NOiR Caesar Entertainment is a growing indie creative company that supports and nourishes art from marginalized communities in various media, including animation, fashion, and music. Putting the spotlight on diverse communities is not just a trick for this company — it is the main focus. NOiR Caesar is producing raw and bright stories told within pages of manga and comics. And it’s growing! They offer a fresh look into our world of pop culture. I was able to speak with one of the staff members, Jacqueline “Jax” Cottrell who is NoiR’s Digital Content Strategist to learn more about their vision as a new space for Black nerd creativity.
About NOiR Caesar
Black Nerd Problems: Please tell us about the origins of this company and its vision.
Jax: NOiR Caesar Entertainment was established by professional athlete, Johnny O’Bryant III as a response to the overwhelming amount of Black culture seen in anime, manga, comics, and so forth, but an equally underwhelming lack (as well as complete and offensive misrepresentations) of proper representation of Black people and people of color in those same media.
Our goal is to create a diverse network of Black, POC, and LGBTQA+ creators to tell their stories as they deserve to be told. We’re inspired and driven to give a platform to those whose voices have been continually silenced, or told by major companies, “NO, we don’t think YOUR story would ‘sell’ ” or “Nobody wants to read about your experiences as a (Black, POC, LGBTQA+, Disabled, etc.) person.” We want our fans and readers of all ages and walks of life to be able to look at our content and say “THERE I AM! That’s me!” and know that they are properly seen, represented, and heard.
When it came to building our staff/family, we knew it was important that our message of representation and diversity not only extend towards our content, but also to build a team that fully understood and embodied just who and what NOiR Caesar is. Along with NOiR Caesar being a fully Black-owned and managed company, our primary staff consists of Black, POC, LGBTQIA+, and Disabled people as well.
Our staff consists of creators, writers, and illustrators such as Johnny O’Bryant III (Founder/CEO/@jobryant3), Corey Mikell (President/COO/@cmikell83), Marcus Johnson (Head of Content/@dapp_stylez), Will “iLL” Brown (Vice President of Operations/@illbrown_), Me, Jacqueline “Jax” Cottrell (Digital Content Strategist/Voiceover/@jaxjaxattaxx), Dumisa Moyo (Digital Media Producer/@captainwonders), Cosmos Black (Head of Convention Retail/Marketing/@CosmosBlvck), Avery Jones (Chief Editor/Writer/@beenavery), and Abraham Cuzner (Chief Editor/Writer/@halfricanlegend). We also have a wide network of independent creators, such as Mikhail Sebastian (@mythallica), Nikolas Draper-Ivey, (@nikdraperivey), Sebastian Reira (@sebasrd82) and many more!
Jax: As NOiR continued to expand and grow, we began exploring other media to which we could lend our unique experiences; such as music, clothing, media, animation, news and other avenues. This would culminate into NOiR attending various conventions, hosting our own pop-up events and tours, the grand opening of our first office, and recently, our very own multimedia studio.
We’ve since partnered with animation company, Studio 9Lives, as well as Vans, NamiWear, MeganTheeStallion, King Vader, Patrick Cloud, KieraPlease, BlackGirlsAnime.com, NerdsOnHipHip, T-Pain, Carl Jones, and various other businesses and partnerships that have helped to grow NOiR into the company it is today.
BNP: Does Noir Caesar address any political concerns within their content?
Jax: NOiR Caesar addresses much of society’s and the world’s political and social concerns by way of not only our social media, but as well as our ever-expanding collection of original manga, comics, and graphic novels of various genres and themes.
NOiR’s mission is true diversity and representation, and whether it’s racism, poverty, misogynoir, police brutality, sexism, ableism, human trafficking, homophobia/transphobia, and so forth, it’s important that we use our platforms to not only uplift marginalized peoples but to shed light on many of those issues, the likes of which our staff/creators have personally experienced firsthand; this is what gives our content a genuine and original voice.
BNP: What have you noticed about the intersection of high fashion and nerd culture?
Jax: It’s undeniable that high fashion and nerd culture intersect in a way that both have become a singular culture in of itself, and the same can be said of inclusion of hip-hop and music culture in the same way that it intersects seamlessly with nerd culture. Once we began to expand our clothing brand, we paired up with major companies such as Vans, and later, Dom Jimenez, owner and founder of NamiWear, to create clothing that encompasses all three.
BNP: If you could cover one ultimate anime battle, who would the two combatants be?
Jax: Since everyone at NOiR Caesar has different tastes, I’ve got five different answers for you!
- Johnny: All Might vs One Punch Man
- Corey: Spike Spiegel vs Major Motoko Kusanagi
- Marcus: Kurama vs Sesshoumaru
- Will: Toshinori Yagi vs One Punch Man
- Me (Jax): Sailor Uranus (Haruka Tenoh) vs Vegeta
DegenerateZ
If you want to know more about NOiR Caesar Entertainment, you can check out the first chapter of their most recent manga, DegenerateZ. It is available to read at www.noircaesar.com/degenerateZ
For More Information
Website: www.noircaesar.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/noircaesar(@noircaesar)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NoirCaesarLLC
Twitter: www.twitter.com/noircaesar(@noircaesar)
Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/NoirCaesarEntertainment
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