This FangerNails story, was inspired by the many discoveries
of African American cemeteries around the southeast. In 2019 a 120 graves were discovered under a
Housing Complex. This is the story that fueled the creative juicing. In this
story Eni and her friends set out to investigate strange ghostly happenings at
a housing project. Time is not on their side as a local ghost hunter has also
come to exterminate all mincing spirits. FangerNails main goal is to prove that
ghosts aren’t bad. What they find at
these projects challenges all of their paranormal investigation skills.
Issue One had a beautiful variant cover my Mervyn McKoy.
The story started with Eni sitting in her room. She is just a normal 16 year old girl.
This is the character that Eni dreams she could be after she learns about her father.
In issue two Eni and her friends meet a Ghost Hunter. Someone who hunts down ghosts. This goes against Eni's awareness so they become adversaries.
This variant cover is by Mervyn McKoy who did the variant cover for first issue.
The FangerNails team is made of Eni who is a gargoyle. Mercedes is Puerto Rican and she studying to be a Bruja.A Bruja or a brujería (pronounced [bɾuxeɾˈi.a]), is a Spanish
practitioner of what is considered witchcraft as is a complex blend of
indigenous, African, and European influences. The third girl is a ghost named Savannah. And the last member of the FangerNails team is Khemmy, Eni's Black cat. In this story Khemmy gets more shine. He goes off on his own to investigate on his own and he runs into other cats.
This whole issue and even the entire concept of FangerNails was inspired by our feelings towards ghosts and the dead. FangerNails was created to shed some light on the good side of ghosts. Showing how ghosts can be good challenges people's concepts on ghosts. In the second issue the inspiration was the an African burial ground was found in Tampa. In 2019 Zion Cemetery, believed to be the first in the city for
African Americans, was established in 1901 by a Black businessman named Richard
Dolby was discovered beneath a Tampa, Florida Apartment complex.
Fangernails is the spin-off of the book Thug Angel Rebirth of a Gargoyle. This is a story about a single
father named Maurice who is raising little girl named Eni in the Front Street
Projects. FSP (Front Street Projects)
are a complex of four 10 story buildings and Maurice is the proud superintend. They are the oldest buildings being used as
housing projects in New York. They are
made of stone with carved faces on the outside.
Some of the old lades say the faces are there to protect the residences
and are called Gargoyles. Whether it is
the gargoyles ensuring the good luck of the FSPs it is clear that there is
something special about the FSP. The
housing projects of New York are notorious for having drug dealers and lots of
crime. Drug dealers don’t come around
FSP and even when a new drug dealer thinks about pushing drugs around there
they change their mind. Eni thinks it’s
because of men like her father however, one thing Eni or anybody else cannot
explain is why nobody has ever been hurt or murdered in the FSPs until
now.
FangerNails is a comic book with a purpose. Please check out the pitch video where I explain the second issue.
FangerNails 2 pitch video
“I wanted to write a mainstream type story but still be black. I wanted to expand on what is considered black science fiction. When people think of Black sci-fi they think of African warriors and paranormal stories not global disasters and the post apocalypse,” said Jeff Carroll of his work.
