The Black Panther cartoon series

I'm very much into super hero, action, violent etc... manga, anime, comics and cartoons. Whilst browsing through Netflix I came across 'Black Panther' and decided to give it a watch as it had been recommended to me a few times in the past, I had just not bothered to seek it out.

As soon as it starts you worry about the style of animation, very rigid and minimal animation, almost looks like cut outs flying across backdrops at times. It made me think of the many times I've read a manga and then gone on to watch the anime, something lacks. After the first episode you tend not to notice so much as your imagination picks up the slack, just as when you read comics, so perhaps this was the desired affect?

Theme music has an ethnic cross hip-hop vibe works very well and I actually watched through the full opening each episode which is odd for me, I can only imagine this is due to the chanting African vocals and the almost bouncy kick drums working so well together. Voice overs sound authentic but the African accents have clearly been watered perhaps a little too much down a touch, it could have been a little more authentic and even the most ignorant amongst us would have understood.

The majority is set in Africa, snippets in America, but we are shown characters of various races and origins and I believe they have been depicted very well in the context of the programme. Flashbacks in episodes give us a setting across many years, we even see an inexperienced Captain America get owned in an episode and the most of the series is set I would say not too far in the future based on the technology displayed.

If the tones of the voice actors isn't a give away, then many of the programmes themes make it blatantly obvious Marvel are going with a far more mature vibe on this one. Corrupt governments, racism, fights over natural resources, technology and medicine, what is a pleasant surprise is that you don't realise how strong these themes are until you sit back and think about what you've just watched. The themes are clearly there and hold relevance, unlike most other 'ethically themed' cartoons they are not what the creators want us to concentrate most on. They have achieved the desired effect very well. 

Lots of sleek action, appearances from the mainstream Marvel heroes such as the X men, Storm features as a pivotal character later on, Captain America, Juggamaught who get to realise an apparently long held dream of tackling a rhino!... The Hulk and the Fantastic 4 are mentioned as well. 

The story it self is feasible, allot of action, a bit of family drama and a sprinkling of the lovey dovey gives this all round feel. 

Its a title that will definitely appeal to those who have at least have an interest in Black cultures but also a good casual watch for the super hero and action fan.

Truth in manga!!

Dreadlocks and the crochet hook

Yet again, as with anything I write in regards to dreadlocks (unlike other topics I may write about) everything here is based upon my experience growing and helping other grow dreadlocks (for want of better wording) through all stages of the process.

NOTE THIS IS NOT A GUIDE ON HOW TO USE THE CROCHET HOOK... THERE ARE PLENTY OF HOW TO'S ON IT OUT THERE ALREADY!!!

The crochet hook is probably one of the biggest controversies within the Caucasian dread lock community. Some say it tears hairs from the locks, other swear by it and hail it as the MUST HAVE tool for maintaining neat locks. I myself have been on both sides of the debate but think I have finally found out what about crocheting is causing the 2 different opinions!

There is ALLOT on line regarding maintaining dreadlocks with a crochet hook and a majority of it depicts the hook as doing more good than bad to your dreads. The basics of it from my experiences is its a fantastic tool to use to pull loose hairs into the dread lock, making them look neater and in theory lock faster. I can imagine most, if not all people, that decide to grow locks purely for fashion purposes would spend at least some time researching how to keep their locks looking neat, particularly in the early stages, I know I did. Most of the techniques you come across for this do no harm to your dreads such as, tip rubbing, root rubbing, palm/finger rolling etc... and you are encouraged to get into the habit of doing these things as much as possible. Then you come across the crochet hook and its many wonders, neatening up the body, some of the root, and also the tip of each dread. What is not so clear is that while for the moment you are using and for a short time after, the crochet hook will make your dreads more than likely feel and most definitely look neater but, and especially in the earlier stages, the hook is doing long term damage to your dreads.

I first used the crochet hook in my towards the end of my baby dread stage, would have probably been sooner if I was able to get my hands on one sooner. Feeling the hairs being pulled in as I was using the hook was almost elating, thinking I had found the answer to all my dread worries, but now almost a year later I have a few dreads that are limp, have weak spots , feel and look completely different to the rest of them, all thanks to my misuse of the crochet hook. At first I thought this was due to the fact I had tried a few different techniques to set my dreads and have dreads of various thickness's. But now as I have put down the hook mid session, I realised where I went wrong. I used the bloody thing too early in my dreads life. Back then there wasn't enough mature dread to hold the hair I was pulling in in place, so after a bit of movement and the wind getting to them, the hairs I had worked on had come out again, so I would use the hook again, but each time YOU ARE tearing hairs, if only a few, and losing hairs in the early stages is one of the worse things for dreads. Another problem is ITS ADDICTIVE, if you can feel first hand the hairs pulling into the dread, you know its making them look healthier, and so can be hard to stop. A few sources will tell you to only use the hook after you dreads hit the 'teen' stage if not later, I would say to not use a hook until a year has passed at least, just to be safe. Tearing hairs once your dreads have matured a bit is still something you don't want, but is something the dreads will be able to cope with allot better as some to most of the broken hairs will remain within the dread (if you didn't know you clearly haven't researched enough, but broken hairs WILL occur in dreads, they are part of what makes a dread a dread).

Always remember to gently palm/finger roll as you crochet your dreadlocks to prevent too much hair gathering in one area creating those lumpy looking dreads, unless of course that's what your going for!

Another point, watch out for the moron posting videos to YouTube showing you how to devastate your dreads with a crochet hook but telling you its the correct method, I wont mention this guys username. He is almost using the right technique, but instructing you to pull the crochet in and out of the dread rapidly but this in reality is causing more harm than good, regardless of the age of your dreads. Also don't be ripped of by people/companies selling 'special dread lock maintenance/neatening/tightening tools' most of these are just crochet hooks with fancy names at far higher prices. I pay £1.20 for a standard crochet hook from a local shop that specialises in sewing and knitting supplies, and it does the job perfectly well.

As I haven't clearly stated yet, DON'T use a crochet until your dreads have at least a little more than a little maturity to them.

Utsusemi no jutsu my left nut

...Dont beg it!

....REALLY??

First time ive read anything like this in a manga!!!!

Palm Rolling

Again, as with anything I post regarding dreadlocks, this is based upon my experiences from growing my own and helping several others grow their dreads. Palm rolling is another controversial topic in the dread community. some say its pointless, and the biggest argument from this camp is that you merely press and flatten hairs against the dreads when you palm roll, meaning the affects only last moments before the hairs become visibly messy again. The majority of dread heads swear by it and see palm rolling as an essential part of maintaining dreads. Palm rolling is when you take a single dread between your palms (imagine the usual Christian prayer stance), and roll the dread back and forth, slowly moving from as close to the root as you can get down to the tip and back up, varying the pressure.

 It may seem very simple but it does take a little getting used to before you can do this yourself. I found that once you know how to angle your head so your dreads fall towards the floor but coming away from your head. It is far easier if your dreads are longer than around shoulder length, as they fall away from the head better when leaning to do this. You will notice a warming sensation to your palms when doing this, obviously heat generating from the friction being caused. My dreads vary in length and thickness, for the shorter and thinner ones I find it far easier and more affective to finger roll, take a dread between your thumb and first finger and again roll back and forth moving up and down the dread, but it's harder to mover up the dread when finger rolling. It is common for your scalp to become mildly irritated after a good palm roll sesh, thanks to the pulling and sly tugging at the roots whilst rolling, so don't worry, and palm rolling has caused barley minimal hair breakage if any at all. What I have found from palm rolling is your dreads will be straight and even if you roll often. The pressure and the slow up and down movement helps flatten out any kinks, folds, bumps, etc... I highly recommend allot of palm rolling after crochet hook sessions. The crochet hook can gather quite allot of hair into the same area of a dread giving them those random bulges that are so much more compact and hard to squeeze, palm rolling during and straight after crochet hook maintenance can reduce this. The dreads to the back of my head are harder to get to and have far more kinks and bulges as I don't tend to palm roll these as often as the dredies on the side and top of my head. It really comes down to the look your going for, if any. Some people, myself included, like the look of the odd kink or bend, its almost a personal characteristic for that single dread. Others like the uniform dread look where each individual dread is the same length and thickness and the placement of the dreads is perfect. Some even take action to cause their dreads to form uneven and wobbly looking. The use of and how frequent you palm roll need to be considered if you are aiming for a specific style. As most other dreadlock maintenance revolves around the pulling in, tucking away, generally hiding loose hairs, and palm rolling does not people may think its pointless, but i beg to differ. If nothing else palm rolling, like anything else hands on with your dreads, only strengthens the bond between you and them. Feeling and seeing first hand the affects of what your doing to them, be it good or bad, is something that all proper dread heads can appreciate. My advice.... Get rolling.

Frustrating, no?