Peace.

Some online peeps know me by my birth name Ahmed Hoke, some know me by my current alias Ryu Blackman, and still others know me as Insane One, Medski, HTML or any number of random names that I've chosen to go by over the years. The point of this article is to educate those who don't understand the purpose of my style, and the idea of creating burners in a manga format.

Many squares tend to criticize and complain about things they don't understand but fail to realize that the mere statement "I don't understand" is a fairly weak criticism. Coming from a graffiti background I grew up trying to follow in the footsteps of other graff artists that pushed the limits of what could be done with character work and familiar letter forms to the point where much of the colorful murals that could be seen on walls around my city were basically illegible to those unfamiliar with bombing and the logic behind it. The most illegible form of this artwork is referred to as Wildstyle. Do your homework.

I got hated on by comic nerds for my first series @Large because I had the nerve to introduce graffiti forms and authentic urban slang into a manga format. The prevailing sentiment back then was similar to what it is now.. they didn't understand so they didn't want to bother with it. This is a common complaint of people outside the movement (Hip Hop). I don't care as much about folks getting what I do, because as an author I make sure that my storylines are infallible. There is a lot of white noise on the web right now about the storyline for Heavenshield. Relax already... Heavenshield is a SERIES. There will be clarification and revelations up the wazoo for those who stick with it. However I'm going to have to smack you over the head with this new term I created called WILDSTYLE MANGA. You might not get it on the first read but calm down, smoke a spliff and try it again. Or not. I'll keep doing what I'm doing regardless..

To sum it up, Thelonius Monk isn't for everybody and neither is the Lightning Monk, but Thelonius is a genius...I'll let you finish that thought.

Ryu