Mini Side, the Nigerian indie publisher behind the Yoruba mythology title Agbara Afrika Meje, has opened entries for a fan art competition on Instagram, offering a $50 cash prize to the winning artist. The contest, which runs until 28 July 2026, is the imprint’s first public competition and centres on characters from the comic’s debut issue.
Agbara Afrika Meje, which translates to “Seven African Powers”, blends Yoruba creation mythology with modern Nigerian student life, following a group of university students who discover that the Orisha left behind real fragments of power. The writing team of Mayowa Ogun and Tope Victory ground the story in authentically Nigerian dialogue, including Pidgin, while Ogun’s bold, expressive artwork separates the mythological past from present-day Nigeria. The debut issue earned a four-star review from ComicPanel World, which described it as a story that “respects Yoruba mythology, sounds authentically Nigerian, and sets up a larger story that feels worth following.”
To enter the competition, artists must follow the Mini Side’s Instagram account (@_miniside), read Issue #1, and post original fan art of any character using the hashtag #AgbaraAfrikaMejeFanArt. Entries must also invite Mini Side as a post collaborator, a technical step the publisher warns could result in disqualification if missed. The five most-liked submissions will advance to a final shortlist, from which one winner will be chosen and announced on 30 July. AI-generated work is explicitly prohibited, and only one entry per person is permitted.
The contest arrives at a moment of real momentum for the Nigerian comics industry. Nigeria’s comic book market was valued at over $100 million in 2024 and is projected to grow steadily through the next decade. That growth has been driven in part by a generation of indie creators drawing on indigenous African traditions, from Comic Republic’s award-winning superhero ensemble to Kolanut Productions’ NeoAfrica Universe, rooted in African oral folklore and Afro-futurism. Emerging partnerships, such as Kugali Media’s collaboration with Disney on the Iwájú project, have further spotlighted African storytelling on the global stage.
Mini Side sits within that wave but occupies its own niche: a small, creator-owned imprint building its audience largely through social media rather than established distribution networks. The fan art contest is as much a community-building exercise as it is a creative one; asking entrants to rally likes, comments and shares from their own followers to advance as finalists, while warning that purchased votes or artificial engagement will lead to disqualification.
For independent African artists, the $50 prize is a modest but meaningful signal: that the publishers championing African mythology onscreen are also, however incrementally, putting money behind the artists who bring those worlds to life.
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