Insights and ideas behind the creative works by Eric and Ramza
At right is an an obscured screenshot of the completed Introduction, Act I and last page for Act II as I work on them in Scrivener. Excitement is how I describe working on this project. The final two acts are already drafted and locked in an outline I made in Scapple (which I settled at its 8th revision).
The characters now visit me in my dreams on occasion.
None of these sketches are artwork for the graphic novel. They are just exercises to build up my strength and technique for the big project ahead of me.
I hope you find them interesting.
The screenplay is dragging on. I keep making changes and can never seem to be satisfied. This is truly the most profound, emotional and deeply spiritual project I have engaged in. Sometimes I wonder if I bit off more than I can chew.
My full-time job and union steward duties make working on this project very difficult. Yet when I do work on it—and don't fall asleep—it is very cathartic. The stuff I am dealing with in the real world is very depressing.
The good news is that I am writing the last scenes for the final Act. I am very anxious to get the screenplay to advisers. Dealing with speculative aspects of ancient Indigenous culture (proto- and conventional Saami) is not something I take lightly. 
As I am getting closer to the need for switching from writer to illustrator mode, I am sketching more concepts. This latest shows an important character named Mohkku and another view of Lynx-Finder. For the first time I am experimenting with typography.
So I created letters for names of the characters. Each letter is inspired by glyphs that are found on a number of South Saami, Torne Saami and Lule Saami drums.
While working on the sequel to Badin and the Secret of the Saami, I am always looking for inspiration from what others think of the first story.
This new review about Badin and The Secret of the Saami taught me more about the story than I previously conceived! Check it out and leave some comments if you agree!
Special thanks to Black Book Worms for the thoughtful review. Make sure you register for their email list. They do some great work!
Eric Basir’s exciting comic book series based in the 18th century Kingdom of Sweden in Northern Europe tells a story about a brave 12-year old boy who is trying to fit in to a new life far away from home. Badin and the Secret of the Saami (2017) is based on the true story of Couschi or Gustav Badin (1747-1822), an African in the court of Queen Lovisa Ulrica (1720-1782).
What a lot of people do not realize is that Couschi was not a regular servant to be looked down on and treated badly by the people he lived with in Sweden. He was taken in by the queen and she treated him like her own son, no different from the children who were born to her. She also wanted her friends, family, and all of Sweden to treat Couschi as a Swedish prince.
Badin’s full name was Adolf Ludvig Gustav Fredrik Albert Badin. That is a very long name! But the name that he was called by before he was living in Sweden was Couschi. Badin’s place of birth is Saint Croix, an Caribbean island between North and South America, claimed by the Kingdom of Denmark. He may have been born in Africa as Basir’s seems to believe. In the beginning of Basir’s story, Couschi talks about how he got to Sweden. At first, he was living with his own his mom and dad and the rest of his family. In those days, people from the lands of Europe took ships to the land of Africa and stole people away so they could use them to do what they wanted them to do. One day, a group of evil men came to his land from Europe, ruined his home, and took him away to Sweden. One of these men, who was from the Kingdom of Denmark, thought it was a good idea to give Couschi to the Queen of Sweden as a gift. This is how he ended up in Sweden.
Basir shows Couschi in his book as a big reader who owned lots and lots of books. The real Couschi kept a library with hundreds of books which were sold after he died. The real Queen Ulrica was also a lover of books. She read plenty in her free time. She read books about science, philosophy, art, and culture. These are topics that really make you think. This made her very smart. She wanted her adopted son Couschi to grow up as a smart boy, too. In the story, Queen Ulrica taught Couschi his first word in Swedish: “bok.” This means “book” in English. As she saw how well and how quickly Couschi was learning, Queen Ulrica decided to call him by a new name, Badin, which was her way of saying that he was a “clever” boy. He was reading about religion, science, and other things that boys his age could not understand. Over time, Couschi became someone who she could trust with her biggest plans and secrets. She also trusted him to take care of her palaces and even help her with things that queens were supposed to do for the people.
Basir shows that Couschi grows close to Queen Ulrica’s children Gustav (age 16) and Sofia (age 9). Gustav later became a king. Although they look very different from himself, Couschi sees them as his brother and sister. They often play together around the palace and sometimes, they sneak outside to explore.
Unlike the life of the real Couschi, Basir’s Couschi learns about a plan by the mad miner Herr Torsten and his helpers to take over all of the mines on Saami lands in Sweden. He then tries to stop Torsten and wins in the end. Torsten was not a real person who lived in the time of young Couschi around 250 years ago. But the funny conversations and interactions between this character and Couschi in Basir’s story helps us to imagine how Couschi would have chosen to deal with the same kinds of people and problems during his life.
There are many good things to learn from this story.
We have to be very careful about how we live so that we can live long and happy lives.
Badin and the Secret of the Saami (2017) has words in the Saami and Swedish languages. But you don’t have to know these languages or learn French, German, and Latin like Couschi did to understand the book. One of the best things about Basir’s book is that it has a glossary in the back in case there are words that a young reader still does not know very well. A glossary is a part of the book that tells you the meaning of big words from inside the story, just like a dictionary.
There is also a character list, a short story about the real Couschi, and a page from his actual diary.
All in all, Badin and the Secret of the Saami (2017) is sure to awaken your curiosity about African history in Europe and around the world. As you follow the comical Couschi on his adventures, you will share his struggles and his joys. You will find that his family is your family; his friends are your friends, too.
If you want to purchase a printed or online copy of Badin and the Secret of the Saami (2017), you can get it from the publisher here.
Have you read Basir’s book yet? Did you enjoy learning about Couschi’s adventures? Tell us what you think about the book in the comments below!
Here are some webpages to visit to learn more about Basir’s writings and art:
https://twitter.com/theblackrhino77
https://www.facebook.com/BlackRhinoIllustration
http://theblackrhino.deviantart.com
https://www.youtube.com/TheBlackRhino007
Contact us to suggest another book for us to review.
I leaked a few out already.
However, as the full screenplay is really maturing, I am feeling more confident about exploring the artwork a little. When it is final, then I will need to shift from writer to illustrator.
Clockwise from left, Zulsal (antagonist), Vaarvaa (protagonist), Beivve (sun diety) and Lynx-Finder (shapeshifter).
Beaivi (North Saami) Biejjie (South Saami) is a very important god/goddess in the ancient traditions of the Indigenous people who are found in Scandianvia and part of Russia.
Over a year in the making—and in its sixth revision—the outline for the sequel to Badin and the Secret of the Saami is complete.
The software to create this flowchart is called Scrapple. It is from the same developer that created Scrivener.
That program was used to write the script for the first graphic novel—and will be used for the sequel.
Naturally, I obscured the details. Each different color signifies a change of scene for the script.
All of this will change. However, it is merely a general roadmap for the plot.
I did complete the Directors Notes for the Badin and the Secret of the Saami Special Edition. However, this sequel is so important—and my time is so limited—that I had to put it on hold.
For the sequel, I went through countless writing sessions, trying to develop a premise. After conquering that hell of hurdle, I am now on a death-defying climb of literary mountains: Script outline.
The outline is in its sixth revision (the premise was a grueling nine revisions). My intention is to write a story that dwarfs the first graphic novel. When the outline is satisfactory to me, I will submit it to my advisers—Saami scholars of Saami culture and history.
Although the story takes place during the end of the Neolithic era—and definitive scholarship about Saami people is not so abundant from 10,000 years ago—my adoption of this ancient culture for the world of my characters requires the utmost respect and sensitivity. The last thing I want to do is insult the ancient ancestors of and the progenitors of the Saami people.
Upon implementing any recommended changes, I intend on writing the full script. From there, will begin the artwork phase.
However, as you see above, I jumped the gun. Albeit, I did this as a single event—an innocent indulgence! Who they are, I will not share. However, one is indeed Vaarvaa.
You can learn a little about her in the single self-titled Vaarvaa Mini-Saga or in the Mini-Saga Compilation (Available in print or ebook). She also makes an appearance and is mentioned a few times in the graphic novel Badin and the Secret of the Saami.
I hope you are as excited as me about this special project. I think about it every day and want it to become the best story I ever tell.
