AEROSOUL Comic Book Covers Project

​AeroSoul members Duane Deterville and Refa 1 do work teaching art to incarcerated youth. One of the many projects recently completed by them is this series of comic book covers wherein they enabled the youth to imagine superheroes that eradicate social toxins in their respective communities. Each superhero was conceived of by predominantly Black and Brown incarcerated youth. Both girls and boys were asked to think about what problems exist in their community and to create superpowers that will address them. Our goal was to nourish, spark and free the imaginations of our youth because we firmly believe that in our creative mode of thinking we are in our most radical, liberatory and revolutionary Afrikan minds. These are the practical uses of science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction as a tool for liberation.
The African centered ideas of Negritude and Afri-Futurism have historically tapped into the imaginative and revolutionary notions of Black/African people. In keeping with those notions we teach youth how to envision their environment as a place wherein they have autonomy to express themselves and choose their own destinies in culturally safe spaces. Our youth envisioned superheroes with supernatural and telepathic healing powers, heroes who protect their communities from drugs and police terrorism. One particularly impressive superhero battles against the stealing of natural resources from the continent of Africa. All of these images and the potential narratives that stem from them are a testimony to the power and resilience of our youth’s imaginations. With proper stimulation they maintain imaginations for liberation in the face of the status quo’s toxic and dehumanizing media propaganda.

Click here to see all 12 amazing covers