About the Author, Dwayne J. Ferguson:
In 1986, at the age of nineteen and
in his sophomore year at Rutgers University, Hamster Vice,
the first issue of the popular comic book series was
published. The comics, about animal cops Hammy, Ben, and
Wolph versus criminal roaches, went on to become
Blackthorne Publishing's top-selling book for over 16
months. The first issue, Hamster Vice: Rumble Roach sold 42
thousand copies in one month and placed Ferguson's feet
into the door of professional comics.
Taking a break from Hamster Vice,
he went on to create the futuristic detective Captain
Africa. Operating from the fictional city of Egyptica,
Prince Najee M'witu wages a personal war on crime and, with
the help of his best friend, inventor Buni Mandella, sets
off to build the ultimate weapon: the Falcon Shadow armor
suit.
In November 1990, Ferguson's
publishing company DIEHARD Studio Entertainment released
the 120-page illustrated novel Captain Africa: The Battle
for Egyptica.
In 1992, the
completely revised novel grew to 144 pages, with over 25
new illustrations, and a beautifully airbrush-rendered
cover by the writer/artist. The book is published by Africa
World Press in paperback and hardcover.
The popular character was also
featured in his own 3-issue comic book series published by
DIEHARD Studio Entertainment, entitled Captain Africa: Bite
of the Scrab.
Also during the 1990’s, Ferguson
was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the US
Department of Agriculture for his lecture on the importance
of racial harmony in society and in literature.
The enterprising creator also works
in other media...1993 marked the release of his first toy
line Snailiens: Supersonic Shell Fighters based on issues
five and six of Hamster Vice. The Snailiens waged a
never-ending war against the Lunar-Ticks in a battle to
save earth.
The spring of 1994 yielded the
release of six 64-page Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
activity books, illustrated by Ferguson, featuring
characters from the #1 rated kid's show in the country.
On September 17, 1994, Ferguson's
first animated project Mutant League premiered on Saturday
and Sunday mornings across the nation in the #1 spot. The
cartoon is about a sports league of mutated athletes who
compete in the world's most dangerous sports. Ferguson was
the Art Director, character designer, props, background and
storyboard artist for the animated series. The characters
are based on the Sega Genesis games Mutant League Football
and Mutant League Hockey.
In March 1997, Ferguson was hired
by Sony Music to develop concept art for the super-rock
band Aerosmith's Nine Lives album.
April 1997 marked the launch of
his latest project, Kid Caramel Private Investigator
mystery series for children. The books are entitled The
Case of the Missing Ankh, The Werewolf of PS 40, Mess at
Loch Ness, and Ghost Ranch: The Legend of Mad Jake.
The series is produced by the award-winning publisher Just
Us Books, Inc. The fifth book in the series will be
released in 2007. Ferguson is producing the Kid Caramel:
Private Investigator animated series, which will premier in
2007. Fans can get a sneak peek of the trailer on the
website www.diehardstudio.com.
Currently, he is a regular writer
for 3D HDRI magazine dedicated to 3D animation. He has also
written and co-authored several technology-based books for
the publishers Against The Clock, such Mac OS X, FrontPage
2000, Flash MX, Dreamweaver 4 and more. Additionally,
Ferguson is a Graphics Instructor for the Virtual Training
Company. He develops software application tutorials such as
Lightwave 3D Fundamentals, Animating in Flash, Combustion,
Adobe Creative Suite Power Projects, iLife 5 and 6, Poser
5, and Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite.
In 2004, Hunter created, directed
and produced a 15 minute animated short film called Black
Zero: Mercenary Ant. His film is shown at film festivals
around the country and is receiving excellent reviews from
attendees and curators of the festivals. His film was shown
at the Cape May Film Festival in 2005, Cape May New Jersey
and was shown at the Hollywood Black Film Festival 2006, in
Beverly Hills California.
As for future projects, he knows
what they are and he is not telling for now but you can bet
that they will be worth the wait.
.