Well this isn’t this awkward, not the Charles Hamilton Cd but like actually awkward. I haven’t said anything in a good few month since the season 2 finale. This isn’t public speaking, but damn I legit don’t know how to start this off.
Legit just heard a voice that said TAKE YA TIME PASTOR!!
For me that means I’ll just word vomit as Friday Night Plans plays in the background. OMG I love her so much.I do.
A lot has happened since the last issue. When I say a lot I mean a lot. This is my first Saturday when I have not left the house in fucking months. I will start off by saying I didn’t go speak at my homegirls daughters school like i was asked to, things got busy on my end. Maybe next time on DBZ I’ll get to inspire the youth with my JRPG level art journey. Now that will beyond awkward, for me at least. Spoiler Alert, I am not a role model ya’ll, I’m not….at least I don’t think so. But it is possible that I inspire someone the way anime and comics inspired me, and still do.
Money also inspires me, and not having to work at bullshit cotton fields.My toxic treat is that I hope the cotton field I shuck and jive at closes down and I’m not too tired to work on my comic series. And there ya have it folks the segue to what this issue is about.
Heavy Yeet.
I just finished an issue, so by Yeet Gawd logic I release an issue. It makes sense right? Side note, I legit finished this issue in 2017. Again I say I don’t know why I took so long to release it, but it prob was a good thing. One of my friends has been reviewing my grammar since I’m not smarter than 5th grader. See kids when you work bullshit jobs that don’t involve grammatical skills, you forget simple things like where do you insert a comma. I wish i was lying but NOPE.
As of right now she has reviewed issues 1-13. The next batch i send her will be issues 14-20, but that is when I’m completely done with this epic. I just finished issue 15 and as of right now I have 240 pages. Here is hoping the last 5 will feel like doing the first 5.
I hope.
My goal is to abstain from doing art shows and being a merchant as much as I can, because this past year I was really on tour. I can be satiated being out of the public eye to work on my magnum opus. Doing shows is a lot, a lot my nigga. We can talk about that next time tho. But once I finish this series in its entirety I prob will release issues in a faster method.
Did anyone go yay? Or is that feeling of ain’t no one checking for me correct.
Hey Google play Feel by Kendrick Lamar.
Sorry existential September is on the way and that wave has been washing over my ankles lately and my socks are drenched.
Shit.
At any rate issue 5 is here and thus the end of Act 1 of this JRPG level story.
Synopsis time.
Watatsumi and Kagutsuchi arrive and time to stop Abyssals rampage. But now they must face the one who is responsible for this ordeal. Secrets will finally be revealed as emotions fly high on the battlefield.
That is it for now. The next issue will be ummmm Idk. I can’t say for certain when Season 3 will start, but at least you have 2 seasons to re read to hold ya over until then.
Kinda the way DBZ took forever to get to season 3 with the fight with the remain Ginyu Force members and Freeza.
Yea y’all read that correctly this is a season finale. A 4 part season finale IN Black History Month.
But Jano what do you mean a 4 part season finale?
Excellent question. In case you forgot the point of my photo portion of my JRPG Bizarre Art Journey was to get more experience working with models since I’ve mostly done events. However as of now I reached that point i was at in January of the trying times of 2020, where I have no more shoots to talk about. Well I do but they are all events which I legit disassociate while doing.
I phase out and don’t’ get attached while being there. Like I’m the Watcher from Marvel Comics or something.
And since I feel like I will be doing filler issues for the next 4 months and literally have no patience for that. Today I give you a rare treat of 4 a part season finale, kinda like 90s cartoon. Prime example, the X-men episodes when Apocalypse was at the nexus of time and we saw Psylocke for the first time and a slew of random team ups.
This isn’t that epic, but you get the point. The only real comparison is that they came back with new episodes even thought that finale was supposed to be the final arc.
As if.
At least we will get a new X-Men series continuing from the episodes that followed the aforementioned arc.You may want to get a book mark to help you along with the entirety of this issue.
A Quinceañera….with no subtitles
This part of the issue if brought to you by Cotton field 10, the place that inadvertently gave me more than a lumped out throat. Not enough to fully live off,but ya know other things. Case in point even tho I left when the Covid lockdown occurred that accomplished nothing, but pissing off white people. My girlfriend stayed in that hellish landscape and over time made friends. Look at her making friends and shit. One of her friends knew that I was a photographer and also knew someone who was looking one. Ding Ding Ding. This Spanish family needed someone for their daughters Quinceanera and I was the first person they thought of. Have I ever worked a Quinceanera before? Absolutely not. But i was about to. I didn’t make contact with the client but my girlfriend did, and she literally coordinated the whole thing.
Side note we are in July of 2021 and my car is still very much not working. Actually at this point, it is sitting in a shop being ignored and the owners telling me shit that isn’t true.
Anyway.
So the Saturday comes and after she comes home from work and gets ready, we go to the newly appointed location since the initial location they wanted was congested with possible Covid contaminated humans.and we wait….and wait….and wait.
Side note, in case you are wondering why I linked the last sentence twice, it is because I did shoots in the areas this clients wanted, and the current shoot takes place where I shot someone before. Just in case it wasn’t obvious.
We wait for at least 2 hours, because the daughters hair stylist canceled on her or something. I don’t remember. I don’t. It don’t help that I didn’t exactly speak to them, I literally can’t speak Spanish.
At all.
So my Puerto Rican girlfriend was the primary contact with this family. We did some shots in the park, but this portion felt very rushed. They still had to be at the venue at a certain time, despite the 2 hr delay. After the rush job we left and headed to the hotel…and a yo real shit i don’t have a good recollection of events. You know how when you watch something in a foreign language and there is subtitles so you are a little more connected to the event.
Yea, there were no subtitles. No such subtitles exist. It was a fully Spanish event with me being the sole Negro in desperate need of a translator communicating with my brain.
Spoiler Alert.
She told me what was happening and what I needed to get shots that was of significance for this type of event while my photographer instinct helped guide the way. But real shit I was highly detached from this like most events i do.
I can tell you that I realized I had to raise my rate for events.
Why?
Because events are fucking exhausting. That is why. Niggas just be sitting there for elongated periods of time as nothing happens, waiting.
Fucking waiting Janolytes. FUCKING WAITING.
So yeah i raised my rate and realized photo shoots and events are on different levels. On a positive notes besides my amazing ass images with a flash I’ve barely used. The amount of money I got from this helped me repair my car from the problems that were plaguing it since late March. Of course I didn’t get it fixed until October. But you know a win is a win.
Go ahead and read my subtitle less experience and we will fast forward to September.
Mad Monster Expo!
Fall was approaching and I had just started a new cotton field while being on pause from Jeff Bezos slave pit.
Jano how did you pause a slave pit?
Don’t worry about that. Just be happy for me that I found something else that had my body in less pain even though i worked longer hours. Esp since the litany of car repairs that were meaningless had tapped my wallets heart.Plus my trip to New York City wasn’t cheap. Blessed Be for seasonal slave pits that I somehow get kept at. In midst of me readjusting to a new plantation my actress homegirl hit me up asking if i could video panels at Mad Monster Expo.
Ummm videos?
Legit have never done videos, at all. Luckily Google and You tube are a thing. I watch a few and realize maybe I’m over thinking this process. I def have to buy a bigger memory card.
Side note, I’m legit glad how NOW you can get so much space for like $24, its fucking amazing bro.
I tell her I’m down and make arrangements to borrow my girlfriends car, because sadly my car is still not repaired.
Time Out.
My car literally sat at these south of the border niggas shop for 5 weeks and nothing happened. Nothing Happened. I came back from NYC getting a fucking convo full of fuckery. Luckily someone I met Jeff Bezoes slave pit told me about a place, problem was getting my car in said shop because niggas leave their cars there to die. So that was a thing until the end of September.
Legit wasn’t planning on my car repairs to be a part of my Bizarre art Journey, but here we are.
Time in.
I tell my homegirl that I will do Saturday and Sunday. The weekend comes and before I head to the Expo I have to go buy a lens that I think I lost in the woods.
UGH, the irony is I never bought that lens and now a squirrel is using it help fend off its kids from snakes. FUN.
I arrive at the Expo, and man so many white people. So many white people, enough that i play my usual game of count the ethnic folk just in case. I meet with her and then we meet with the organizer who needs a videographer. He seems chill which is good, and explains to me that the people who he had video taping the panels were so starstruck that they forget to hit record.
AYO!!
I have no clue who these niggas are bro, so don’t worry about that. Spoiler Alert, I’ve seen so little movies in life. SO LITTLE. Most of my friends are disappointed in me, and I’m ok with that.
I found out my YouTube crash course in Videography was unnecessary, as fuck. He already had equipment and had a whole methodology for it. A simple method,so fucking simple.
He tells me the process and also that i don’t have to do much other than hit record and make sure the guest stay in the frame. And that the only people I should listen to is another Expo Media member.
Pretty Simple right?
MAN. my first celebrity I was recording was Meatloaf. That nigga who sang that song I would do anything for love but i won’t do that, and if that is being a decent human being he died lonely.
OMG JANO HOW COULD YOU TALK ABOUT MEATLOAF?
Spoiler Alert, that nigga was a rude cunt to me and the media team. I legit don’t’ give a fuck who gets upset from reading that. I don’t give a fuck. Being an old white washed up celebrity does not entitle you to be rude and disregard Covid protocols in a pandemic.
Jano, you really are speaking ill of the dead?
Yes, Yes I am because that is what fucking happened.
Anyway fuck him and his carcass. Can’t do shit for love now huh? Man I ain’t said nothing assholic up here in a while. MAN I feel like a whole fuckin Yeet GAWD again.
Anyway on to the rest of the show.
The bulk of my experience there was me hitting record listening to what they had to say in the process and then hitting stop. Besides dealing with the aforementioned bloated gas bag cunt I saw Shawnee Smith who complimented my hair, legit may watch The Saw movies now. Bonnie Aarons from The Nun, Nick Castle,Will Sanden, and John Michael Graham from Halloween. The Scream Panel was huge with Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich. Matthew Lillard is a koolio dude, he took a picture of me while i was recording him.It was interesting in listening to about the life of an actor and how productions they didn’t think were going to be big become iconic pieces for a generation. There were a few other people but I don’t remember who they were and the program I had isn’t available anymore. Plus there was a Miss Mad Monster pageant which was interesting.
Eh oh well.
Anyway to see the few images I did snap when not filming go here.
Time for another time leap into the semi frigid month of November.
I visited them one weekend to catch up since I hadn’t seen them really since May. While we were chatting he told me about an impromptu skateboard competition. Even though I never skated despite peoples assumption about me, I think its pretty kool. The next day came and I went to the abandoned lot of what use to be Eastland Mall.
MAN the concept of time is terrifying. very. I use to go there when I was a kid and now its demolished. But in its ashes a group of skaters found a new home, which is pretty fucking dope. I got there first and my friend did later.
Bruh, on god. That shit was chill. Niggas were just skating with music blasting from a car with a nice system. I smelled drugs as I practiced my spider sense of knowing when to hit the shutter as I heard the skater approach. Shit was WAKA FLOCKA FIYA FLAME.
Did i fully understand the maneuvers of what they were doing?
Fuck no.
Did I enjoy it?
Fuck yea nigga.
The competition wasn’t long, but it was dope as fuck for me and my home boy. He actually got inspired to start skating again. Thats that yeet bro. It is.
I love the simplicity of life sometimes. I do. Legit the day this happened I was going to go see the new Spiderman movie (which at this point is 2 months old, but i’m late because I hadn’t seen Eternals, Shang Chi, and Black Widow yet) with home boy since high school. But he was busy dealing with internet fuckery…CHILD THE FUCKERY.
WHEWWWW!!!
But we had to reschedule which was fine. In the meantime I saw a post that caught my attention. It was a female concert series at Camp North End. I had texted my art journalist friend I met at my art show in June. He actually was well aware of it and I met him out there. Did I plan on doing photography related things ?
No.
But when your ancestors tell you to go somewhere you go. On Kami.
Eventually I found him. i say eventually because there was a slew of construction that had popped up since my last visit in October when I did my last show. Maneuvering in a newly warped space was a thing.
As if.
It was the first time seeing each other since June, we caught up as I told him journeys are weird and turbulent at times but don’t give up. Artist performed in the background and he went to shoot as I went to appease my stomach.
Yay for dumplings. Yay for fucking dumplings.
He asked would I help interview the musical artist,I was down. Literally all i did was have to hit record on his phone. His first guest was Natalie Carr.
Next was Reecee Raps, her soud was dope too. I was bopping to her in the cotton field today. In the midst of us waiting for her to come to his station for an interview, he ran into another friend he knows who is an artist, named BlackSmith Sundays. He introduced us and told me he did the Toonami Beats albums he told me about when we met last June. I legit fan girled out and was like oh shit. I just listened to him the other day. So fucking shway bro. So shway.
I didn’t say shway,but it is tho.
He interviewed them both in aforementioned order i discussed them, not at that exact moment but maybe an hour later.
Shout out to these local artist that make shit i can listen to while on my art journey.
YEET TO THE GAWDZ.
At any rate to see this yeetful images all you have to do is click this word.
And that is it guys. I don’t know why I thought this would be a short blurb of storied, i really forgot how i talk, my random tangents and me talking shit about dead celebrities.
OOPS.
I literally have been typing for damn near 3 hours and my fingers hurt. I don’t know exactly when my next issue will be, I really don’t. I may be back next month with something, I may let things pile up like I usually do and come back for another season, or I may release issues as I do shoots. I have no clue. I will be releasing issues of my book tho, so there is that at least.
In an ideal world I would have clients and the shoots I’ve been trying to do for the past few years would have happened by now. But nope my JRPG Bizarre Art Adventure is forever full of complication.
But I know I need to step back to focus on my book.
And non profit things, like finding a staff, and getting us funded so that I can stop working these bullshit cotton fields. FUCK THEM ALL!!!
In the meantime if you want to get your monthly fill of Jano, The Azure Prince. Feel free to buy my books, somemerchandise,or follow me on my social media channels listed in the side menu.
Until next time Janolytes, whenever that will be.
*Rolls credits on Season 2 of Jano’s Bizarre Art Adventure
Well here we are in 2022. I won’t be foolish enough to say that this will be my year and neither should you. Let us just hope for the best and brace for the worse. As Spike Spiegel said
“Whatever happens, happens.”
But i’m hoping i don’t loose my shit like I did in the extra trying times of 2021.
Holy fucking fuck of fuckdom, and we lost Betty White. SHIT!!!
Kinda wanna watch Golden Girls now. I’ve seen a few episodes but not enough to say I was a fan. But it was enjoyable. At some point I’ll watch it, some point.
I just jumped down The Witcher 3 hole. I saw my homeboy play it back in 2016, that and Dragon Age Inquisition but i chose the Dragon Age Path. Whenever I finish my book, i’m going to play through all the Dragon Age games thus far. I’m somewhere in 1 right now. At this point I’m hoping I finish my series before Dragon Age 4 comes out.Legit looking forward to playing games with no guilt again. So many games….to beat…so many….
Anyway time for Adventure time C’mon tell a friend.
The chaotic spring of 2021, shortly after me having Covid and in the midst of my car randomly shutting off on me….yea.
My non profit boss, who helped me do the groundwork for my store, decided that she was going to create a new shop.
YEEET.
Crystals, Candles, and all those other witchy related things that make your soul go
YAAAAAAAAS….or maybe that just me. Is it just me? Can’t be. This is a safe witch zone.
Omg Jano are you a witch?
Spoiler Alert.
I’ve been interested since i was fledgling, but I didn’t have money for a witch life style until cotton field 10.
Blessed be. But also fuck that job.
Anyway I told her if she helped me buy a photo light wand, I would help her do her product photography. Surprisingly she bought me a wand and here we are 7 months later. When I held the wand I felt like i was holding a light saber.
Use the Force Jano.
MAN It was so cool, so fucking kool. I yeeted as my meat leaked. I ordered myself another light saber because balance is a thing. When my Covid quarantine was over her and I agreed on the nearest Saturday. I packed my car with my newly acquired light sabers, light studio set, and all my witchy things.
“Ma I’ve been Hussling rocks” as Cam’ron said.
Ya know crystals, incense, sage cauldron, charcoal, and herbs. The basices.I drove to her house and we stopped by Dollar Tree to get a few other things.
And food, niggas need food to properly function in all aspects in life.
I like how my art interest and witchy interest intersected here. In this moment my life was a Venn diagram.
She had a piece of fabric that I used as a backdrop which helped with the mystic mood. I placed the products and props on the table and the light sabers on the adjacent side of the table. I shifted the colors to match the corresponding of each candle.As smoke flowed through each image as the water flows down a stream.
ISSA VIBE!!!
Ain’t that what the kids say?
I used my newly acquired tripod since I didn’t want a repeat of the headshots from last issue. Literally the only thing that moved in these images were the smoke, that it. No such other movement existed.
It was a fun 1-2 hrs for me. Product photography is interesting, at least this was since I am interested in this subject matter.
And that was the end of that. My metaphysical image buzz ended unfortunately as my car shut off on me while on the way home.
UGH.
Side note, I like how my photo journey in my car problems are synonymous for the early part of last year. Not really tho.
Anyway to see the images from this mystic day click here. And if you want things to help you with your occult journey and want to support black owned business, yonder over here.
I’m going to do my hair now, because that is what you do when your love your curls.
Here we are. You and I gazing into an abyss of the internet as I post a new page in my Bizarre Art Journey.
Nigga What???
I don’t know, i didn’t really have an actual opening plan so I just started spouting words.
As if.
Tonight we have a special occasion. I am releasing a new issue of comic series.
YEEEEEEET.
Small confession, I have literally been done with Issues 1-5 since Summer 2017.
But Jano why haven’t you been releasing them at a faster rate?
Legitly there is no real reason. Although I am glad I didn’t because just recently a friend went through the aforementioned issues and pointed out my grammatical errors. So much gringe. This is what happens when you work bullshit slave jobs after graduating, your sense of grammar and proper sentence structure dies.
So just in case you ever wondered why these issues have so many run on sentences and what not that is why.
As I was saying I don’t have an exact reason why I haven’t been releasing them, I don’t. Part of me wanted to have the whole series done, another part wanted to have a certain gap between issues. Now I literally have a ten issue gap seeing that i just finished coloring issue 13. As of right now I have only seven issues left with a total of 319 pages.
Spoiler Alert, this is only going to be a 20 issue series. If you wanted a new Naruto, DBZ, Sailormoon, Bleach or One piece this def isn’t it.
But i’m legit looking forward to finally coloring the next 7 issues, especially considering I did issues 11-20 in the summer of 2018.
Yea…So in case you haven’t figured it out coloring has been a journey. I blame cotton field fatigue for it all. What I hoped to finish in 4 years from the fall of 2016 has not manifested.
Issues 1-5 were done by spring 2017, issue 6 June 2019, Issue 7-10 summer 2020 (thanks lockdown), Issues 11-13 Fall 2020-Fall 2021.
Ugh. So much fucking ugh.
But since I actually have my book in a local bookstore and I just did the QC Zine fest, where people actually expressed interest in my book. I may actually try to release these in a faster rate. Maybe 1 every 2 months? Maybe, no promises. Hopefully I’ll be done with this JRPG saga before the releases catch up.
*does math…2025, that is if i drop an issue every 2 months from this point on. On kami if i’m not done with this saga by then I’m trash, legit trash.
Hey Google, play Charles Hamilton Loser.
Side note, if you are wondering what the final villain is gonna look like. Head towards my boutique and look at the current tshirt and prints I have for sale.
Super Final Battle JRPG Vibes bro.
With all that out of the way I present Level 3 of my comic book series Azure Ascendance.
*starts narrator voice
A battle royal begins. Coco, Boumei, Raiken, Coral and Kuchihige battle fiercely as Princess Yosei is still passed out from her recent ordeal. Meanwhile Watatsumi finds out the true identity of her masked savior. Truths are revealed as a battle rages on in another part of Azure while a new foe waits to ravage bodies indiscriminately.
*ends narrator voice
The intensity continues to build in this story my ancestors told me to write in a medium I was fond of growing up. At usual I have a preview page so that you can view.
And as usual you can find this issue on my publications page along with the back issues. I have the full witches intent to put an issue out every 2 months, especially since now this little hermit has people who are interested in this saga I’ve created. I need to do another show to keep this momentum growing.
As Namie Amuro…This is for all my fans.
Maaaan if I get people cosplaying my characters and get this animated I will yeet so hard I may cum.
First off, let us talk about something. I legit have never feared for a group of Anime Protagonist the way I do for the Straw Hat pirates as the assassination attempt on Big Mom has failed MISERABLY.
Holy fucking fuck.
Not even Team Toguro had me this shook. The next 50 episodes will be interesting…as fuck.
Anyway. How goes it? Was your October as exhausting as mine? When I was at UNCG I had periods in my semesters were it was just periods of Academic rape for at least a month.
On Kami October 2021 felt like an retro 2000 academic rape session.
OMG Jano, did you just say Academic Rape? You’re canceled.
Eh, ok. Spoiler Alert, I coined that phrase between 2002-2009. I just haven’t had a reason to say since graduating it in 2009….until now.
At any rate, if September was emotionally exhausting then October was just fucking taxing in the sense of having too much to fucking do. It has been the culmination of events I started back in March of this year.
Er before all the car dilemmas that plagued my spirit and my wallet.
Let me explain.
At some point in Jeff Bezo’s slave pit I thought maybe I should heed the psychics advice in December of starting my own business. It has something that has teetered in my head for random parts of the last decade, but i never fully pursued it. But when a psychic who is speaking with your ancestors tells you that you will be successful at something you have been too timid to do, you say fuck it and fuck it raw with big black mega meat. BOOM BOOM.
I met with my non profit boss and thus the laying of a foundation began. We discussed products, vendors, and all that other businessy stuff. Transitioning my brain from coloring to mathematical shit is a transition, especially all your jobs have been basic slave nigga shit. A week later while at an art show, i drafted up some designs for keychains and pins. The goal was to keep it as simple as possible since i’m literally still working on a comic series. I had to figure out I was going to make said keychains and pins, yeet to the gawdz for youtube.
YEET.
Shortly after I found out from a friend where I could get stickers made. And a friend who I made via my girlfriend helped me get some shirts. At this point I think we are in May when I wasn’t driving my car because the stalling and starting was taking its toll and was a safety issue.
Spoiler Alert, the creation of these products probably was as complicated as my mermaid and candy queen shoots. As the late great DMX Said “I wish it was a lie, but everything I said meant it.”
June came and I finally was able to get some of the supplies I need, but of course there were complications. Complications in the sense of ink cartridges disappearing and reappearing (no really, like really fucking really), and buying the fucking wrong type of shrink paper. Fun. Things hit a halt until July when I had money to spare to buy the things I need. But didn’t really get going again til September a few weeks later after starting this new cottonfield after coming back from New York City.
*deep breath*
Ya’ll, I’m tired just from explaining all this.
I bought my stickers, had to do trial and error with the shrink paper, and various other supplies i needed. I finally got the tshirt press machine from a friend I use to pick cotton with, the goal was to get the machine in the spring but her and I were both having issues in our life. Even making the shirts were a problem.
YO I PROMISE ALL THESE RETROGRADES CHOSE VIOLENCE AGAINST ME, MY SPIRIT AND MY PEACE!!!! THE ENEMY DID NOT WANT ME TO SUCCEED!! ON KAMI!!!!
I just heard a church organ play in my head. SMH.
But here i am with all my products ready finally. I told my non profit college friend boss that I wanted to have my store up and running either before the art show I had last week, or the QC city zine fest I will be this saturday. I didn’t have it up last week, but now it is finally up and running.
Oh, yea I had an art show last Saturday. I was going to make a whole other issue regarding it and the pieces I make for said shows, but since you are here now. I have a gallery for you to check out. Go ahead and take a look then come back when you are done.
Did you check it out? You did and you came back? Yeet.
Even though my store wasn’t ready, i did take some merchandise to be sold in the forms of prints and stickers.
YA’LL PEOPLE ACTUALLY BOUGHT MY SHIT!!!!
It all happened so fast, literally. Within 20 mins of each other I made four sales. I was so floored.
Am I one step closer to becoming a pretty art idol like i want? EXTOL ME MEAT SACK HOES!!!
Excuse me my Vegeta level Narcissism was flaring up again. Pardon me humans.
But in short my store is finally up, and at the moment i don’t think I need to buy anything else…right now. Side note, I got my table banner for art shows. I looked at it and I feel like a One Piece pirate.
Def part of the Worst Generation.
Anyway. Without any more delays or awkward side rants I present to you
I plan on adding more items as time goes on, but right now this is my starting point. And as I have told you I still want to finish my comic series, so please be patient. I’ll make announcements as usual if I had anything new. I’m still navigating through this business owner space. As I navigate remember to sign up for updates on my site.
Also if you reside in Charlotte, like zines, comics and other printed materials. Come to the Queen City Zine Fest to check out me selling copies of my comic series.
Real shit, if you were to tell me my awkward shy ass I would be doing shows, with colored hair, looking kooler than usual to promote my book to get an idol fanbase I wouldn’t have believed you.
Shit, I just woke up and the original intro I had for this issue is a blank to me now.
FUCK, I had a clear monologue prepared from picking cotton today and now its a blur.
Eh, oh well.
*Boyz II Men End of the Road plays in the background. No Literally its playing, Spoiler Alert.
Guys, this is it…Kinda.
Its finally happened, I’ve caught up with all the photoshoots I’ve done since I began this journey since July 2016. Kinda.
Jano, explain all these kindas.
When I started when this photography part of my art journey, the whole point was to gain experience working with models because for the bulk of my life has been me doing events, What ensued the summer of 2016 was a myriad of quests of trying to capture ideas with the lens of my camera. There are a few side quest I am still pursing, but for right now I am all caught up with all my adventures.
I do have images from doing a workshop for the nonprofit organization Back To Black, and from my New Years Florida vacation but those are just events to me. Not to say that I won’t do events any more but 1. they don’t feel essential to my art quest, and 2. at this point right now they feel like filler episodes. And personally I am not a fan of filler episodes, I will not be like Naruto.
No Ma’am.
I rather be like Attack on Titan, Seven Deadly Sins, Fairy Tail, and My Hero Academia and have off seasons and come back when I have something significant.
From this point on the monthly issue format you have gotten accustomed to will dissipate into the ether, and I will be updating this site on a more random sporadic basis. It’ll be ironic that even after I make this issue that I still have monthly issues.
In the meantime, I’ll be focusing on coloring my comic series. I had this bad habit in recent months of saying I would get my issue out at the beginning of the month so that I could get it out the way. But obviously there were times I wouldn’t and my foolish mindset was to focus only on that and nothing else would get done since that was the only thing I was focused on.
Smh at my damn self and my raggedy thought process.
Also with that being said I’m not accepting any commissions of any sorts, not that I had an influx of orders or anything.
I’ll still be updating my social media channels (see side navigation) with images every month from previous adventures, and if you don’t follow me on anything then subscribe via email (see side navigation) to be notified when the updates occur.
Stay woke.
In the meantime check out this issue, to help me fundraise for my comic quest.
For now guys that’s it, see ya’ll again hopefully…..maybe…….
First and fucking foremost, I am legit upset that I didn’t get superpowers from this spider bite on my leg. The only thing I got is 1. immense fragging pain 2. probably a huge bill for going to the Emergency Room for the first time in years, and 3. I didn’t get to wear my Vegeta costume that I ordered for Halloween last year, but didn’t arrive until after aforementioned Holiday because I was passed out in pain. NO NIGGA WE AIN’T YEETING HERE.
Maybe later in this issue but at this current point, nope this is a yeet free zone.
Anyway.
So for those who have not been paying attention on any of my social media channels and never clicked on my about me page. The picture above is of me, and I just did my first art show. I know right I am a pretty dude, and thank youuuuuu.
The lead up to this was legit unexpected but deeply appreciated it.
Side note, to avoid the excessive use of pronouns I will be referring to some people by their IG names.
So September day whilst I was picking cotton, well making sure the cotton was up to par before it got sent out to random cunts who I’ll probably never meet. One of the field slaves I shuck and jive with, PurpleKloudz, randomly started talking, ya know about anime, art, dreams to be chased and nigga shit. He was telling me how one of his goals was to be in an art show before the year is over, I was like yooooo go ahead and follow your dreams. As the convo went on,I found out it was an anime and art show that he was going to be in.
Hold up, I like anime and I’m an artist. The voices of my ancestors told me I needed to be part of this. Spoiler Alert, When the voices of your ancestors speak you listen, always.
I asked him for more details and how I could be a part of it, he said he would talk to our other slave we shuck and jive with for the scraps master give us, JohnnyLovely.
Look I get it, I am laying it on thick with the slave cotton field references, but I legit work in a plantation that contains majority cotton so I am allowed to say these things. Hella allowed, especially since this is my damn site.
Anyway.
So at some point after a day of picking cotton, me and both of the aforementioned fellow slaves had a nerd gathering in the parking lot. Thats where it went down. YEET YEET.
JohnnyLovely told me about how this is the second anime and art show that his friend was having. I asked could I show any of my pieces, and he was like ummmm idk. Fuck it, I’ll try anyway and I did. He gave me the information of the person who was orchestrating the event. I sent him the links to all of my galleries, ALL of my galleries. Need a reminder, no problem. Starting from oldest to the most recent we have Miasmic Emancipation, Velvet Sweaters,Numinously Noir, Emerald Evisceration and oh yeah my house party invites just for good measure.
And he said I was in. YEET YEET NIGGA. Actually Yeet didn’t really do justice for how excited I was, especially when you hear people saying you shouldn’t draw the things you draw. Well fuck you naysayers, especially those I am genetically linked to.
The next step was to choose which images I wanted to display. Eventually I chose the 3 below.
Yep that last one was def chosen. Not gonna lie the process was hard. When it was all said and done,I hit up one of my friends I use to pick cotton with at another field a few years ago. I asked him would he mind printing out my images for the show, and he said sure. It was going good but due to the amount of colors I use in my drawings, I kinda killed his blue printhead. Yea, I wasn’t expecting that. So for images 2 and 3, I had to go to Office Max to get those printed out. Pretty sure they were confused and concerned about what I had them make.
As if I give a fuck, Spoiler Alert I don’t.
I got my frames and bam, I was all set.Since I finally got my images printed and frame I could actually start posting ads for it on social media. The last thing I wanted to do was post I was going to be in an art show and not have my stuff ready. The day before I met with the organizer of the show, and briefly dropped off the above pieces along with some small ones I had made when I did the pop art show in 2017. I got home, did my hair because my hair was an arid dry mess, and passed the fuck out.
The day of the show came, and I wish I requested off. I was excited, legit excited as fuck. Me and my girl left the cotton field, grabbed food from Chick Fil A, and went back to my place. I changed first then she did. Joy is when you get to wear a shirt you ordered a month ago for the first time at a kool event that you are in.While she did I meditated, because sometimes you got to do that before something major in your life is about to happen. On the way there I legit was trying to find a song to amp me, this is the bad thing about primary listening to somber music. I did find some pleasure in Rapsody’s Nina and Cleo and J.Cole’s Middle Child. In hindsight I wish I remembered Awerooh’s- Its My turn now, that was my shit, 3 years ago when I was developing my website.
Eh, maybe next time.
We got to Camp North End, did a brief photoshoot before we headed to the event. Yo, real shit I am legit awkward in front of a camera, I am. Yea I take selfies but full body poses aren’t a thing I’m use to doing, even though I tell others what to do when I am behind the lens. The event didn’t start until 7, but I wanted to be there to see the set up process and place flyers for my site, and a copy of my book series for people to view.
The night flew by after that honestly. Lush Lofi flowed in the background,feeling as if I was in an episode of Samurai Champloo. Her and I walked around for a while at some point we saw our fellow slaves who were also having their art exhibited, the one’s told me about the show. As the night went on, I was both the subject and the usual detached observer while I took photos of the event. Its a weird feeling since I am never am the subject of an event.
I promise sometimes I feel like I am the unborn child of Samantha White and Lionel Higgins from Dear White People.
Our other slave friends showed up, and we were all like AWWW SHIT NIGGA. She helped get people to look at book, Yaaaaaaas honey Yaaaaaaas. In case anyone hasn’t noticed I’m shy as shit, so her amping me up defiantly helped my spirit. My friend who printed one of my images came with his wife and daughter, and at some point the 5 of us walked around. Eventually we doubled back to the event and they head out.
Another slave showed up, who I met in an odd way. Well not really odd considered the digital word we live in. We work at the same place, but our first interaction was when she liked a post I did of me starting a book on AfroFuturism by YTasha L. Womack.
I still need to finish that book.
At the time I didn’t know who she was, until one day at work I was stopped and she was like I think I liked your post. Oh shit, wasn’t ready. The convo couldn’t last long because if masta see’s us lil field niggas not picking his cotton we gets in bigs trouble, and we don’t wants no trouble.
But Jano, how is this relevant to the story?
I’m about to get to that, impatient ass.
She showed up with her daughter, and she was thoroughly impressed with the pieces that me and our fellow field slaves had to put up. From the perspective that we had worked hard to create something, and going to the extra effort of making our work being seen to the public something that some people hesitate to do. The fact that the artist space was primarily created by and for black artist thrilled her more. Thrilled her to the point that she felt inspired to do something similar and create an AfroFuturism con here in Charlotte.
Now you get the relevance.
Oh shit, that would be awesome. I’ve been hoping to do shows especially black themed sci fi art shows, it would be an added bonus if there was one here in Charlotte. Hopefully this will manifest into something flourishes, heavily.
The night trickled on, at some point there was a group photo taken of me and the other artist. Still awkward as hell for me to pose, so fucking awkward. After that me and some of the people I pick cotton with went on to go play Cards Against Humanity. I bounced back to the event to get my prints, at some point the dude who organized all this said there would be another one in March. Nigga I’m so down.
And thats it. I was talking with JohnnyLovely a few times before the day of the show. At some point he said a black art renaissance is heading towards Charlotte, and after this I can see it happening. Another conversation, I made reference to Dear White People, how after the Black Face Party there were a series of events that occurred after and it affected everyone differently. My ancestors say that both of our feelings are accurate. Was this event an adequate save point and it will propel me into another direction that will benefit me greatly or will I stagnate and float on in a void of despair?
Spoiler Alert, either result will be chronicled here as usual.
Hopefully this clearing will lead to an oasis that splinters many paths of abundance. In the meantime to see photos from the even go here.
Pretty sure this was a big save point in my art journey. Speaking of save points I’m gonna resume from the one in Final Fantasy 7 and hopefully beat it before the year is over. Also next issue we will go back to the regular flowing timeline. This was an omg I need to talk about it now so my spirit can go back to chill mode, and I have.
This has been a sporadic and slaveful as summer,at least for me. FUCK. Kanye West Spaceship is legit playing both in my head and on my Spotify Can my Azure Ascendance spaceship come in and so I can fly away and do art things instead.
Anyway.
This saga actually isn’t complicated, compared to some of the others I’ve shared. Its just more so a matter of waiting.
It literally started Spring 2017 with a white girl.
But Jano, how did it go from white girl to your friend we have seen model for you 3 times who clearly isn’t white?
Well if you shut the fuck up you will find out :).
At some point in Spring 2017 when I was unemployed as fuck, yep that unemployment streak that started January 2016. MAN that was an arduous time.
Anyway.
I random white girl followed me on IG. At the time I was not posting anything on any social media platform. At the time my mindset I wasn’t gonna post anything until I got a full time job finally…
HA I was foolish.
Anyway because of that some of the most recent things I posted were photos of cosplay images. She DM’d me saying she would like to do a cosplay shoot, and me at the time who has not done one yet was down.
What followed was a series of events that made me more so loose patience with humanity, more so.
For those who weren’t paying attention, I wasn’t employed at the time.Employment didn’t happen until mid April and lasted until Early June. Followed by me being unemployed for 2 weeks, working for a month, then unemployed again until September. All of which, except for the 1st weekend of new slavery, I had the weekends off.
I would hit her up multiple times, and yet despite it being her idea she was never available. I appreciated her actually replying but at the same time I was irked. From the time period of Mid July to September, asking became ridiculous. She would tell me that she had alot going on, but then her IG stories would have a caption of going to meet a photographer. Days later it would be photos up of her in the outfit from the IG stories from said photographers.
Ya’ll listen, the older I get the less fucks I give.
Spoiler Alert.
I’m not gonna continue to chase people down for something that was their idea. I’m not.That mindset translate into a lot of things these days. I don’t have the time nor patience from it.
If you have an idea that you want done, and you don’t make an effort to make it happen. I.E. if I keep asking and the only thing you tell me is you’ll let me know, I’ll let it go.
During the mermaid saga when I finally had my model solidified. I told my homegirl about the aforementioned treachery, and she told she would do a cosplay photoshoot for me.
So let me publicly gush for once. She is legit my favorite model out of all the people I worked with.
Spoiler Alert.
She is, she drove down to help me out multiple times to help me fulfill my art dreams and was willing to do it again. I’m sorry none of you others can compare to her at all. Some of you may be mad, but I don’t give a fuck. If I actually get to shoot any of them more than once for another idea of mine I will be surprised. So to my homegirl I want to say you are the best, and I’m glad we met at that winter comic convention in 2013. Whenever I see you again I owe you food for all the times you helped when I was unemployed, plus you left your brush here.
Tender moments are over.
Back to this journey.
Even though she had agreed to help me out, it wasn’t that a simple thing. No major reason, just schedule conflicts. We both were working retail, and even when my schedule switched to weekend availability in the Spring of 2018 she still wasn’t able to make it down. Which sucked because I did have an idea to do it during the Spring while the trees were blooming new leaves for the year after a frigid callous winter.
Eventually August 2018, it happened after the original agreement was formed in September 2017. The day came and she arrived at my house, it took a minute before we actually did the shoot. I was recovering from a lush filled night, ironically enough when I did the masquerade shoot it was the day after I drank on a Sunday in August too.
Eh.
She prepared herself make up wise, while I got my equipment ready. I drove to downtown where I envisioned this happening. The weather was perfect, as in I didn’t have to worry about her dying from heat exhaustion. It was a cloudy chill day so neither of us would sweat our spirits away.
Nothing extraordinary happened. She knew more about the character than I do, so my usual look at Pintrest for posing ideas was useless. The only other things that happened was that children thought that she was kool and wanted pictures with her. There was this one nigga, who was exactly that a nigga. I regret letting him take a photo with her, his last words were that picture will get ya’ll famous.
Negro please I didn’t even edit that nonsense.
I reject thou niggatry with the greatest power of the force.
Anyway.
We ended the shoot since she hadn’t eaten all day. We had talked about doing a night shoot but that didn’t happen. Partially because I was afraid it would be a repeat of what happened in Incandescent Spirits, the other half was because niggas were tired as fuck. OMG, I really need to start stretching before I shoot people I do.
At any rate, we went to get something to eat. She introduced me to Poke’bowls and Poke’ Burritoes. OMFG, they are so great. Blessed Be Korean food. We went back to my house and hung out, while she played her favorite songs.
Ugh, I just remembered how she played that foolishness of Kanye West Lift Yourself…OMG. I legit didn’t think it was him, and I’m upset I heard it.. A far from cry from Spaceship I mentioned earlier.
Someone save Kanye from Kanye
SMH.
At any rate to see the images from that day click here.
On another note, this is actually the photoshoot I did of 2018. Not by choice, not by choice at all. As far “Infinity Stones” go, at this point I have 3 of the 6 I am determined to get. Other shoots were supposed to happen, but ya know life and peoples fickleness.
Moral of the story, Don’t trust white girls who slide and your DM’s. As well don’t chase anyone down when it is their idea.
Next issue will take place in 2019. I am almost caught up with time…or something…whatever…..
Pretty sure most of you looked at the picture and guessed what this issue is about.
Spoiler Alert, you probably ain’t wrong.
I finally saw Deadpool 2 today, literally late as fuck compared to the rest of humanity. But the good part I had the theater to myself…mostly. I hate going to the movies when it is first released. Legit too many people for my liking. Plus if it is a super hero movie there are kids. I hate kids. I legit hate the children with all their noise, noise and noise.
Jano, Did you just quote the Grinch?
Yes because that is the way I feel in my heart. I went to go see Fantastic Four back in 2005, and there were kids asking their parents could they get Fantastic Four toys after the movies. NO YOU CAN’T GET NO DAMN TOYS JOHNNY, YOU ARE RUINING MY MOVIE EXPERIENCE. CUNT!!
No Apologies for calling a child a cunt.
Somehow after avoiding weeks of spoilers, I legit managed to be surprised by everything that happened when I saw it. Despite how many times I say Spoiler alert, I will not actually say anything that will spoil the movie for any of you.
But Jano you just called a child a cunt.
Whats your point?
The point of this whole issue is that I enjoyed this movie so much, that I drew the image at the top before it came out months ago.
Wait what?
Yep, The result of not giving a fuck about the cotton you are picking at work. I legit didn’t know anything about the movie except that Cable and Domino were going to be in it.
Before we go on, can we take a minute to appreciate Zazie Beats as Domino. YES LAWD *Anderson Paak Voice.
Oh yea that there was going to be time travel, because duh Cable.
Its so ironic to see him as Cable when 2 months ago he snaps away half the universe as Thanos. Awwww tender moments.
At any rate, the point of this image was to promote my comic series Azure Ascendance, just in case it wasn’t obvious with Deadpool holding an issue.
SMH y’all ain’t woke.
To see it in gallery format, go forth yonder here.
Moral of the story. Deadpool 2 makes my soft boy parts throb with joy like the first one. I hope when my friends watched it, I hope they thought about me like they said they did during the first one.
Blah I have the biggest hunger headache right now, even though I have been eating like…something…that eats a lot. FUCK IT!!!
Go watch the movie, bring lotion or you’ll regret it. I did.
I legit debated if I wanted to try this given the results of last time.
Jano, what happened last time? Why are you being vague as fuck? Why do you ask yourself questions in 3rd person?
Back in 2016 when I started this Art Journey and was unemployed as fuck, I decided to make an Indiegogo page to raise funds to get some camera equipment.
Spoiler Alert: No one donated anything. None, no such donations existed.
I legit saw the most random of causes from help me get a new pet to I need a new video game system because my ex girl friend destroyed it when she saw I cheated on her. Legit was being funded by people, meanwhile I got nothing.
My faith in humanity dropped more so, as my inadequacy and trash complex grew more than the Grinches heart when he heard the Whos down in Whoville sang after he stole EVERYTHING.
What did Charles Hamilton say in that song off his mixtape Pink LavaLamp, oh yea
“I once was the loser, now I’m older still the same loser.”
I promise I think that may be one of my theme songs in life.Nihilism at its finest.
Anyway.
I was on wikipedia a few weeks ago looking up Dear White People after I finished watching Season 2. I found out that the movie was funded through an Indiegogo page. And that is how we got here.
Legit thought maybe, just maybe, my comic series Azure Ascendance could gain the money for copyrights through a fundraiser.
But Jano don’t you have a college degree and that hasn’t that got you good high paying jobs?
HA, Nigga you funny. The only thing I have gotten is bullshit low paying retail jobs, or seasonal based projects that believe lay offs are life. I am about to be on my 10th cotton field since graduation. None of which allow me to fully support myself.
Stay In School kids…..could you taste the sarcasm, salt and shade? You could? YAAAASSS, deep throat it, no teeth.
Anyway. My hope is that this will help me get the copyright funds for the rest of my series which I have dedicated my soul to. The same way Thanos wants to balance the universe is my dedication to this project, yea its that deep.
Minus the genocide of the universe part….maybe.
To check out my fundraiser, go forth and click here.
Oh yea here too. Because why not try my luck on two different fund raising sites.
Nevermind the fact that luck was non existent 2 years ago. SMH
I’m actually going to pass out with dreams of my comic series being on Netflix one day. I would say Toonami, but I don’t want my material censored ;).
Dear Janolytes,
