They, whoever “they” are, say that politics is downstream from culture. So when you feel like the “woke” cult is in charge of entertainment — whether it be movies, television or even comic books — the only way you’re going to change it is to create a culture of your own. And the best, most entertaining types of culture usually exclude politics from their specific realm.
One of the best — and from all appearances, successful — examples of creating culture for the sole purpose of entertaining your audience is Eric July, aka Young Rippa.
You might know July from his daily podcast for Blaze TV, his previous work as a successful hip-hop artist or his frequent appearances on fellow YouTubers, like Nerdrotic or Geeks & Gamers, livestreams. (As an aside, if you’re a culture nerd, I highly suggest checking out Nerdrotic’s weekly “Friday Night Tights” show and Geeks & Gamers weekly “Tuesday Night’s Main Event.”)
On Monday, July unveiled his latest project that’s been in the works for months, The Rippaverse. Think the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or the DC Extended Universe — except without insulting the audience’s intelligence.
“While I, personally, value liberty, we’re not going to beat you over the head with on-the-nose, current politics and current narratives,” July said in a recent “Rippaverse” intro video. “That would completely contradict what we’re trying to do here.”
Related: Sci-Fi Writers Award 'Grand Master' - Then Boot Her For Using Un-Woke Word
The first book being released, titled “ISOM,” began its campaign with a modest goal of $100,000 in sales. As of this writing, only three days later, and The Rippaverse has seen a tidal wave of support, garnering over $1.5 million in total revenue. The campaign made $1 million in around the first 24 hours or so.
As an old school, but casual, comic book collector — and a fan of July’s — yours truly made sure he was one of the first to order an issue of “ISOM” #1, and the artwork so far looks amazing. When the issues are shipped out in August, we’ll get a deeper look at the storylines.
According to the book’s campaign page, here’s a summary of the story that sets up the “Rippaverse”:
Avery Silman was once an entry-level hero known as Isom in the city of Florespark, Texas shortly after gaining his special abilities. A certain event had him hang up his suit, and now he stays on the outskirts of the city, living as a rancher.
Avery’s sister, Altona, gives him a call and wants him to visit an old friend by the name of Darren Fontaino. Another family friend that was interning with Altonta has gone missing and she last heard that she was dealing with Darren. But Darren has much changed since he was hanging out with Avery when they were young. He’s a cold-blooded shot-caller and one of the most feared men in the city.
This visit turns into one of the longest days in Avery’s life. Around these parts, people call ‘special beings’ Excepts. And unfortunately for Avery, he has the luxury of running into some of them. The Alphacore and Yaira have their own set of conflicts. A man built like a tank by the name of Santwan reappears and he’s had previous confrontation with Avery.
Of course, what would a successful black man who goes against the establishment narratives be without his haters that routinely discounts his “blackness” because he doesn’t ascribe to said establishment’s “hive mind?” Think Larry Elder.
Twitter actually suspended an independent account I have for defending July — not that he needs defending — from haters that had no problem calling him the N-word.
All the ‘Negative Nancies’ aside, here’s hoping the first book is as good as the success it has seen so far so that we can expect many more books to come.
Congrats to Eric July and everyone at the Rippaverse for a more than successful launch.
For a trailer of ISOM #1, watch below:
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Nick Kangadis few bits of advice of his own for you in the latest episode of Things That Need To Be Said! pic.twitter.com/lhLPfzwJ2P