A revival of newspaper-esque comics: Introducing Ayobami Adebayo, Connector Comic Artist
To many, newspapers are a thing of the past, with the classic punchline comics falling quickly behind. Now getting into the digital age, we online consumers are more likely to see the new version of those types of comics, in the form of posts on social media from accounts like @poorlydrawnlines, run by Reza Farazmand. At the Connector, we thought it would be fitting for us to have our own regular comics and Ayobami Adebayo has stepped up to the task.
Adebayo, 22, is a current sequential art student here at the Savannah College of Art & Design and has loved comics ever since he could remember. He sees himself as lucky that his Nigerian parents did not keep him from reading graphic novels and comics growing up. While in high school, he struggled to figure out who he was, passion-wise, and what career path to look into. It was not until 2021 that he realized that making comics was what he wanted to do. When he discovered SCAD, he hasn’t looked back since.
In a conversation we held with Adebayo, he notes his influences being those classic newspaper strip comics. “I make cartoons and comics (akin to the well-known ones such as peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes) digitally and occasionally make animations as well,” says Adebayo. “I’ve been making digital art for a little over a year now, so not too long. But the progress has been great.”
Starting soon, Adebayo will be publishing weekly, slice-of-life comics at the Connector about life at SCAD for both students and faculty. But as for personal projects, Adebayo has been publishing “Knuckleheads,” daily on his Instagram @knuckleheadscomic. Catch “Wannabees,” his SCAD-centered comic on the Connector, launching soon!
