Ghana's Talented Comic Book Artist



Comic by Alfred G. Ahdab, Ghanaian comic book artist

Portrait of the artist, Alfred G. Ahdab

Alfred G. Ahdab (1948-to present)

Born in Accra of a Lebanese father and a Ghanaian mother, Alfred G. Ahdab was drawn to cartoons at an early age. One of his earliest influences as a child was the magazine Tin Tin. In 1972, Ahdab left Ghana for the Pells School of Arts in the United States where he studied art, acting, and mechanical engineering. After completing five years of studies, Ahdab returned to Ghana in 1977. During this time, Ghana was under the inept leadership of Colonel Acheampong and was experiencing economic troubles, suffering from huge inflation and a scarcity of basic commodities. Seeking greener pastures, Ahdab relocated to Lagos, Nigeria, which would be his home for the next 14 years.

It wasn't long before Ahdab was hired by a local newspaper as their graphic artist and cartoonist. Cartooning turned out to be Ahdab's passion, and after three years at the newspaper, he left and founded a monthly periodical called The Mojo featuring humorous cartoons with a social and political edge. "I got into cartooning because it was a way I could express what was inside my mind," explained Ahdab. "Usually there is a supernatural element in my work, mixing local beliefs and superstitions."

Preferring to do everything by hand and keeping creative control over his work, Ahdab works on all stages of his cartoons, creating the concept, penciling and inking the cartoons, performing the color separation, and crafting the dialogue. Deftly mixing local vernacular and slang with conventional English, Ahdab created a fascinating cast of characters exposing many of the social problems pervasive in West Africa. It wasn't long before The Mojo found success. "In Nigeria, publishing was the best," recalled Ahdab. "In almost no time, we went from selling 5,000 copies a month of The Mojo to 50,000 copies."

Mr. Adhad at work on a comic

In 1991, circumstances compelled Ahdab to make a speedy return to his homeland of Ghana, which caused him to lose his connections in publishing, the sizeable audience of Nigerian comic fans, and copies of his early work. Ahdab quickly learned that the market for comics in Ghana is small and unreliable; dependable distributors are also hard to come by. "In Accra, you can't find a reliable distributor because there is no competition," stated Adhab. "There is a lot of market potential, but very few distributors recognize this."

While developing new stories and looking for distributors, Adhab is currently working as an auto engineer to support himself. He finds release for his artistic side through music, playing shows in Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi as a "one-man band." "I use a keyboard to set the background beats, slowly adding layer after layer, and then play my guitar over it and sing. I mainly play sentimental country music, as well as pop/rock," said Adhab.

With a desire to see cartoons as a mainstay in Ghanaian culture, Adhab dreams of opening up his own publishing company in Ghana—in the meantime, he will be happy with anything that increases the circulation of his stories. "I am currently working on a comic called City Life," stated Adhab, "It focuses on current social issues in Ghana in a realistic and exciting manner." Adhab is planning to make some of the pages from City Life, along with examples from other works, available through the internet on www.naomba.com, where an online gallery of African art is under construction. He is also devising new ways to promote comics inside Ghana.

Alfred G. Ahdab can be contacted through his friend and manager, Kamal Odaymat, at kamo1211@hotmail.com.

P.O. Box CT5110
Cantonments, Accra
Ghana
West Africa


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