Blokhedz Hip-Hop Comic Makes Splash

Hip-Hop has a new way to express itself and this vehicle comes in the form of a new comic book called the Blokhedz. The comic book chronicles a teenage rapper named Blak who hopes to save his home from malevolent forces and also learn to manage his mystical power over words. The book is the […]

Hip-Hop has a new way to express itself and this

vehicle comes in the form of a new comic book called the Blokhedz.

The comic book chronicles a teenage rapper named

Blak who hopes to save his home from malevolent forces and also learn to manage

his mystical power over words. The book is the creative vision of twins Mark

and Mike Davis and published by the Los Angeles-based Street Legends Ink.

Nicole Duncan Smith, producer and marketing exec

of the comic, said that this Hip-Hop strip will appeal to readers similar to

the way the cultures other elements have swept the nation.

“I love any vehicle that gives young and

creative Black people a voice. The Davis brothers have created a universe within

[the fictitious] Empire City, through the Blokhedz characters that speaks to

the core of the Hip-Hop community,” she told AllHipHop.com.

Continuing Smith said, “Blokhedz, visually

through the book and eventually through animation, evokes the same feeling.

It’s intoxicating and rugged. Just like an ill rhyme. Blokhedz is to the

comic book industry what Run DMC was to Hip Hop: The commencement of a revolution.”

Through a statement, Street Legends Ink stated

that the comic will inadvertently appeal to people from all walks of life.

“Though Blokhedz uses rap lyrics to chronicle

Blak’s evolution and dance with the dark side, it is not just a Hip-Hop

story. Its theme is universal. Without true faith in your abilities, you can’t

help yourself, let alone mankind,” the statement revealed.

Concurring Co-creator Mike Davis said, “Blokhedz

is a story about love, loss, and life. It’s about the decisions that effect

your life and following your dream. Hip Hop is vital to the story’s essence

because it’s our language — not just blacks and Latinos, but youth as a whole.

When we’re bombarded by exploitive, over-saturated versions of the media’s

definition of hip hop, it’s imperative to re-instill a sense of integrity,

authenticity, creativity, and quality in this art form that mainlines into the

soul.”

The original vision by the Davis brothers was

developed further by Brandon Schultz, who originally planned for Blokhedz to

be a feature film.

“We have always seen it as an animated feature

film,” said Schultz, a writer for the book. “Blokhedz as a comic book

came at Mark’s insistence. He was already doing sequential art in the form

of storyboards, so a comic book was the logical extension.”

But the characters have already leapt off the

pages in the form of action figures. The first character to be converted to

a toy is Vulture, the villain of the Blokhedz.

The Davis brothers are hardly new to the entertainment

field. Through their art, they have worked with artists like Lisa "Left

Eye" Lopez, The Source, Killarmy, R. Kelly and others.

Blokhedz is distributed by Diamond Select and

is available in major comic books stores throughout the country and online.

The first issue is sold out, but the second is currently on shelves.

For more information, go to www.blokhedz.tv.