images in rapid sequence.
Digital artist: uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process.
Cosplay: costume play-a performance art where participants called cosplayers wear self-made costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.
COMEXPOSED: Eden Villas, 54 Eighth Street, Avenues, Harare. 08644 051 418. www.comexposed.com