ABOUT
At Drunken Monkey Productions, we’re passionate about delivering Japanese-style artistry, gaming experiences, and unique storytelling that inspires imagination. Whether you’re here for manga, anime, or gaming, our mission is to bring dreams to life with exceptional creativity and quality.
Mission
At Drunken Monkey Productions, LLC, we are dedicated to creating high-quality manga, webtoons, and comics that resonate with fans of anime, manga, and pop culture around the world. Our target audience spans a diverse range of ages, genders, and interests—from passionate readers and gamers to enthusiasts of animation and tabletop games.
We prioritize the well-being of our artists, fostering a healthy work-life balance to ensure that creativity flourishes without compromising health. We strive to provide a supportive environment where artists have autonomy and are committed to producing stories that are both meaningful and enduring—stories that transcend trends, appeal to a broad demographic and are evergreen in their impact.
Drunken Monkey Productions was founded with the vision of creating domestic opportunities for careers in manga and animation, allowing artists to pursue their passion without needing to leave their home country. Inspired by the legacy of our late co-founder and the strength of our dedicated team members, we strive to honor that dream by bridging the gap between artist autonomy and the publishing process. Our goal is to produce manga that tells deep, high-quality stories that will resonate with generations to come.
We believe in the power of human creativity, ensuring that every story element holds significance and offering a wide array of genres that strike a chord throughout our entire fan base. At Drunken Monkey Productions, we are building a future where manga and pop culture art can thrive, driven by artists’ voices and a shared passion for creating timeless stories.
Vision
Drunken Monkey Productions, LLC envisions becoming a transformative force in manga and animation, recognized for our unwavering dedication to artists’ well-being, creative freedom, and the production of meaningful, lasting stories. Within five years, we aim to be a profitable company that fairly compensates our artists while delivering consistently high-quality content. In a decade, we see ourselves expanding to multiple studios, including animation, with an ever-growing roster of talent and a rich lineup of original manga, including our regularly published anthology, Saru Saga.
Our ambition is to build a space for creators to thrive domestically, providing them with autonomy and a supportive work environment that prioritizes a healthy work-life balance. We are committed to producing impactful, quality-driven stories that speak to a diverse audience and stand the test of time. By bridging the gap between artist freedom and the publishing process, we foster a culture where creators can bring their best work to life.
As we grow, we aim to be known for our camaraderie, bringing together creators, partners, and fans as a community with shared passion and vision. We aspire to produce iconic, thought-provoking content that expands the horizons of sequential art, contributing to the growth of the anime and manga scene in the West. Our vision includes establishing a presence in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, with a long-term goal of global collaboration, including partnerships with Japan’s best.
Drunken Monkey Productions is driven to create stories that endure and captivate, enriching the world of manga and animation for generations to come.
Values
- Creativity - We foster an environment where imagination thrives, pushing boundaries to create original, captivating content that resonates with audiences.
- Diversity - We celebrate and promote diversity in all its forms—across stories, creators, and ideas—ensuring that our work reflects the richness of global perspectives.
- Community - We are committed to building a supportive and inclusive community of artists, fans, and collaborators, united by a shared love for storytelling and creativity.
- Levity - We believe in the power of fun and humor, ensuring that both our work and our workplace bring joy and light to those who engage with them.
- Passion - We are driven by a deep passion for our craft, infusing every project with energy, enthusiasm, and a love for storytelling.
- Integrity - We operate with transparency and honesty, staying true to our values and maintaining the highest standards in everything we do.
Meet Saru, The Drunken Monkey Productions Mascot
Saru is a monkey… but not just any monkey. Saru comes from a species of howler monkeys. These monkeys are usually seen around the South American Tropics. Their species is known as the Colombian Red Howler, or even the Venezuela Red Howler, and typically lives in families of 5 – 7 individuals. They also have prehensile tails, so when their hands are full, their tails can give them an extra hand! Our CEO initially spent a good time developing Saru’s design. Initially, he wanted to go with a sort of Sonic the Hedgehog-esque design, but ultimately decided to go with something cuter, leading to the creation of the Saru we know today! Look forward to seeing Saru in many forms throughout our content, as Drunken Monkey Productions grows!
Meet Team DMP
Meet the creative minds behind Drunken Monkey Productions
Hakeem Q Slaughter
Creative Executive Officer | Manga Artist
Works: Manga Artist of The Lost Souls of Limbo
My name is Hakeem Q Slaughter. I am 33 years old. I am the Chief Executive Officer/Creative Director of Drunken Monkey Productions. I am also the Manga Artist (Manga-ka) for The Lost Souls of Limbo. I attended Rosemont College and obtained a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and I minored in Business. I also took Business, Film, Animation, and other supplementary courses on the side. Anime has been a huge part of my life since I was a child. Growing up watching Dragon Ball Z inspired me to want to pursue the field of sequential art or animation. I loved the messages and the way the style of art was displayed in these types of shows. It stood out to me more than typical western animation although western animation has had a very impactful effect on me as well. This initial idea for starting this company was to create a central hub in the West for others who are like me to pursue a career in manga and/or anime. I wear many hats in the company in my position but I have a true passion for all that I do and work extra hard to make this company the best it can be.
Linkxs
Manga Artist
Works: Manga Artist of Dominion
My name is Khaliq Slaughter. I’m 26 years old, I’m an artist and writer for DMP. My manga series is Dominion. My favorite manga/anime are Yu Yu Hakusho, Gurren Lagann, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. I stream and help make fan art for DMP.
Kat Kushin
Manga Artist | Project Manager
Works: Manga Artist of Katoplexy
My name is Kat Kushin (They/them). I’m 31 years old, an artist, and a writer for DMP. My manga/webtoon is called Katoplexy. I have a degree in History & Anthropology, and a special interest in video games, game development, art & storytelling, as well as how trauma impacts the brain. Anime is my favorite kind of media, and I watch anime more than other kinds of television. I have many favorite anime, including Dragon Ball Z, Naruto Shippuden, Bleach, Fruits Basket, Hunter x Hunter, Spy Family, Blue Period, and many others. I joined DMP because I wanted an outlet for my creativity, art, and storytelling.
DMP provided a structured avenue for that. A fun fact about Katoplexy is that it is largely based on my real-life experiences as a gender-fluid pansexual human with autism and narcolepsy. This story was created from a video game idea that I had, that operated better as a manga/webtoon. I created the characters I did with intention, hoping that people would see themselves in some way in the characters or the story itself, and find a similar feeling of catharsis in reading that I did in writing. As a personal note, growing up I rarely saw representations of non-binary, queerness, narcolepsy, or autism, and if I did they were often in a negative light. My goal with my characters and stories is to help people recognize themselves or people they care about and in that recognition find acceptance and understanding, either with their own identities or with those in their lives. In addition to art and writing, I stream once a month for DMP, draw fan art, and help develop content. Outside of DMP, I co-host a podcast and YouTube media analysis show called The Ghouls Next Door.
Michael Azogu
Chief Editor
Works: Editor of The Lost Souls of Limbo, Katoplexy, Dominion
Hi All! I’m Michael Azogu, Chief Editor here at Drunken Monkey Productions. I have a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, and a great appreciation for manga, anime, and video games. While I’ve loved video games and anime since childhood (thanks Toonami), I didn’t actually start to love manga until my late teens. In high school, I went on a camping trip with a couple of friends. One of the said friends brought a few volumes of Love Hina along. I loved it. As someone preparing for college myself, I related to the protagonist Keitaro quite a bit. I’ve been reading manga almost constantly ever since. I’m particularly fond of action and romantic comedies. As far as some of my favorites go, we have Konosuba, Dragonball, Bleach, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, One Piece, D. Grayman, Arachnid, Chainsawman, Blue Lock, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Eureka Seven, and the aforementioned Love Hina. I love the kinds of stories these mediums can tell, and my role here is to help our artists and writers come up with cool stories of their own.
Malcolm Adjei
Lead Writer
Works: Co-Writer of The Lost Souls of Limbo
Greetings! Just like you and others, I felt captivated by art and story, especially how these 2 aspects balanced each other in the most entertaining methods. My name is Malcolm Adjei and I am the Lead Writer for Drunken Monkey Productions. Growing up, I was interested in cartoons, anime, comics, and graphic design. Whether it was my exposure to both American comics or Japanese manga, I leaned more so onto manga and animation as opposed to comics. Those differences as well as similarities today, help in uncovering unique ideas for plots, characters, and the environments it takes place in. I’m hoping the innovation will help push Drunken Monkey Productions in both creativity and production as well as towards a promising future.
