Editor Odell Hall recently discussed his role in the creation of a new African superhero, Prince Ato, also known as “The Porcupine Man.” The intriguing character is a central figure in the newly released book titled “The Plague of Placidius.” Hall’s commentary provided a deeper understanding of the character’s development and why it makes for perfect reading.

On another note, Hall is also known as Odeisel, a member of the AllHipHop family. A principle of The Gunshow, he was party to the dramatic rise of the site. I talked to my friend and respected Hip-Hop aficionado about his current happenings, the books, “The Wire” and what AllHipHop turning 25 means.

AllHipHop: What made you do this graphic novel, The Plague of Placidius? 

It’s actually a full-length prose novel. There will be a graphic conversion as Prince Ato takes off. My partner, Dr. Edmund Kayga-Agyemang, is the listed writer and this book was his idea. He has had this story swimming in his head for years and the plot was all his. 

When I read it I thought elevator pitch: Shazam meets Black Panther meets Spider-man; a coming-of-age story, whose backdrop takes place in Africa and America, featuring a prince destined to fight for the future of the world but overwhelmed by an immense responsibility. There is science and magic and subways and airports. And killer Pandas.

I added some depth to the characters, heft to the story beats, and fleshed out the backstories. I designed the look of the characters. Full collaborative work. It was painstaking but still fun and adventurous. 

You and I come from the short-form news/entertainment world so altering the focus for the long form was difficult at first. Trying to meet the word count of a real novel without being repetitive, while maintaining voice and tense was a beast. 

Then you start to care for the characters and they become your children. We have 100% ownership and trademarks so it isn’t like you’re writing for a publisher and you have to put the toys back in the box.

AllHipHop: What does The Plague of Placidius mean exactly?

Placidius is a warlord saved from death by an angel who escaped the wrath of The Maker by falling through a black hole. He leaks a pheromone, which causes people to wild out. Like if somebody made “Slam” or “Throw Ya Gunz” from Onyx into a nerve gas. The second someone inhales, violence ensues. In a place like New York, with that kind of population on top of each other, you can see how that would be catastrophic. Placidius murdered his way out of a thousand-year imprisonment. It took half the earth to chain him up the first time and gods lost their lives in the war. ‘Rakimically’ speaking, he ain’t no joke.

AllHipHop: What is the state of the culture as it relates to black folks in comics/fantasy?

Black people have had it so hard on earth that we have always been present in fantasy. You can boldly go wherever you want, but you ain’t leaving us behind. But in mass media there is a resistance to show Black power and wonder. We know Panthro is the Black Thundercat. But he was light blue. John Stewart was Green Lantern for an entire generation with the Justice League cartoons but they went right back to Hal Jordan for the movie and it flopped. X-Men had a Black mutant Darwin, whose power was literally evolving to survive anything, killed like a scrub in the New Class movie.

Now we are telling our own stories, continuing the legacies of Priest (Jim Owsley), David Walker, the great Dwayne McDuffie, Reginald Hudlin and so many others. But with original characters. Our own toys. And our Black children are much more free to consume, create, and cosplay on levels that outstrip fringe participation. We ComiConning. Bigly.

AllHipHop: Is there any connection to Hip-Hop? 

With this particular IP, no. But we have more characters that will tap in to the American Black experience in a more intimate way. Some references may be interwoven at random because New York is a character in The Plague of Placidius and she is a Hip-Hop city.

AllHipHop: What are your thoughts on Hip-Hop turning 50?

Without King of Rock I don’t have my wife and children or my thousands of internet surrogate Ill Community children. I don’t know you, and my contributions to the world would probably be in a different vein, so I owe very much of who I am to the music.

But with all culture and art it must mature and commerce has stunted the mass media version of this thing of ours.  But that’s only the mainstream. There is more dope s### at this time than ever. To kind of cross-pollinate, look at the Spider-Verse movies and Miles Morales. I can only imagine what it would have been like if my Spider-Man was Black. But the soundtrack with Swae Lee was so Hip-Hop. 

Miles wears hoodies and Jordan 1’s. The new Transformers movie was decidedly 90s Hip-Hop. Ditto Ninja Turtles. Our music is supplanting the old as we are. All of these movies used to have rock soundtracks and electric guitars. You Got The Touch. Now, De La Soul is closing the movies. We have become the soundtrack of life.

AllHipHop: AllHipHop is now 25 years old. You were (and are) a member of the legendary Gunshow, the crew of editors from the Golden Age of the site. Thoughts?

It was a wonderful time to be alive and active in the first wave of credible Hip-Hop digital journalism. After Russ sunk 30 million in 360HipHop, we were the litmus test to see if this could be real. We had so much talent: Jake Paine. AquaBoogie. Jason Rodriguez. Clover Hope. Dove Clark. Jamile from Philly. Martin Berrios. Kathy Iandoli.  Some of the writers, Ismael Abdusalaam, Nia B, Shelby Powell, Scott Williams, Danny Stolich. There were so many. All of these people have gone on to fuel engines, write books and produce extraordinary work.

Even our Ill Community citizens are doing great things. The mighty and prolific Dart Adams is one of ours. DJ Akademiks. Doctors, lawyers, military. We raised children. And it’s still here. On to bigger, better, richer execution. The world is burning. The records are streaming. We should be there to convey it at all times. To our children.

AllHipHop: You were featured in “CRACKING THE WIRE DURING BLACK LIVES MATTER.” Why is “The Wire” the best show ever and who is your favorite character (and why)?

“The Wire” is the greatest piece of American television because of its truth. We like to look down on criminals without acknowledging the part we all play. Everything else is childish. Good vs. Evil. The world don’t work like that. 

The police, the school system, the legal system, the political system, the squares and the streets. All in bed together. They schedule how many jails to build based on how many kids fail the 4th-grade exams. Not even the Sopranos got that deep into the interplay of the streets and the suites. And the children as collateral damage.

My favorite character was Slim Charles. He was the only person who remained true to the game. And he ultimately won. The hitters and Avon locked. Stringer, Bodie, Snoop, Joe all dead. Michael who had a bright future and clear talent is now an archetypical rogue. Charles, who never even wanted to be Captain, and was willing to lay down his life to save Joe from Omar, is now running the Co-op. Stringer thought he was smarter than the game. Avon had too much pride. Joe thought everything was a transaction. Marlo lacked diplomacy and coalition-building skills. 

AllHipHop: What would you like to see in comics? It seems like the bubble is bursting. 

I think comics have only touched the tip of the iceberg. New stories with new depth are being told. New media is being used. Comics, like Hip-Hop are past the fringe. And the movie aspect is like rap radio insofar as the deviation from the core art towards commerce diminishes the potency to the base. 

But just as we thought Marvel was dying, Loki hit the ball out of the park and pow, we’re getting What If? season two for Christmas. A new episode daily for nine days. I am all in!

AllHipHop: Give me an idea of where you are going with this literary movement of yours.

People reach out to me for various projects. I had a couple of Ebony articles on Nas and Marsai Martin and their business moves. I have an essay in a recently-released scholarly book about the response to the movement against Critical Race Theory entitled, Illmatic Consequences: The Clapback to Opponents of Critical Race Theory. Although I only post when I am moved, Planetill.com is still in effect and I have a year-end project coming that will be really good. Everyone is looking at 50 but I got another anniversary I am eyeing for Hip-Hop.

Our new company Kagyai-Hall Publishing aims to tell the stories of the diaspora. On all media levels and genres. The vampire assassins are getting their own story. The Atoverse is expanding to tell stories of his three sisters who are tough in their own right.

We also have podcast-form stories about real-life people who have fallen hard and gotten off the mat. Human stories that test our limits. We look forward to building communities and bringing people together through the art of storytelling. More Black faces and less blackface.

If you haven’t already, go out and cop The Plague of Placidius. For your readers, I’ll give a discount just let me know when it runs so I can set it up. There are a couple of things in the book I left as a tip of the hat to the IC. If anyone points them out I’ll send them an autographed copy. 

Peace to AllHipHop, you, Greg, the Almighty Gunshow and all the Ill Community. We will all converge sooner than later. 

Buy The Plague of Placidius here.