Analytic Dreamz: Notorious Mass Effect - "CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD PRESENTS: ILLUMINATI (ANALYTIC DREAMZ REVIEW)"

Episode Date: August 12, 2026

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Ad-Free NME, Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠⁠ In this segment of Notorious Mass Effect, Analytic Dreamz delivers an in-depth breakdown of Charlamagne Tha God and AWA’s ILLuminati graphic novel. The 128-page supernatural thriller follows Lilly as she investigates her twin sister’s mysterious death in the hip-hop industry, uncovering manufactured influence, hidden power structures, and the dark costs of fame. Featuring writer Bryan Edward Hill alongside legendary artists Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz, the project blends conspiracy, satire, social commentary, and personal themes of grief and identity while elevating Black creators and audiences in comics. Rooted in Charlamagne’s lifelong fandom and hip-hop connections like Wu-Tang Clan, this analysis explores how ILLuminati challenges entertainment industry assumptions.Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Shepard, promise me you'll tell them to subscribe for free content. Listen, do you still want an Illuminati hardcover? So it's a limited edition run, but it's exclusive, right? Not everybody won't have the Illuminati hard cover. Now, of course, if you didn't hear over all the applause and bomb effects, which you know, I definitely got from one of my greatest inspirations, which you're seeing on the screen right now. You know what I'm saying?

Even though, technically, it came from Clue, but of course charlemagne in my opinion popularized it by saying drop one of the clue bombs for me so as far as over here notorious mass effect you know we do get into the gaming and music industry so you're probably wondering to yourself why in the world are you covering a comic book hmm you guys see that's the problem but ladies and gentlemen that is because of course if you didn't know one of my other passions that i consistently put content on or out on is superhero content and of course when it comes to comic books, that is where the birth of the high quality superhero content exists, in my opinion, way better than live action and animation.

You know what I'm saying? All right, my fault. I ain't mean to do all that. So with that be it said, we're getting into the Charlemagne review, but not only review, but the statistical accomplishments of the Black Illuminati promoted by Charlemagne. Of course, when they get into who wrote it, who drew the art for the comic book in the second, but I definitely wanted to play this back. just so you can hear what he has to say about the book.

But you can get it. All you got to do is go pre-order right now. All right. All right, so there we go. He said pre-order it right now. I think it's already out. So when it comes to, well, now, I think it's already out because, ladies and gentlemen, I read it. I'm ready. So I'm getting my personal review in the second.

But when it comes to Charlemagne, you know, we got a lot to get into, you know what I'm saying? I just don't. Hey, hold on, man. What not? I just don't like that shit, man. Hey, man, I know, hey, you know, I know Charlemaine gave you a classic. masterclass on how to put on a gaslighting performance. But you know what I'm saying?

You got to come over here with that? All right, my fault. Let me continue the review. So when it comes to Charlemagne in the Black Illuminati book, safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. And with that being said, I wanted to give my authentic personal review before the episode came out.

If you don't know, episode 163 of notorious mass effect is about to come out soon. Obviously, this is the cover. You know what I'm saying? So when it comes to the final part of the episode, So you're looking and listening to it right now, which if you're not watching it, analytic dreams video on Spotify

to see the video along with the audio. But with that being said, of course we have a lot to get into. And one of the main things I wanted to start off with was the hilarious take from Charlemagne on what he wanted to accomplish with this specific book. And here it is right here.

I want you all to read it inside of yourself. You know what? I knew Charlemagne was in the Illuminae the whole time. See? You guys. I want to pour gas on all the fires of conspiracy theories that it's many hell, bro. YouTube and so.

I want people to pick up the magazine, read it, and be like, who the hell are they talking about? They want to know about the workies of the music industry. Some of these stories may be true, some of them may not be true. But the only way you're going to find out is to really read it and figure out who's who and who they're talking about. Yeah, so these guys bugging, I kid you not, but I like it. You know what I'm saying? Because when you read the book, ultimately they get certain points across, but when you talk about the Illuminati and them exposing certain things, there's a lot of imagery in that specific comic book.

specific comic book. Is it okay? I got my dope on me? Once again, I read the comic book thoroughly, you know what I'm saying? Is it okay, I got my dope on me? And it's almost like they're hearing towards a certain someone. All right, my fault. Let me stop my conspiracy theories before I sound like someone else.

But that means it said, the main thing I was going to get into was, how long did it take to draw the book, the Black Illuminati? That's that by the time, bro. Yeah, I can't know. I'm kidding. I'm sitting it. When you asked me, I'm like, damn, how long did it take? Was it a year?

Was it two? about a year to do this on and off because it was five issues usually five issues would take you about five months if you got them you know steadily but this was spread out a little bit more so it took about a year to do it I would get a script every two months and something like that and then of course if you didn't know it was from this event as far as the comic book location where okay so Midtown Comics shout out to them so when it comes to the actual event this live footage of it of all the different covers Charlemagne being there himself, signing different

books. Working with Charlemagne and to work with Bill Sinkiewicz and Axel and all the great people at AWA meeting the fans here has been amazing. The energy that we get from New York, the people that are here, the fans of AWA, the fans of Aluminati are ready and the fans of Charlotte. I think that was Rob Markman. Hold on now, what's that Rob? Of AWA, the fans of Illuminati.

That may not been him. I don't know, maybe I'm tripping. already and the fans of charlemagne the god has made this very special we're here all right so with that being said ladies and gentlemen it is time to get into the overview of charlemagne and the black aluminati as of course with me being a huge comic book fan and of course with charlemagne being one of my obvious inspiration as if you don't know over here at notorious mass effect we get into the gaming and music ips that notoriously affect the masses so of course one of my preferred genres is of course hip-hop and who's one of the biggest covers of hip-hop in the industry of course charlemagne the

god so with that being said he is one of my inspiration especially when it comes to covering certain topics in the music industry and just looking at it from a bird's eye view and thinking outside of yourself especially when you're predicting the market and what's to come so i have huge admiration for charlemagne but with that being said you're probably thinking to yourself what does this have have to do with comic books? Well, I'm glad you asked. When you look at Charlemagne specifically, not only is he a New York Times bestseller, but of course when it comes to his superhero ties, he's always talked about his love for his superheroes and how in the beginning coming up or growing up in South Carolina, he was drawn towards the X-Men because of their diversity and godlike power

such as Storm. And he has a whole Wolverine tattoo. And no, I did not research this. This was like the front page, this is what you call, the prologue, the epilogue of the book, you know, the first page. I read it. I was like, hold, I'm not one, the actual. I know that ain't who I think it is. That man just gave us random information of having the whole Wolverine tattoo, and he told us it wasn't good. You know, he even told us the quality level of the tattoo. All right, my fault. So I'm getting back to it. So when it comes to Charlemagne, the main thing when it comes to his love for his superheroes is that, of course, he was a huge Wu-Tang fan and noting their comic book references. And then when you look at in 27,

Charlomaine was a part of the Marvel New Year's Eve Infinite Comic in 2022, and it was launched via his Black Privilege publishing. So if he was wondering, why in the world would Netflix give a $200 million deal to Charlemagne? Was it Netflix or was it Breakfast Club? I think it was Netflix. Anyways, Charlemagne received some type of $200 million deal. I say some type of, like, that was a big accomplishment. Let me see, Charlemagne, $200 million.

You know, that's it. He don't want no. nobody looked this up. You know what I'm saying? He's like, oh, what? 200 what? So anyways, okay, it wasn't with Netflix. It was with I-Hart Media. So, of course, with a five-year, $200 million deal, you come to realize that it's not only because he covers the music industry and other pop culture topics on the breakfast club. It's because he's multifaceted and he does a lot of things in the industry that some people may not be aware of at all. So that is why I wanted to bring that up because, of course, he's been in the comic book lane as far as being

interest in superheroes. This is not just something as of a, this is not just a money grab or a cash grab. And of course, when you look at the book aspect of the other side, because of comic books, you know, it's usually superheroes. Not always, but comic books and superheroes. And then on the book aspect of things, he's had multiple books that have phenomenal success as if you didn't know, Black Privilege. Another book I read in 2017, debuted at number six on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller lists. And then of course, Charlemagne had shook one.

In 2018, that was the national slash global bestseller per the publisher, Atria slash Simon and Schuster. Schuster, that's a tongue twister for me. I don't know why. And of course, it was confirmed as well by Amazon listings and consistently marketed as such alongside his New York Times title. So with that being said, of course,

then he had recently. which a lot of people may have been aware of get risk get honest or died lying now of course i had a tongue twister because i was thinking of 50sig get rich or dot charr it obviously is an obvious playoff of that so um get honest or dot line came out 2024 third book from his imprint promoted as continuing his bestseller track record by um simon the schuster slash atria so the same people that of course co-signed the shook one's book that came out 2018. So the main thing I want to talk about when it comes to Charlemagne is him being multivaceted, him growing up and already having a lot of interest in comic books as far as

superheroes specifically and of course writing his own books aside from the superhero round and now the two have combined again in a way that I think was pretty solid. As of course when getting into the Black Illuminati you would think that Charlemagne wrote, drew the book and everything but no ladies and gentlemen when you dive deeper into it and obviously Charlemagne is not saying like, oh, I wrote this book. He's basically saying he's promoting it. He's basically a cultural commentator. I'm not a commentator.

He's a cultural impactor. And when it comes to that, the marketing aspect was heavily put on him. Right. So he's a front-facing person for this book. But if you wanted to know the actual people behind the book, here it is right here. So basically, this is everybody who's the main people of the Illamonati team. Not to say the people who outside of this is not the main people. I'm just showcasing what's going on as far as the main Illuminati team.

So let me take myself away. So the main thing you have, of course, you have Charlemagne, the promoter. I think I had a whole list. Yeah, okay, then you have Brian Edward Hill, which is the second person on this, on this snapshot. Once again, analytic dreams video on Spotify to see the video along with the audio. Brian Edward Hill is the writer known for the character-focused action storytelling. So this is not just random people with Charlamagne put together.

Very, they have a lot of accolades under. the belt and then you have cohen the person you saw in a lot of different videos that just played at the beginning of the segment well known for a legend well legendary comic book artist and then when you look at bill i don't know how to say that last name what an actual bill wasn't the actual hold on the second cut i'm trying to put respect on your name i do now i want to butcher your last name bill sinkowitz see silquence say i would have no see sequins what wasn't actual i thought he was sequencing my fault let me let me hear that one more time who wouldn't know who wouldn't who gave him their last name, bro?

Bill Sinkowitz. Sinkowitz. Bill Sinkiewicz. I think I said it correctly, hopefully. But he's the fourth person on this snapshot, and he's known for the distinctive experimental comic book artwork and the creative team collectively bringing decades of experience and comics and graphic storytelling.

Now, when it comes to Sanford Green, I don't know why he's not on here. Hold on here. Sanford. Oh, he's not on here at all. What in the actual? Hold on second. I'll see who is

Anford Green through all my research His name did not pop up What in the world? The Illuminati book All right cool After my Mickey research Safe to say the last person on this graphic which is

Sanford Green He specifically Of course helped out with the Illuminati book And when it comes to that He is I don't know what he did with this So basically

he's a acclaimed comic book artist and illustrator best known for of course providing the main cover art for Charlemagne's Illuminati graphic novel so you know that's a pretty big deal so you know that's why I wanted to look it up so that's the main team so when it comes to that to put it in lamest terms Charlemagne is more of the marketing promoter

of the book, the front facing marketer Brian is the writer Dennis or Dennis or Denise Cohen is the comic book artist and then Bill Sinkiewicz is of course having help well he's helped out in the comic book artwork as well and then of course Sanford Green made the overall cover for the Illuminati graphic novel now that out the way the main reason why I wanted to say all that and give them their kudos is because of course when you look at Charlemagne specifically and you think that oh he must have did everything with this book. No, ladies and gentlemen, there's a whole team that makes every operation work as smooth as possible, especially when you get to the highest of levels. And we're seeing that once again to tie back into the Illuminati. So when it comes to my review of the Illuminati, I'm going to have a spoiler-free review, and now I'm going to get into my spoilers. So, of course, I'm going to give you a warning

whenever I get into my spoiler review. But the main thing I wanted to start off with was the hip-hop covers, because ladies and gentlemen, this is not a story. So that's why I'm putting in the spoiler-free aspect of the show. But of course, the hip-hop homage covers is fantastic. As if you don't know all of these specific covers have a meaning, of course, when you look at Chapter 1 is basically Ice Cube's Death Certificate that was drawn by Sean Martin, Brough, and colors by Matt Hermes. And then you look at Chapter 2, which is DMX's Flesh of My Flesh.

and as far as this image that I'm showcasing right here this is not the actual this is not the actual order I'm going there I'm just talking about the book order so chapter one is the Ice Cube death certificate I believe that's the one in the middle chapter two is DMX is Flesh in my flesh blood of my blood by Karen Grant

that's all the way to the left chapter three Red Man's Dare is a Dark Side by Irvin Rodriguez guess and of course um i'm 26 going on 80 so i don't know which one that is red man's yeah i don't know which one that is chapter four day la souls three feet high and rising by cowl baker once again 26 going on 80 i don't know what that is is you know uh chapter 5 old dirty and what in the world is a pg podcast return to the 36 chambers by denny hold let me take myself away by uh denny's cohen colors by marco

And of course, those are all the inspirations for these covers. So if you are an old head, all those names I said meant something to you. As far as me being 26, I was only able to point out to the Ice Q one and the DMX one. So who would that be said? The reason why I say that is because there's a lot of obvious hip-hop homage in this specific comic book run. Now, it's 128 pages. And before you say, isn't this a comic book? Yes, that is on the short side.

But you have to realize that this is a kickstart. This is a, this is a more of a origin. This is like a pilot, in my opinion. The way that they're showcasing this story, it can continue in certain ways that I think will be very interesting going forward. But right now, this is a pretty solid pilot, in my opinion, in the comic book realm. So, yes, the first five chapters is collectively 128 pages in comic book world. That's not a lot.

So I got through it in, I think, like 20, 30 minutes. But to be fair, when you look at the price point, it's about 18, no, it's, yes, 1899 for the Kindle, because I bought it on Kindle. But then when you look at the paper bag, it's $22. So overall, I would have got the hard cover, but I went to every single bookstore that didn't have it. I was like, one, the actual? I was like, ain't no way a black man getting a treat like this. But then, you know what I'm saying? I was like, damn, look at the state of hip hop.

Like, what's going on? You know what I'm saying? Over here, I'm trying to go to every store. I'm calling. I don't even understand. I showed up, you know, to my Barnes and Noblades, you know what I'm saying? All right, my fault. That's not how to pronounce it.

You know, Barnes and Noble's, you know what I mean? For the people who follow my clip channels, you know, my pronunciation, they don't be on point. So anyways, I went to multiple bookstores, right? And then, you know, calling around, it was like, yeah, we don't have that. I'm like, man, what in the actual? See, this is what happened when everybody bought Batman, man. I kid you not. Everybody bought Batman.

And now they don't have no more black people books. You know what I'm saying? Anyways. So that means I ended up getting it on Kindle because I had like five to seven comic bookstores around my place. So I was like, surely they have this. No, they had it. They did not. So whenever I got into the Kindle version, off the bat, it was very professional.

You know, obviously the team I just read off, you would expect that. But of course, you never know how they would treat these certain type of stories because of it may not have a popularity potential like a a Spider-Man or Batman, right? So, of course, whenever you look into it as far as the writing, the artwork, is phenomenal. And I actually had pieces of the artwork I wanted to show because I did have a slight critique on one of the panels. And I say one, there's 128 pages. So of course, I'm nitpicking with this one. But of course, I read the book. So, you know, I wanted to screenshot it and get my opinion. So when it comes to that, the main thing, I was wanting to showcase. Of course, I think I had the photos uploaded. And, you know, I was. I was going to showcase.

And I don't know why I can't pull it up. Once again, you know, what an actual case? Right here. So I don't know why I pulled up like this. So here's the first picture I wanted to pull up. And this one was pretty solid. I like this part of the book as far as showcasing the artwork and how professional it is. I mean, it's just very solid, right?

But then, and I know you may say I'm there picking. But then you come to look at this. Oh, like, hey, bro, ain't no way this went through. Because apparently comic books have like multiple revisions, right? there's no way y'all looked at this woman face and said that this is acceptable one actual but what we doing bro you got you know what i'm saying now i don't want this part to go viral so i'm gonna take that off there was only two seconds of my nitpick let's get back to the good artwork but the main thing when you look at the lumini artwork is very professional and then there was imagery throughout the book which i'm not getting

ahead of myself and i'm not showcasing spoilers i'm basically um i'm basically showcasing certain things in a book that I thought was very obvious. And, um... Is it okay, I got my dope on me? You know, it's very interesting. You know, once again, I'm not trying to sound like that one person. I just don't like it, man.

My fault, man. I was talking about you, bro. I just don't like that shit. No, that's on me, bro. I won't bring your name up again. So, you know, I ain't trying to sound like a certain someone as far as my conspiracy theories. But, you know, this imagery showed up

all throughout the common book. Is it okay, I got my dope on me? You know, I was just saying to myself. But then, you know what I'm saying? I was like, damn, look at the state of hip hop. Like, what's going on? I was like, I know this ain't a Charlemagne book promoted certain...

I know that ain't who I think it is. Like, what you're trying to say, my brother? Don't you know we can see you? We know you promoting this book. And this imagery is all throughout the book in a negative way. Very interesting. I know that ain't who I think it is.

So that would be one of the main questions I would ask Charlemagne. I kid you not, because I know exactly what he's doing. Is it okay? I got my dope on me? And you know, with Drake being my favorite artist, I just don't like it at all. So anyways, but that being said,

the main thing I was wanting to get into, well, I already got to the main thing. The other thing I was wanting to get into with the comic book is how heavily influential the music industry is on culture, right? And it kind of showcased that in the fast tracking of the main characters. So now let me talk about the main characters. Once again, I'm not a professional comic book reviewer. So this review is all over the place. Guess what?

You know what I'm saying? Man, forget y'all. No, I just play. I didn't mean that. No, I'll just play. So when it comes to the actual review that I'm going to give, it's not professional. I'm not a professional comic book reviewer. This is just because two of my worlds collided in a way that I thought was pretty interesting.

So I wanted to take notes. So I do have notes, ladies and gentlemen. So anyways, my first note is, of course, talking about Lily the main character. Now, of course, when it comes to the spoiler-free aspects, I will... Hmm, should I do... I may save the characters for it to spoiler, like the spoiler review. So as far as to wrap up my spoiler-free, I wanted to see if there was anything else I was going to get into. That's basically it.

They had a story they wanted to tell. I think they executed it beautifully. And when you look at other things as far as the actual comic book, I think it's so professional that I'm not going to say you're a hater if you don't check it out because of course, you know, that's a little exaggerating a little bit. But when you want black creators to succeed and thrive in this space where everybody's trying to diminish certain groups and certain races as far as them not. have an influence on the world if you don't support the top influencers and not top but just

influence in general that you think is making high quality music or high quality content then i don't believe that you're actually pushing the culture for it so the reason why i'm even reviewing this is because one is high quality i would not i you know honestly if i didn't like this book i just want to review it honestly i'll just be like hey bro well he dropped the dud but since i like it i was like i let me review it because it's in the superhero realm and it's in uh common book space and I'm obviously passionate about superheroes. So getting back into my spoiler free review. To wrap it up, the story they wanted to tell was phenomenal, a black content creator,

putting out high quality product and that is why I wanted to support it. You know, I ain't even look at the price tag. You know what I'm saying? You feel me? Like, as far as the price tag, it could have been $50. Okay, I'm lying. But basically, when it comes to the price tag, the product, as far as the marketing aspect, was already top tier. So I already knew at least I get a solid product and that's what it ended up being.

So another thing, this is not an ad. Another thing is they do have a Kickstarter for the people who is wanting to see everything they offered. And the only reason I'm pulling this up because this is not an ad once again is because they actually have a pretty cool shirt that was actually wanting to get is this shirt right here. So I was like, oh, maybe the people want to see it. So if you want to actually dive deeper into the world of Illuminati, they have a shirt. They had not so much, you know, I ain't spent my senior year of college going through my growth phase. my hair to wear a hat so but if you do want a hat they do have one available for you right here that's a beanie they do have a hat somewhere um yeah these are some of the things you can get

with the kick starter i don't know if you can get now but uh i just wanted to show you the merch because at the end of day uh if you want to support high quality black content creator products i think this is the best way to do it they actually showcase where you can support the product at the source so anyways um getting back let's it's time for the spoiler review ladies and gentlemen I'm going to go about this like I usually do the TV and movies as far as breaking it down character by character but still talking about the overall story. So when you look at Lily, the main character, the whole premise is Lily traveling to Los Angeles after her sister dies, her twin sister dies, and her twin sister's Jackie.

So when it comes to that, the investigation part of the story is primarily what you're going to be in for a majority of the story. So the reason why I say that is because my main thing about the story is I would have liked more superhero like elements. But once again, comic books does not mean it has to be superhero content. But I thought it was pretty interesting how they went about it in a way of, I will compare to the Batman as far as more, it was more invested, invested. investigating type of work being done in this comic book rather than a lot of action.

There's a good amount of action. I mean, you know, in other ways, more ways to one. You know what I'm saying? It's a PG podcast, but when you read the book, you know what I'm talking about. It's a lot of action. You know what I'm saying? They're a little fast in that comic book, no cap. I ain't talking about running.

So anyways, with that being said, the reason why I compare it to Batman, and the reason why I compare it to a specific Batman's story as far as, the movie with Robert Patterson is because there's a lot of investigative work. It's not a lot of like old superhero like elements that'll blow your mind, right? But the mystery aspect is very much Batman Court of Owls type of type of narrative that they're giving. And to me, I don't know if they knew that Batman Court of Ows was something they was doing in the Black Illuminati. I don't know if that came across the mind because Charlemagne said he was an X-Man fan, right?

This story reminds me a lot of Batman Court of Owls because of how it's set up as far as the Illuminati. Batman Court of Ows is technically Illuminati of the high-powered individuals that is the reason why Gotham is the way it is. So systematically, that always answered the question, oh, why did Bruce Wayne not just handle the situations of Gotham with his money? Okay, now we have Court of Owls, which is one of the greatest Batman stories of all time. So with that being said, getting back into Black Illuminati. i'm not going to make this long for no reason my review of this story is that there's a lot of investigative work when it comes to the length of explaining the villain which is damien i think that could have been expounded upon that's my only critique i think when you look at michael who is

one of the protagonists in the comic book his story is fleshed out a little bit but when you look at the villain i wanted to see who the villain answered to like who was the villain answering to and i think that could have made the comic book a higher quality story because it seemed like he was doing certain rituals but who was he doing it for obviously the aluminati is a group not once did we see the group you know and it's a five-chapter series so i would have let it slide if it was like a oh to you know to be continued spoiler review lily dies at the end you know what i'm saying i mean something might have I said it's a spoiler review. I gave y'all all type of warnings. So when you look at

the actual story, not only did Lily die at the end, but it was basically wrapped up in a bow. It's like, oh, well, the villain won. You know what I'm saying? So we don't know anything about who the villain was talking to. What was his aspirations? What was the group? What was the discussions between the group? I think that that would be the most important part of the comic book. Aluminati roundtable discussions will be the best part of the comic book if they implemented correctly. Sort of how the Batman Court of Owls did when they was talking about Batman

and getting him out of the pain because he was disrupting certain things in Gotham, right? The Batman Court of Ows is the greatest story you could go off of as far as inspiration for what the story you're currently telling because I believe that is the route that you're all going.

So if you want to nail it, I think you should look at one of the storylines that nailed it perfectly. So anyways, the reason why I say that It's because of the owl usage. Is it okay? I got my dope on me. Now, getting into my spoiler review.

The villain literally has a lot of owl imagery. Obviously, poking fun at Drake. I know Drake is literally on the top of their minds while drawing these comic book covers. And if you say, like, oh, you're just being a conspiracy theorist. If you read the book, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They make the owl as the main logo for all that is a Lumini type of material. And what's the Illuminati? sacrificing people for the reward of monetary and popularity gain.

Right. So now, when you look at Charlemagne's history with Drake, it makes all the sense in the world. Is it okay? I got my dope on me. On why they would depict and portray the owl as something very evil in society. So I thought that was a very interesting, you know, that was an interesting perspective. I'm not mad at it. You know, Drake is my favorite artist, but I can understand when somebody doesn't like somebody.

and they put their imagery, their main logo, OVO, October's very own as far as the owl in the comic book, and again and again, repeatedly showcase that owl as the villain's main logo, which is interesting. So anyways, when it comes to the rest of the story, as far as Jackie, the main character's sister, I thought that was the closest they got to superhero land as far as Michael, one of the other the protagonist in the comic book being able to see Lily. I thought that was pretty cool. And I think that raised the quality level for me.

Her conversation with Michael, I think is one of the better parts of the comic book. And if I had to say another part of the comic book that stood out, I liked, what was the name, Akasha. So she was the villain's sidekick. I liked her bringing Lily in and getting and breaking her guard down. because if you know this in the comic book once again this is spoiler right in the comic book michael is going to save lily lily is definitely on the same mindset of michael if we got to take these people down there was something that happened with akasha and lily that we never see in the comic

book of course she offers her a drink she's like oh i drink it too just so you don't think it's poison or anything and by the time michael gets to the location and he's killed multiple people right i don't know why dana was in there to confront him that would been cool but um lily pops up and she was like you're no longer needed here. I'm exactly where I need to be. And then there's a time jump and now Lily has all the fame in the world. And now she's with the Illuminati. I think that could have been explained a lot better as far as showcasing what happened

in the Akasha Lilly conversation at the end chapter after Lily died. Like after Lily died, Michael was like, dang, they got her. I think they should have went back and explored that conversation that Akasha had with Lily that converted her into the Illuminati. Just plot points I'm given that I think will explain. bound upon the actual quality of the comic book um what else man i want to make this too long but i actually thoroughly enjoyed the comic book so a lot of the critiques i have is slight critiques overall i thought was a solid story i went into it thinking it was being more of like a superhero type

beat and it was more of a once again more of a batman uh Sherlock homes type b and not on the level of Sherlock Holmes as far as them having to go to different locations and put the plot points together but just as it be more of an investigative type of storyline rather than oh a superhero we're going to settle our differences by punching each other in the face um michael definitely has some superhero esk moments some punisher esk moments but when you look at damien specifically i would have been interested to see him having actual powers as far as him facing michael and maybe michael um being spared by damian after we see damien's powers um just you know the little um ideas I'm throwing out there for like the next installment of the Illuminati if we ever get one. Because right now is doing fantastic. I never got to that point. I did show the Kickstarter.

But I forgot to talk about the Kickstarter success because I think they had over like 300% success of the Kickstarter. Like if you see right here, the Kickstarter, I don't know, that's his $200 million deal. My fault. My fault. You know what I'm saying? Oh, I'm snitching. Ain't I? All right.

I think when it comes to the Kickstarter, It's uh, did I close it? it's no eye close it i think it's right here okay cool so um yeah i don't know i don't know i don't know what i put it oh it's right here okay cool so anyways when you look at the success as you can see it generated over 34 000 671 backers which if you don't know that was not their goal right they they blew their goal out of the water so um when you look at their goals specifically their kickstarter once again's not an ad i'm just talking about the statistical success of this comic book when you look at this specifically their goal as far as the kickstarter it was um

what was it that yeah their goal for the kickstarter was uh 10 000 right obviously you can see you can see right now analytic dreams video on spot to see the video along with the audio from september 17 to october 22nd 2024 that was this campaign um they wanted to generate 10 000 now of course it is 2026 but still 34 000 dollars and i believe that was the even before it came out. I don't know the exact span, the time span when the 34,000 was raised, but it's 345% over the actual goal, which of course is phenomenal, 671 backers and successfully funded quickly. Okay, so it said it was quickly. So with that being said, the main reason why I'm showcasing that is because I do believe there's going, there can be another installment

based on the success of the kickstart and based on the success of the comic book. So I will say, for the future installments of Charlemagne's the black Illuminati. They should showcase Damien's powers. They should showcase Damian Circle because the Illuminati, the main thing about the Illuminati is that as a group. We never once seen a group. So we need to see the group, more of Damien's powers, if he even has any, because he was doing some type of ritual with the owl,

you know, cutting himself or whatever, a trick-of-warning. But we never, like, they never explored that. Like, what type? Powers? What? You don't have powers? So he just, he just, like. So I think that could be explored.

As far as Michael, I don't think he's the most interesting protagonist. That's why I think Lily was so important in the story. And because she died at the end, I wonder how they're going to do that. They're going to resurrect her on some superhero type beat because, you know, superheroes die all the time and come back. You know what I'm saying? Black did you just die yesterday? But yeah, I'm back because you got to make some more comic books. So with that being said, they could easily bring back Lily.

But just on food for thought as far as the continuation of the Black Aluminati. So with that being said, hopefully I enjoyed my thorough spoiler review. Hopefully enjoyed the analytical breakdown of the book and the success and everybody who had a hand and actual creation of this book. Shout out to the team once again. Charlemagne once again showcases that he's one of the most powerful black influences and cultural in general and just very multifaceted because not once that I bring up, well, I guess I did bring up his Netflix deal a little bit.

But when you look at him specifically, there's just so many factors to what he's doing as far as the brilliant idiots, as far as the Breakfast Club, as far as his book in print, already having success with his own books, helping out other people. I didn't even talk about the producing that he's been doing for other New York Times bestsellers. He's done that multiple times as far as producing

New York Time bestsellers, which is not easy. Well, I guess, you know, Charlemagne is based at New York on the radio promoting books, but still, you know, if you read the Black Privilege, it didn't used to be like that.

That's why I really like his story. Black privilege. that book is still my favorite charlemagne book because it showcased how somebody from South Carolina grew up all the way to being one of the main focal covers of the hip hop industry and for him to be based out in New York as far as the show The Breakfast Club

and it being syndicated. I think that's a humongous accomplishment that's one of the biggest accomplishments we've seen in a black community. So, but that means, you know, enough glaze, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, I like the book. I'm not going to give her a rating like out of 10 because I don't really do that. I would just, I would recommend it.

It's not going to blow you out of the water. But it just might. You know, it just might. But as far as the story, you know, I think it's fantastic. But if you listen this far, you've already read the book because I just talked about spoilers. So, but that'd be it said, click my link to you in my bio to follow me on my social media and if you're on Spotify and read the book. Let me know what was your favorite part of Charlotte Maine's the Illuminati graphic novel and why?