No Batman or Superman in land of Indigenous superheroes

Spider-Man and Batman are nowhere to be seen in a comic book world of Indigenous superheroes and dreaming stories.

It’s been a two-year journey for Scott Wilson and Benny Eggmolesse to get their “Indigiverse” up, up and away.

“The reason why we use the words ‘Indigiverse’ and ‘Indigenous’ is because we are interested in a universe where First Nations people of their countries are the superheroes,” Mr Eggmolesse said.

Like any good superhero narrative, the origin story begins with a dream.

“We started off sitting around a cafe talking about all we wanted to do in the film industry and graphic novels, and it just seemed like a pie-in-the-sky type conversation,” Mr Eggmolesse said.

“We saw a massive gap in the market and this ability to take our dreaming stories and bring new life to them and have this creative licence that has been given to us by our elders.”

Now they have three TV shows in development and will appear at Oz Comic-Con in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Support and guidance has come from Wolfgang Byslama at Gestalt Comics, an Australian graphic novel publisher.

The pair want the Indigiverse to grow and plan to include Maori, Fijian, Samoan, Tongan and Vanuatu cultures.

“We are focused on how Indigenous peoples of the world can be created into superheroes,” Mr Eggmolesse said.

He encouraged readers wanting a glimpse into the Indigiverse to check out their comic Dark Heart, which features a giant rainbow serpent.

“He has been around since time beginning, he created our beings,” Mr Eggmolesse said.

“What makes the Indigiverse different is that we are purely focused on the Indigenous people of the world and their stories.”