Dear reader,

When our founder, Mujeeb, first had the inspiration to create what we now know as TheACE, he had no idea where to begin, how to go about it, or what to even call it. His love for the African comic book and animation space had first manifested as a satirical cartoon brand called The Artivists. A quick scroll down our Instagram page will reveal he was a subtle troublemaker with it, using his crude illustration skills to address Africa’s political and societal issues. Soon, that love found a new cause in wanting to amplify everything going on in Africa’s comic book and animation space. So, The Artivists Africa was retired, and The African Comics & Cinematic Empire took its place. Today, we celebrate that love. 

That love continues to push us. A trip down memory lane for anyone just finding TheACE will reveal that our entire digital media ecosystem was built on what was readily available and cost-effective for a self-funded project. Social media, event access, free website on Framer, Google workspace, AI tools, and contact networks. These formed the foundations of the love manifested.

And then there’s you, the audience, the creators, the publishers, the event organisers, and the many others that have supported us along the way. The reason we always think, “what else can we do to truly support this creative space and its stakeholders?”.

That question pushed us into a new digital space we now call home. While we had reached over 150k accounts across all digital channels with footprints in over 20 African countries including Algeria, South Africa, and Ethiopia, we could not help but look closely at what was truly bringing in the numbers. We were not impressed with those from the Framer website we started with. And it became imperative we found a solution.

This is why we have chosen today to gift you our new home, largely built from the foundations of the old, and optimized for the course we want to chart for the future. So, as we close the curtain on the old, we invite you into the new, with love.

PS: This was not written by AI

Happy Valentines Day.