We spoke to the makers of Hooked about the project.
What is Hooked?
Hooked is a 5 part cartoon that is based on reportage. It is set in Guinea-Bissau which has come to be known as Africa’s first narco-state. The story is about how the international drugs trade has affected the people of this small country on the west coast of Africa.
What is a narco-state?
“Narco state” is a term used to describe an area which is used by drug cartels as part of their trade. Ravaged by military coups and poverty, Guinea-Bissau is used by South American drugs cartels as a hub. They bring the cocaine into the country before they then smuggle it into Europe.
How does this affect the people of Guinea-Bissau?
As cocaine es through the country some of the drug is skimmed off the top and then re-produced into crack cocaine. This is then fed into the poorer neighbourhoods and surrounding countries.
How was the comic made?
Hooked is produced by the BBC Focus on Africa TV, the BBC News Magazine and BBC NewsLabs. A writer from Positive Negatives travelled to Bissau to interview some of the addicts. As they spent more time together the understanding of how a comic could tell the story of their lives began to take shape. Once a draft of the first chapter was written, it was read back to them, and Positive Negatives allowed them to make their own edits. This made sure that the script told their story as much as possible.
And what technology did you use?
The comic was made using Al Jazeera’s ‘Pulp’. This is an open source viewer specifically developed for displaying comics online. Anyone can use it and the details are here.
