The Evolution of Super Nupe – Part 5

As I thought about what it is to be a Kappa Man, and the fact that we are all real-life black superheroes I set the goal of finding a way to reflect this in a single image. This was going to be difficult because one of the things that I like the most about our fraternity is our diversity. We don’t all look the same and we don’t all think the same, yet we all strive to uphold our fundamental purpose. We rep that Phi Nu Pi!

The image needed to be a quick read. It needed to be recognizable as both a Kappa Man and a Superhero in an instant. It needed to depict a hardworking black man in heroic fashion. As a comic book artist there was no shortage of poses, but I kept coming back to the iconic action of a superhero ripping off his shirt to reveal the logo that he wears on his chest. This afforded me a way to include regular clothing and a superhero costume in one shot and the Diamond K would be the perfect emblem on his chest. It would need to emote strength, determination, and victory!

Finally, it had to have flavor… after all we are the Nupes! This can be difficult because every Nupe is different and if you factor in era, you could be all over the place. The clothing decision was easy. I chose medium brown for his complexion in order to relate to everyone but the hair… that was going to be difficult. Here are a few early sketches and the finished drawing of where I landed.