Àkànní

by Jessica Tagbajumi, Jason Lamy (Illustrator), Obaseun Ogunkeye (Colorist)

A young warrior in training and a team of unlikely-heroes-turned-friends set out to uncover a conspiracy that threatens their entire solar system—and challenges their idea of honor.

This epic space-based graphic novel for 8-12 year olds is perfect for fans of Star Wars and Iyanu on Cartoon Network!

All her life, Àkànní has dreamed of being an onija—brave in the face of danger, strong in the face of opposition, and honorable in the face of injustice. And as a student at the prestigious Onija Institute, she’s on her way to becoming part of the elite force that defends her solar system.

But when a surprise attack decimates her home planet and the government refuses to respond, Àkànní no longer knows who to trust. She rushes home to Asa to search for survivors—and there meets a misfit group of rebels seeking answers.

When they discover evidence that the attack on Asa was just the beginning, it’s up to Àkànní and her new friends to open the eyes of those in power to the real threat of war.

Story Locale:the fictional Uvo system, a five-planet solar system inspired by Nigerian locales including Lagos, Jos, and Niger Delta

Series Overview: Kugali Ink is a children’s graphic novel program within Disney Hyperion, dedicated to high-quality and authentic storytelling that raises up new African voices and tells stories inspired by African culture.

Created in partnership with African media company Kugali Limited and exploring a variety of genres, Kugali Ink books respect the history of the continent and imagine the future of Africa.

Genres: Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

192 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Jessica resides in Canada, where she writes creative stories for young audiences and adults. The author of Wings of the Night Sky, and soon-to-be-realeased Dysney Hyperion’s Graphic Novel, Akanni, loves spending time with her family, binge-watching mockumentaries and reading.

Although she doesn’t plan to quit her full-time job anytime soon, Jessica is passionate about creating stories that span the romance, science fiction, and fantasy genres.

Reviews

[Lady Bocwyrm]

[Read as an electronic release from NetGalley] Àkànní has been getting a lot of good press, and we desperately need more science fiction for elementary and middle grade readers, Tagbajumi’s choice to go with a graphic novel format if a very smart decision, and I love the afrofuturistic feel of the book…however, I feel like this is a draft of the final copy, not the finished product at all. Now, please be aware, I read this as a prerelease, I don’t know what, if any, changes will be made before the book hits the shelves in October, so my issues may become a moot point. But I felt a bit lost, I almost didn’t finish the book. It feels, to me, that the author leaves out a lot of description and introduction, leaving the reader floundering a bit and having to make jumps and conclusions which, I’m sure to the author, seemed intuitive but for me were just confusing. My biggest recommendation is to flip to the back of the book and read the planet and character descriptions before you even start the story so that you know who the people and places are and how they matter to the storyline. Also, take your time with the dialogue. Tagbajumi throws phrases and interjections which gives the story a very African feel, but not everything in easily understandable for audiences that haven’t been introduced to similar manners of speech. She does provide in-frame translations for some phrases, but not all, leaving audiences guessing via context clues. Part of this is a lack of exposure, and as readers become more familiar with the speech patterns the less confusing it will be. All in all, it seems a promising direction, but just not quite as polished as I like my literature (even my graphic novels) to be. It’s geared towards middle grade readers and is perfectly appropriate for that level. 2/5 – Meh, not my cup of tea, but may be yours. The concept has great potential, but the book didn’t feel like a final draft.

[Jacob LaPinta]

Akanni is a coming of age graphic novel set in a universe which takes narrative and setting inspiration from star wars. The art aesthetic was reminiscent of early Dragon Ball manga. The story follows the titular character from early childhood showcasing moments that shaped her personality and drive her to become the person as idealized by her younger self.

While all of these aspects appeal to me personally, flaws with the execution of the story pulled me away from what would otherwise be a good light-hearted read. Pacing of the story, framing of individual cells, continuity of cells (time skips especially), and a hearing attempt to convey accents or languages without sufficient priming make it both difficult to understand what is even going on at times. Characters form strong trust bonds without sufficient reason or explanation to the reader.

As I read a pre-production copy, I expect some of the this will be tightened in the actual release, but I feel the overall story's pacing was rushed with the reader left to fill in a lot of the blanks, that no final edits would change.

[Aviva]

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, all beliefs, thoughts, and opinions stated in this review are my own.

This book had amazing art, which was the highlight of the story.

However, the plotline itself was very hard to follow. I found myself confused at the jumpy scenes. At times, it felt like I had missed something and had trouble understanding the storyline. The political system was interesting, but it was very confusing. At the back of the book there was some helpful information, I just wished that it had been placed closer to the beginning. Also, sometimes there were chunks of text just spitting out information about the political problems and there was no brief recap of this info later on in the story.

Àkànní was a strong character, however the same cannot be said about the others, who just existed and seemed to have minimal depth to themselves.

I think that those who enjoyed Amulet will definitely find many similarities!

[Chad]

I get what they were trying to do here but this just wasn't very good. That character bio in the back needed to be in the front. It did more to explain what was going on than the actual story did. I know this is supposed to be Nigerian influenced but I didn't really pick up on that at all other than some of the characters were black. Setting it in another solar system is part of the issue. Then there's a lot of terms that aren't explained and some din't even make logical sense. Akanni's father was supposed to be a Dike which in the first half of the story seems like some kind of elected leader. But then they go out to help another planet like he was a soldier. There are several similar things throughout this that make the story a confusing mess. The art was much better than the story.

[Jenny GB]

Akanni is a moving story about a girl’s fight to protect her home and stand up for what is right. I was reading an advance reader copy, so I rounded up to 3 stars from the 2-2.5 I feel when I read it. First, I know this book is for younger readers, which I am not, but I found the plot and characters a bit confusing. The material at the back of the book helped some and would be better at the front of the book. I was also reading this mostly in grayscale and not color so that may be part of the issue. I think young readers might struggle with sudden dialogue changes into other languages unless they’re familiar with the language. There were a few translations, but sometimes I needed more. I know this isn’t a book for me, and I can see this appealing to kids.

[Jacob Williams]

I want to thank Net-Galley for an early E-ARC.

I'm landing on a 4.5⭐'s.

I enjoyed the world that was built here. The characters moved off the page. It kept me guessing and wasn't boring at all. My copy was only in partial color so I'm excited to reread it when comes out. It's also much darker than I excepted. A lot of the opening is peace and then it turned to war so fast. Overall would highly recommend.

[Julie Wakefield]

A coming of age Afrofuturistic novel. The premise was great but it fell short. The characters were not developed and the story had a of holes. But here's the thing - this is an adult perspective. I am not sure an 8 yr old would catch these things. I think an 8 yr-old would find this fun and find some connection they may not find in other books.

[Ymbear]

Loved the graphics! Cool concept and great story. This would be great for reluctant readers, fewer amount of words, but lots of action and things for students to get pulled into the story with! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Corrie]

This was ok. I felt like there were bits & pieces missing from the story, but overall I got the jist. I did enjoy the main character & the art work was very good.

I received a free E-ARC from Netgalley & Disney Publishing Worldwide | Kugali Ink for my honest review.

[Audrey]

A high intensity story line, interesting characters, and great illustrations make this a great pick for the higher-level graphic novel readers. Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advance reader copy.

[David S]

Amari meets Amulet. A young girl suffers many tragedies and makes many unexpected new friends as she fights for the survival of her planet.