Rodney Barnes couldn’t even learn when he fell in love with the artwork of storytelling.
As a small youngster, he would accompany his mom, a instructor, to the library as she made her lesson plans. There, he would sit within the kids’s e-book part in entrance of a field of comedian books.
He couldn’t have been older than 5 years previous and didn’t but know the way to learn, however by way of the facility of graphic storytelling, he might work out what was occurring in a e-book’s plot. It was then Barnes fell in love with the artwork.
“[The books were] totally different than Curious George and Dr. Seuss,” Barnes instructed theGrio. “It simply felt like there have been stakes within the tales. They felt essential, and as I received older, the world of comedian books modified from being kiddy, humorous books … into extra layered storytelling.”
His ardour for storytelling solely grew all through his life. Whether or not it was a comic book e-book, a tv present, a novel, or a film, Barnes liked all tales. He took that love and keenness for storytelling and turned it right into a profession that has spanned over 20 years and reveals no signal of slowing.
The award-winning screenwriter has labored on reveals which have turn out to be staples in Black households, from early-aughts hits corresponding to Aaron McGruder’s “The Boondocks” and Chris Rock’s “Everyone Hates Chris,” to more moderen sequence, corresponding to Hulu’s “Wu-Tang: An American Saga.” Apart from screenwriting, Barnes has written and contributed to a number of graphic novels.
Constructing on that early affinity, Barnes launched his very personal graphic novel manufacturing studio, Zombie Love Studios, with a sequel to the legendary movie “Blacula,” titled “Blacula: Return of the King.” A longtime fan of horror motion pictures, the unique 1972 movie caught with Barnes as a result of it was the primary time he had skilled that style with Black characters integral to the storyline and in an viewers of Black folks. Only a child on the time, he remembers pondering it might be nice to have extra experiences just like that, instructed by way of the lens of extra genuine Black tales. Now, he creates them.
Followers of “Blacula” can count on a personality with the identical gravitas because the late actor William Marshall, who initially embodied the titular character however with extra class than Dracula. Within the graphic novel, Barnes depicts him as a considerate character who’s each a predator and an anti-hero. Right here, Blacula is a being nonetheless deeply related to his authentic narrative but in addition looking for his place in a brand new world. Barnes desires readers to go away the novel with the notion that there could also be monsters within the shadows — however that doesn’t should be a nasty factor.
“Being ready the place I do write tales for a dwelling and I do have extra management over the narrative [and] having the chance to inform the story once more, I can take out a few of the components of blaxploitation that had been problematic, and convey Blacula into the twenty first century,” he mentioned.
Kayla Grant is a multimedia journalist with bylines in Enterprise Insider, Shondaland, Oz Journal, Prism, Rolling Out and extra. She writes about tradition, books and leisure information. Comply with her on Twitter: @TheKaylaGrant
TheGrio is FREE in your TV through Apple TV, Amazon Fireplace, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Community is free too. Obtain theGrio cell apps at the moment! Take heed to ‘Writing Black‘ with Maiysha Kai.
