PAPA MIDNIGHT
I normally read Non Fiction but had to disguise me buying a few books on my dads card the other day as I can't use my solo card on Amazon.com. Was looking around for graphic novels and bumped into this comic. Papa Midnight, the 'King of Voodoo'. The Amazon ''blurb'' was weak;
The King of Voodoo has a long history, but where did it all begin? Reaching back to the beginnings of American slavery, Hellblazer: Papa Midnite follows the story of the curse that made Midnite immortal, from its origin in 1712 through the New York Slave Insurrection of 1741 and into the present day, where he continues to pay the price for his original sin.
But after seeing the character in the film 'Constantine' and needing a bit of Fiction to chill and read I bought it. I didn't know how SERIOUS this comic is the story line was kick ass to the point where I might have to buy the full Constantine series in just to follow up on wha gwan.
The author, Mat Johnson went all out on this one from the very start. I'm going to spoil it a bit cause it got me hyped, trust me, if I've seen a bad film you wanna see yourself you best keep away from me.
You don't see how Papa frees himself and his sister Cedella from slavery as children. He is from Jamaica real name, ''Linton Midnight''. He and his sister are twins and have mystical powers, they get their kicks tricking the English and Spanish, luring them to have sex with the sister before dropping some Vodun on them impressing the horrors of their peoples actions on their minds driving them crazy. Young Midnight is obviously too powerful and cocky for his own good, his sister is the more cautious. They're in America, New York and kidnapped African people are being brought in everyday.
''What if we hurt an innocent white man?''
His sister exclaims after they turn a man to gibbering mass of fear, Young Midnight laughs at the thought of there being such a thing and counts his money smiling.
A gang of new African men are being priced up on the docks in the distance, one is labelled as being from a docile tribe and being worth a lot. He is bought and made to work but not before being 'briefed' by his owners house negro who speaks the same language as him. Before this was a problem for them, too many people from diffrent tribes he details, Akan, Ashante, Yoroba but for the past year they have been kidnapping Akan peoples who have been able to unite the kidnapped who now outnumber the europeans. The newly enslaved man plans to start a revolution, he plans to take New York and hold bastillion. Time passes, the scene skips to the present day where a much older Midnight is having his own story told to him by an ancestor from an old slave crypt in New York.
The newly enslaved man looks to buy weapons to arm people for the revolution against the English (this is the 1700s). He comes across the young Papa Midnight and his sister who have taken an Englishmans home as their own. Papa helps him and demonstrates a powder he has that makes a man invincible to the bullets of the, 'pink skins' this he sells to man... his sister Cedella looks into the glass of the window and sees a vision of angry African people ready to tear them limb from limb...
The powder is fake.
The former slaves take to the streets upsurping the europeans. It takes a while for them to nitice that the powder they have put their faith into dosen't work and they are eventually pushed into hiding by the europeans. They seek out Papa and Cedella and hide in the forests. After time they become famished and give an ultimatum to Midnight and his Sister. One of them has to kill the other, the survivor will be cursed to walk the earth forever until justice is done for African people the Pink Skins have been defeated.
Midnight picks up the machete and kills his twin.
The band of warriors all commit suicide rather than be caught by the evil pink skins and tortured they use their deaths to bind the young Midnight to his curse.
Years later and only numbers supposedly detailing a passing of time have changed, Africans dancing in the streets to entertain pink children, living in squalor lost to themselves. A man floats through a farm land to the shock of the workers and dissapears into the bush. Midnight is much older now, dressed like an Arab mystic he battles an Obeah man before beseeching him, asking him to endow him with more mystical powers... his payment?
Revenge on the white man.
The story spins off as Papa Midnight both walks the streets of New York as a night club owning immortal drug lord using his powers to scold African breddahs causing trouble along the way,
''You Adyemo should fear for your life I know what you did to get here!''
and his life story in the past as he attempts to bring down the europeans in the name of the man whos plan he foiled all those years ago.
He plans to use two crooks one of whom is the ''main'' character Constentine to scare the English into thinking the captured Africans plan to revolt against them intent to use the mass of emotions to feed the ancient Gods of Africa who will in turn bring about the destruction of the white people, for this he needs a mediator, he already has his dead sister as an ancestor she helps him call on what he wishes in the afterworld.
He invokes Anansi...
Anansi manifests annoyed as he has been put into the body of a Rabbit.
Its brilliant... Everyone on here should know that Anansi is a Spider trickster, a Carribean Ashanti folklore tale they used to tell the children to teach them to be as crafty and as cunning as a spider in times of InI bondage to the Europeans
As the conditions of bondage were more harsh in the Carribean we have Anansi. The Americans have folklore tales of Bere Rabbit;
A folklore tale stolen by Disney who we now see as Bugs Bunny and other characters in Disney films. The Anansi story has been taken by Marvel as the cunning Spiderman and his mentor Lady Spider although Anansi can shapeshift and would kick Spidermans ass.
So Papa Midnight has called on Anansi to ask him to bring his plan into actuation, Anansi gives him and the others in bondage a vision of what will happen if their plan works. They are spun into a time where europeans are enslaved to Africans, African styled buildings all around, camels (supposed to be America ) and market places with Europeans fanning their African superiors as they walk the street.
The stage is set for Papa Midnights plan.
He sparks a fear into the Enligh, casting an apparition of an Angel telling them that the African plan to revolt and slay them in their homes. They go wild, killing every African they come across. This is part of Papas plan as the son of the man he betrayed all those years ago begs him to stop, he intends for the destruction, panic and fear to be food for the Ancients who are shown marching toward the continent. He is crafty enough to know that there is more than one way to end the oppression, both his dead sister and the son of the betrayed revolutionary beg for him to stop as people are being locked up and tortured for nothing. One of them says they should have planned to poision the Europeans it would have been easier. Another is happy giving all the names he can muster to save himself. Both Constentine and his friend (and the white woman his friend is dating) are caught as part of the plan and are burnt at the stake for teason.
Anansi appears again and Midnight asks him for something, Anansi tells him a story of the corcodile and the bird.
The bird needs a lift across the lake and asks the crocodile for a ride on his snout, the crocodile says,
''sure''.
The bird asks that the crocodile promises not to eat her. To which the crocodile agrees.
When they reach the other side of the lake the bird jumps off the crocodiles snout and the crocodile grabs her,
''What are you doing!? You promised not to eat me!'' says the bird.
''I'm a crocodile... it is what I do'' replies the croc.
The morale is left for the reader to work out, why is a bird asking a crocodile for a lift across a lake when she can fly? Do for self, don't trust people who are not to be trusted.
Papa Midnight is cast to a scene where he is being burnt at the stake for teason, his plan has failed. Anansi reminds him that he is a trickster God and that he has been tricked before leaving him to his ''fate'' (Papa is an immortal, he can't die but obviously dosen't want to be burnt alive).
The story is deep, the author has gone to some leangths studying African culture on the continent and in the dispora. He even throws some Vodun Urban myths into his stories which are based around Constentine as an Anti-Hero. Constentine appears throughout this story and argues with Midnight who feels no way to tell him how it is,
''oh so its all my fault is it?'' says Constantine during an argument... he needs Midnight to help him stop some Aborigionee spirit going loose and has tracked him down in real time New York while he is reliving his life story.
''You people are just arrogant, one day it will be your downfall'' replies Midnight.
The author stays true to racial indiffrences throughout the story. Midnight shruggs off Constantines need for help with the (apparent) Aborigionee dog spirit saying,
''You just love to stick your nose in black peoples business, huh?''
Was up all night reading this comic, its only 150 pages but it caught me off guard as I didn't know what it was about at all. Reccomend it to anyone out there looking for a good African comic to get into. Its now one of my favorites. The only part that pissed me off is that the author drew Anubis as being paleskinned and Constentine is blonde, in the film he has black hair and it seems to fit the character better, also he speaks cockney english in the comic which is annoying to read. Have no problem colouring Anubis in a nice shade of brown before putting this comic up in my ''mini'' libary next to the Boondocks and the few other Fiction books I've got... Can't belive I threw out my Alien series books but thats another story.
Buy this comic!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Constantine-Hellblazer-Midnite-Graphic/dp/1401210031
Htp 
A Last edited on Tuesday May 22nd, 2007 14:13 by Apedemak
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