Shekinah Kashama Mfuamba, alias Rocky, was inspired by popular comics artists such as Kabamba, alias Kabos, and Lepa Mabila Saye. He started working as a scriptwriter and producer in the Congolese comic scene, collaborating with illustrators.
In this video, Rocky reveals some of the secrets of popular comic artists. The quality of the print is very important for popular cartoonists, but at the same time the production must remain affordable to be accessible to a wide audience with limited financial resources. To achieve this goal, popular cartoonists adhere to an old but efficient way of printing.
In this video, Rocky explains how he prints his comics using this special printing process: first, the drawings are printed from plain paper onto tracing paper. This is followed by exposure on a metal plate and then again printing on paper. For Rocky, the main advantage of screen printing using the metal plates is the possibility to archive the productions in a sustainable way: The plates last for years, even in a humid environment such as that of the Congo with its tropical climate, which is not the case with paper that decomposes after a few months. The prints on the metal plate therefore allow Rocky to maintain a long-term archive of its productions. In addition, screen printing enables a strong ink application, which guarantees not only an intense and long-lasting colour, but also good opacity. The comic strip printed in this video is entitled “The Sorcerer kills a Fetishist”.
