The emergence of Afroblot marks a watershed moment in the evolution of African comic art. Developed by Nigerian creator Erivic Adedayo, Afroblot is not merely a stylistic innovation, it is an audacious visual philosophy that challenges the dominance of Western aesthetic norms in the comic book industry. Rooted in both cultural consciousness and creative rebellion, Afroblot offer a raw, symbolic, and emotionally intense alternative to the polished hyperrealism often associated with mainstream African and global comics. It dares to be visceral where others are clean, abstract where others are literal, and unapologetically African in both intention and form.

Genesis and Philosophy

Afroblot was born out of necessity, rebellion, and innovation. Adedayo, navigating the challenges of independent publishing, found inspiration in the limited-colour printing processes of Japanese manga and early American red-and-blue comics. What began as a practical response to production limitations soon transformed into a revolutionary aesthetic. The term “Afroblot” combines African identity with the chaotic expressionism of ink blots, placing cultural memory, personal struggle, and emotional depth at the heart of its philosophy.

In Afroblot: The Memoir, Adedayo refers to the style as a “psychological mirror,” suggesting it reflects the fractured, symbolic, and often painful realities of the African experience. He positions Afroblot as an intentional divergence from both Western comic conventions and the usually rigid structures of contemporary African visual storytelling. In its chaos, there is clarity, in its asymmetry, a deeper symmetry with truth.

Visual Language and Aesthetics

Afroblot’s visual identity is distinguished by its use of a four-tone palette: red, black, off-white, and grey. This palette is not just stylistic but symbolic. Red evokes blood, struggle, and spirit. Black represents shadow, depth, and subconscious memory. Off-white and grey act as liminal spaces, unfinished, ambiguous, and open to interpretation. The artwork embraces imperfection, distortion, and asymmetry. Faces blur into spirits, bodies fragment into ideas, and space dissolves into feeling. Storytelling is achieved not through visual clarity but through emotional suggestion.

Rather than pursuing realism or anatomical precision, Afroblot embraces metaphor. It is a style that communicates through the subconscious, invoking a sense of myth, memory, and dream. The ink blots, central to the style, act almost as Rorschach tests, inviting the viewer to participate in meaning-making rather than passively consuming a fixed narrative.

Cultural Significance and Decolonial Undertones

Afroblot is not merely an aesthetic decision, it is a cultural stance. In rejecting polished, Western-influenced forms, it critiques the colonial residue embedded in African visual storytelling norms. Adedayo has argued that African comic creators have often felt compelled to conform to international standards of professionalism, frequently at the expense of cultural truth. Afroblot disrupts that expectation.

By returning to African motifs, oral traditions, and pre-colonial modes of visual representation, Afroblot places Africa at the centre of its visual logic. It positions chaos not as a failure of form, but as an echo of the continent’s history and complexity. In doing so, it offers a new way of drawing Africa, one that is emotionally honest, spiritually grounded, and politically bold.

Notable Works and Public Exhibitions

The first full showcase of Afroblot was in the comic book Jogunomi, released in July 2024. Set in the 1830s amidst the conflict between the Old Oyo Kingdom and Ilorin, Jogunomi uses Afroblot to depict war, spirituality, and destiny through a fragmented, expressive lens. The comic garnered attention not only for its storytelling but for its audacity to tell a historical African narrative in a wholly new visual dialect.

In April 2025, Afroblot found a physical home in Afroblot: The Experience, an immersive one-day exhibition set to be showcased at Krates Lagos. Attendees will be enveloped in the Afroblot universe through curated installations, conceptual prints, and reflective spaces. The exhibition will also serve as a physical launch of Afroblot: The Memoir, a reflective companion piece that contextualised the movement’s origins and ambitions.

These milestones have established Afroblot not just as a style, but as a movement—one increasingly recognised within both comic art and contemporary African creative circles.

Controversy and Criticism

Despite its acclaim, Afroblot has also sparked debate. Some creatives have expressed concern that its abstraction makes it inaccessible, particularly for younger audiences or those unfamiliar with its philosophical underpinnings. Others question whether such a visually dense and emotionally demanding style can thrive in a comic book industry still reliant on broad appeal and commercial viability.

Adedayo has responded to such critiques with candour. In his public statements and writings, he argues that Afroblot is not meant to be easy, it is meant to be honest. The discomfort it elicits is intentional. It reflects the fractured African reality, the burden of memory, and the urgency of reclaiming visual narratives. He asserts that not all African stories must be universally palatable to be valuable.

This ongoing conversation between accessibility and artistic freedom, form and formlessness, commerce and culture, defines much of Afroblot’s present and future.

Movement or Moment?

Afroblot stands as one of the most intellectually ambitious and visually arresting contributions to African comic art in recent years. It has opened a new frontier, one that makes space for symbolism, spirituality, and self-determined expression. Whether it evolves into a wider school of practice or remains an avant-garde outlier, Afroblot has already left an indelible mark.

It compels us to ask difficult questions. What does it mean to draw Africa truthfully? Must all comic art be clean, character-driven, and commercially digestible? Or can it, like Afroblot, embrace the red, black, and grey of the African soul—unfinished, messy, and deeply powerful?

In staining the page with its wild, visceral ink, Afroblot has carved out space for a new way of seeing. And perhaps, most importantly, a new way of being seen.

Sources: TheACE, We Are Erivic Productions, Afroblot: The Memoir