“Between the Panels” is a monthly interview series focusing on comic book creators of all experience levels, seeking to examine not just what each individual creates, but how they go about creating it.
Senegal might once have seemed an impossible distance from the center of the comics industry, but, in the internet age, talented creators like Juni Ba have been able to make that leap. What started as a burning motivation to tell stories led this dynamic cartoonist to get his work out into the wider world.
First off, the basics…
Your specialties (artist/writer/letterer/inker/etc.): Cartoonist!
Your home base: France
Website: www.juniba.fr
Social Media
Instagram: @juni.ba
Bluesky: @juniba.bsky.social
Fanbase Press Contributor Kevin Sharp: We start with the same first question for every guest: Why comics? What do you enjoy about working in this medium specifically?
Juni Ba: There’s something about being able to go from idea to a final realized form all on your own, without needing complex tech or anything like that. Comics as a medium allows for a lot of artistic freedom and expression. I love it for that.
KS: Please tell readers about where you grew up and what kinds of things were part of your creative diet as a kid — movies, books, TV, games.
JB: Grew up in Senegal! With a media diet from Europe, Japan, South America, and the US on top of the stuff made locally. But I gravitated especially towards cartoons and comics. Fantasy and sci-fi became a big part of what I enjoy. Probably something to do with the allegorical aspect of it all. Its evocative power.
KS: What were some fantasy / sci-fi favorites from back then? We don’t get a chance to talk about those things much here.
JB: Whatever was out in theaters, and lot of ’80s stuff. I saw Predator again recently and had forgotten that you see bloody human corpses hanging from a tree. I was around 8 years old when I saw that film. Other than that, the films of Michel Ocelot!
KS: I won’t ask if you remember the first comics you ever saw, but do you have a memory of when you would have been exposed to the medium in general?
JB: The oldest comic I had was Spirou le Grigri du Nikolokoba. It’s a Belgian comic about one of the medium’s most iconic characters going to Sénégal. I still have it! It’s a classic example of the Bande dessinee style of comics.
KS: Was there a local comic shop you had access to?
JB: There was! The selection was rather limited. I knew it at the time but going to Europe and seeing how much there was to be found really made me realize how much. The local bookstore had plenty of books, of all kinds, but the comics section was focused on the usual widely known comics from France and one spinning rack for manga. So, I used the internet a lot to find what I needed. I think that’s probably a universal thing for Africans. At least back then.
KS: Were you familiar with any comic book characters through other media before you “met” them inside comic pages?
JB: Mostly American ones. I watched superhero films and shows before I got comics. [The] oldest American comics I had were Batman: The Animated Series ones, as well as a Batman Forever comic version. Didn’t read any mainline superhero comics until I was in my teens, and even then it was sparse. The real jump into it was when I was around 19. The American indie side, it’s a little harder to pinpoint. I discovered Mignola when I was around 17 and that definitely had an impact. Other comics characters I usually discovered through their comics directly, and they were mostly French or Japanese.
KS: Speaking of Mignola, I was going to ask who some of your early favorite artists were to follow.
JB: Franquin is a big one. Toriyama, as well. Hiroyuki Takei was another big one and ushered me into manga as my new obsession.
KS: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums and about the way a reader can find an important story at just the right time. What was a comic book story you read when younger that had a real impact on you?
JB: Shaman King is the example that comes to mind. I was introduced to it when I was 14 at a time of difficulty in my life and the series had an outlook that I guess I’d qualify as very Buddhist. Letting things go, remaining peaceful, not trying to control what can’t be, and being comfortable from the inside out. It helped tremendously. It also became an obsession and I got lost in manga and failed that school year! But it was worth it.
I suspect this story works regardless of age. I actually still take lessons from it. But at the time it was the perfect counterpoint to regular teen angst, as well as larger issues that most teens hopefully don’t go through. It also sparked imagination on a way most Western things hadn’t. If Mignola has influenced my aesthetic the most, Takei has influenced my philosophy the most.
KS: Can you recall when you first had the idea of art as a career? Was there a certain moment when you realized that’s what you wanted to do? Many kids have that hobby but far fewer actually pursue it for real.
JB: I was around 9 when I saw the animated intro to Sonic CD and decided I needed to figure out how you can do that with drawings. I was obsessed with storytelling already but now I wanted to know why it is that you can draw a shape and have it registering in your brain as a living thing. Comics was just the medium that seemed most accessible.
KS: Did you have family support for this pursuit?
JB: Oh yeah, my family has never put limitations on this. It was all a bit alien I think for them, but there was an understanding that this was an industry and you could make money enough to live. It helped that video games and comics adaptations were becoming such a big thing. It gave the goal some legitimacy.
KS: Where did you go to art school?
JB: ESMA in Montpellier, a French art school. I studied illustration.
KS: And was making comics something you specifically wanted to do, or were you interested in visual art in general?
JB: I suppose I just want to draw, but my brain keeps coming up with narratives and comics is the best tool to give them form. I’d love to start doing concept art or album covers and the like though.
KS: What did your post-graduate life look like as far as what kinds of art gigs you were able to land?
JB: I got my first gig on the day of graduation but it turned out to be more of a cautionary tale than anything. Don’t take on projects that sound suspicious! The best part was, as always, working on my own projects, with what became Djeliya, Monkey Meat, and Felix and Macabber once I got in touch with Hassan Otsmane Elhaou. Those were awesome! Meanwhile, I did graphic design for various companies, and worked on a video game. I had to get back to comics though.
KS: What was it that made the first gig a cautionary tale?
JB: No advance due to lack of funds, but a lot of promises of grandiose things on the back end due to who the partner on this project was going to be. Basically, promises of a great kickstart to my career. I had practical and financial reasons for taking it, too — it came with a full-time graphic design position — but none of the editorial promises were kept and I ended up getting where I am thanks to the very personal projects I was told didn’t have much legs. I caution people to not take on gigs that sound suspicious either because certain guarantees aren’t there, or it sounds too good to be true.
KS: But something better was waiting around the corner?
JB: [A]t the same time I started working with the Kugali collective and publishing short stories through them, as well as online. Eventually, that attracted some eyes and I was able to pitch Djeliya, get approached by DC and the like. The very first cover I ever did was for Excellence, by Brandon Thomas and Khary Randolph. Very quickly I started getting gigs.
KS: These days, do you have a typical work routine as far as keeping certain hours/days for making art?
JB: I used to have ungodly hours but now I try to stick to more respectable ones. My main recommendation is try to drop the pen by 6 p.m.
KS: Thumbs up or thumbs down: listening to music or other background noise while you work?
JB: Thumbs up! I need the noise. Keeps the cobwebs away. Right now it’s a lot of The Coup, Rage Against the Machines, and the soundtrack from Saint Seiya!
KS: Let’s finish with two hypotheticals. First, I can hook you up to a machine like in The Matrix and instantly upload an expert skill into your brain. What’s something you wish you were excellent at doing?
JB: Cooking for my girlfriend. She’s very happy with my current skill level but I can get better!
KS: Second, if there was a Comic Book Hall of Fame and you got to nominate one title you think represents the medium at its very best — one issue, one series, or one graphic novel — what would be your pick?
JB: The Great Beyond by Lea Murawiec is a recent personal fave! It’s a magnificent use of the medium with a very playful approach.
KS: Finally, please let readers know what you have out now and have coming out the rest of 2025…
JB: At the moment the big one is the second batch of Monkey Meat currently being published! Last issue is coming out on August 6 with the full volume later this year. Probably November.
