Nile a rising comic book star

He sold his first comic books in Grade 3 and recently won the coveted Mail & Guardian Rising Star prize, this all at the young age of 15.

Nile Adams-Duma, a quiet Maragon pupil, looks like your run-of-the-mill teenager with baggy pants, cool sneakers and a zest for life. In the afternoon, however, after the homework has been done and before doing normal teenage things like gaming, he sits down in his mother’s study and starts sketching the most amazing advanced comic book characters.

He’s loved art since the age of five, he told the Record in an interview. He sold his very first drawing of a chameleon for R5 in an art gallery in Hartebeespoort following a family trip to Chameleon Village.

“That’s where it all started for me, since then I have been drawing anything I could find, sometimes adding colour to my sketches.”

For a while, Nile was obsessed with drawing chameleons but has since expanded his portfolio immensely. At his first entrepreneur’s day in Grade 3 while attending Charter House, he started selling freehand comic books to children and parents instead of foodstuffs and trinkets like every other child.

“I made R161 and sold out; I decided to do the same for entrepreneur’s days in Grade 4 and 5 and again sold out.”

At the school Nile won the coveted Principle’s Art Award. He placed second in a school-wide competition to draw Santa Clause as a rugby player.

“In Grade 7 and today still I am interested in comic books — that year I sold out again and made over R200 at the stall but made an additional R600 drawing for people who ordered from me on the day.”

He also won his second Principle’s Art Award that year.

“When I attended Trinity House, I wasn’t satisfied with the art education and thus made the move to Maragon at the beginning of the year, joining the art club and taking art as a subject.”

He’s currently developing a new comic book concept and feels inspired by famous comic book connoisseur Stan Lee, 92, even using the exact same felt tip pens Lee uses to skillfully colour his sketches. He also draws and paints abstract art and self-portraits, one of which won him the M&G Rising Star prize.

“I didn’t even expect to reach the Top 200, but reached the Top 16, all thanks to my aunt who submitted that portrait to them.”

The winning piece was a self-portrait created for his art classes in which he had to sketch his life; it contains him facing away, a guitar and music and sketches in the background. The sketch was cut up, presented as shards on a white surface. His mother Nenzi Duma said she believes art to be an escape for him, having dealt with moving around between California in the United States, Cape Town and Johannesburg and dealing with his parents’ divorce at a very young age.

Nile is a devout Christian and was commissioned by St Michael’s Anglican Church in Bryanston earlier this year to do illustrations for their children’s prayer book, which he displays proudly to anyone who will look.

Besides drawing the hours away, Nile enjoys playing hockey and reading fantasy-fiction novels like those of author Derek Landy. He has taken up playing guitar and listens to rock and metal music including that of Black Veil Brides, Avenged Sevenfold, Pierce the Veil, Rise Against and Bring Me the Horizon.

“I’m crazy excited about joining a band this year and have already started illustrating band names and drawing cover art — I want to perform gospel metal,” he said.

He ended off the interview by showcasing custom guitars he has drawn in the finest technical detail.

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