African comics are a century-old art form, not a new trend. From newspaper strips in colonial times to graphic novels sold around the world, African artists have used comics to laugh, to resist and to tell their own stories. Here is the history of comics in Africa, region by region, and where the story is heading.
The colonial press, 1920s to 1950s
The first comics in Africa appeared in the press of the colonial era. In Egypt, children’s publications printed comics in Arabic from the 1920s. In South Africa, commercial comics for children appeared as early as 1924. In the Belgian Congo, the first drawn strips appeared in 1921. Most of these pages were made by Europeans, often to educate or control rather than to entertain.
North Africa: Samir and the Algiers festival
In Egypt, the children’s magazine Samir, launched in 1956, published comics in Arabic alongside translations of Tintin and Spirou. Algeria built one of the strongest comics scenes on the continent, and since 2008 the International Comics Festival of Algiers (FIBDA) has welcomed artists from across Africa and the world.
West Africa: Gbich! and Aya
In Côte d’Ivoire, the satirical weekly Gbich!, founded in Abidjan in 1999 by Lassane Zohoré, Illary Simplice and their partners, became the most popular comics magazine in French-speaking Africa, with characters like Cauphy Gombo. In 2006, Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie won the prize for best first album at Angoulême and carried Abidjan into bookshops worldwide. In Senegal, T.T. Fons created Goorgoorlou, a character so popular he became a TV series.
Central Africa: the Congolese school
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the richest comics traditions in Africa: Albert Mongita, Mongo Sisé, Barly Baruti, the street booklets of Papa Mfumu’Eto and the Kin Label collective. Our full guide to Congolese comics tells that story on this news page.
Nigeria and English-speaking Africa: the superhero boom
In the 2010s, English-speaking Africa embraced superheroes. In Lagos, Jide Martin founded Comic Republic in 2013 and launched Guardian Prime on the same day Man of Steel premiered. Roye Okupe’s YouNeek Studios published E.X.O. and Iyanu. Kugali, which began with a pan-African comics anthology in 2017, co-created Iwájú with Walt Disney Animation Studios, released on Disney+ in February 2024. In South Africa, Loyiso Mkize’s Kwezi follows a teenage hero in Gold City, a city inspired by Johannesburg.
Satire and resistance
Across the continent, comics also lived in newspapers and satirical magazines, such as Popoli in Cameroon, launched in 2003. Cartoonists used humor to criticize power when other voices were silenced.
Today: from webcomics to animation
African comics now reach readers through webcomics, social media, streaming and print. Studios across the continent adapt their heroes for animation and film, and a new generation of artists works in African languages as well as in French and English.
ISOLELE: a new chapter from Kinshasa
ISOLELE Universe, founded by HRM King Kufulula, works with 49 illustrators between Kinshasa and Bukavu and has created more than 300 characters, led by Zaiire, the Prince of Kongo. ISOLELE calls its genre Katiomics: African comics and graphic novels, the way manga belongs to Japan. On July 3 and 4, 2027, ISOLELE UMOJA, ISOLELE’s own comics festival, will take place in Kinshasa.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are African comics?
African comics are comics and graphic novels created by artists from Africa. They began in the colonial press in the 1920s and today include satirical magazines, superhero universes and graphic novels published worldwide.
Who are the best-known African comics creators?
Among the best known: Marguerite Abouet and Lassane Zohoré (Côte d’Ivoire), T.T. Fons (Senegal), Barly Baruti and Papa Mfumu’Eto (DR Congo), Roye Okupe and Jide Martin (Nigeria), Loyiso Mkize (South Africa) and HRM King Kufulula, creator of the ISOLELE Universe.
Is there an African comics festival?
Yes. The International Comics Festival of Algiers (FIBDA) has run since 2008, and ISOLELE UMOJA, the first ISOLELE Universe festival, will take place in Kinshasa on July 3 and 4, 2027.
Explore Katiomics
