Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande
Oni Press (March 18, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2023) Fist Award for Writer of the Decade, Murewa Ayodele is the writer of the Nommo-nominated comic book series New Men, the critically acclaimed webcomic series My Grandfather Was a God, and several Marvel comics. He is also the co-founder of Collectible Comics NG, a Nigerian comic book studio founded with artist Dotun Akande that was nominated in the Comic Studio of the Year category at the 2018 Fist Awards. Dotun Akande is an award-winning comic book cover artist and graphics designer who has worked with some of the biggest brands in Nigeria. He was the recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2018) Fist Award for Best Cover Artist and has created comic covers for comic book series like I Am Iron Man, Vengeance of the Moon Knight, Black Panther, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Heirs of Apocalypse. Their newest collaboration is the mythic adventure tale, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods.
Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods is primarily an African dark fantasy graphic novel. Set in the ancient continent of Alkebulan with a mythic cycle of cosmic destiny and unrelenting warfare colliding man against god, this adventure comic will remind readers of some of the great pulp comics of the 1930s and 1940s. The plot is a mythic adventure of gods combatting gods and meddling with the lives of men. These are primal, angry gods, gods of war and chaos that demand flesh and blood sacrifice, and the people are angry. When Ogun, God of War, defeats his rival Obatala, it sets into motion a series of cosmic events and the champion, Akogun, is born.
This is an epic tale, and the art of Dotun Akende really drives it forward. While Murewa Ayodele has carefully created a complete cosmic mythology, including demigods and divine revenge over millenia, it is the art of Akende that solidifies this tale. The balance between realism and stylization is tight, and the bizarre mix of blood and body parts that divine beings leave in their wake are brought to life by colorist Dee Cunniffe. This is a really fun graphic novel, a mythic dark fantasy that is a fast read, brought to life by some great art.
Overall, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods is a really fun, exciting read. Murewa Ayodele has created a unique mythology, one set on a world populated with living gods and heroes that fight them. Dotun Akande’s art really sells the story, and fans of dark fantasy and epic adventure stories are sure to enjoy this new tale.
