We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Onaji Rouse. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Onaji below.

Alright, Onaji thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I am currently in post production for my sci-fi action series Drafted: Origins which is a live adaptation of my current comic book Odina. It’s a four part limited series about a world of people with superhuman abilities whose lives cross paths. I am the writer, creator and Executive producer for this project. So being at the head of everything. There is a lot of grabbing the wheel and really taking charge. I didn’t know I had it in me to pull this off but with the collaboration of so many talented artists in my community and with God’s grace. Everything turned out wonderfully and I can’t wait for people to see what we created.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Onaji Rouse and I am a comic book creator, screenwriter, and filmmaker. I currently have three published titles with Konkret Comics, ODINA, Kandake, and Sista Circle-X. My first book Odina is running issues 1 through 4 and I am in the last round of production for issues 5 &6. Completing the first story arc. My second book, Kandake won a 2023 ecbacc Glyph award for best female character written. And I am also producing a pilot for my sci-fi action drama Drafted: Origins that I created and wrote which just debuted at 2023 Black Film Festival Atlanta. We’re currently in post production for part 2 & 3. So I can’t wait to show everyone. I am super excited about the hard work everyone has put into this series. The actors and production team really shows that the talent in the southeast is not to be slept on.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, legacy. I want to leave something on this earth that shows that I was here and it hopefully inspires other creatives or those with a dream. As well just being a decent human being. You can chase your goals and still be a good person. The same people you see on your way up will be the same people you will see on your way down. So try and show some compassion to those in the same rat race as you. But I have to say my overall goal is to really show that God gives us all a purpose and it’s never too late to find yours and do it for your tribe. No one can do it all by themselves.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first launched my comic book. It was right when the pandemic hit. Me and my colleagues just had our first book signing in February of 2020. We had things set up to do book tours and comic cons. However, the pandemic hit that next month right at the time of our launch. So we had to quickly shift our focus to selling books online and finding ways to reach people through social media. So it was definitely something that we had to learn right then and there and it was a learning lesson that came in handy in the future.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/obsoletestudiollc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onaji-rouse/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Obsolete_studio