#nigerian comics

[kizzy-dev]

A few Chapter summary cards from my Webtoon, Chinua and the forces of light. You can read it on Webtoon and Globalcomix.

[royal-confessions]

“If you read between the lines, what harry and meghan has basically been saying all these years is that “the commonwealth is bad, it’s basically empire 2.0 but it will be less bad if we become king and queen of the commonwealth because meghan, a biracial american, is 43% nigerian and harry, a white british royal, has always had a special place for africa because he’s always felt oppressed as a ginger compared to his blonde brother”. It’s kinda comical.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[but-a-humble-goon]

Can't believe the plot of the Mollymauk origins comic is seriously Molly and the gang foil a ye olde Nigerian Prince scammer.

[the-lovely-cambion]

Character Analysis: Wendell and Wild Part 1

This analysis will be divided to two parts, one is before they went up to the Land of the Living and the second being after. I might make a third part, but I kinda need some like extra info or some storyboard videos and such. But anyway, let’s begin shall we.

So when we first meet the brothers, they basically show off their personalities that you may see in some types of media (i.e. tv shows, movies, etc.); one being the intellectual, but annoyed one while the other being the annoying and comic relief guy.

Fun Fact: Based on ImDb, both Key and Peele had to watch some Abbott and Costello episodes to truly give Wendell and Wild their personalities (search up Abbott and Costello up, you get my point)

But remember the scene where Wendell tells Wild that it’s his fault that the both of them got in prison, yeah just bookmark that for later it’s gonna have some significance.

Then we get to the scene in where Wendell and Wild are making their paper faire, in where Wendell basically vents to Wild on how their faire is so much better than Belzer’s faire and how Wild got them into the mess. Basically there’s a lot to unpack here. Namely on how Wendell acts during the before going to the Land of the Living scenes during the movie.

For one thing, Wendell acts aggressive towards Wild for the things he did in the past that led to them being in prison, even trying to choke Wild when being force-fed the hair cream and basically threatening Wild to snap off his horns and make a fire. Adding to that, he basically gets annoyed at Wild for some of the things that he does or his ideas that he talks about, namely the their first scene in where Wild eats the hair cream, Wild basically wanting to help the Nigerian Prince even though not understanding it’s a scam, and Wild showing telling Wendell that the Tick he saw died. Although most of these got some resolutions (?), although technically Wendell liked the hair cream and he thought it was a brilliant idea that both him and Wild can use to revive their Hellmaiden’s parents.

Another part to add, Wendell is implied that he’s the one that gets punished for this and not Wild. Some theories that I have is that Belzer thought that Wendell started to brag about their faire to the others and not actually knowing that it was Wild’s fault or Wendell was actually the one who did the bragging and is blaming Wild for their imprisonment or that Wild joined him in bragging about the faire. But anyway, this is the catalyst for Wendell having temperamental issues when things don’t go the way he wants and hates the special treatment that his brother gets from his father.

Lastly, but this is pretty much important, Wendell is shown to be the more arrogant of the two. Like seriously, I feel like he brags more about the dream faire than Wild ever was (it’s literally in the dialogue). He’s basically shown to be blinded by wanting his dream faire a reality that it’s possibly implied that he gets mad when someone (mostly Wild) gives him a bad idea and berates them about it. Another thing to note is that he thinks highly of himself in the film, trying to look threatening but failing and also being fond on how good-looking he is. Another is how he wants to trying random actions just for the sake of his faire, but it’s either thwarted or just by common sense. He’s also shown to be money-hungry since all he ever wanting has funding for the faire, and gets angry when he doesn’t get the dough needed for the faire.

So yeah, in summary, Wendell’s pretty much of an arrogant jerk throughout most of his first part of the film. But let’s just hope that the second part won’t be that worse right? Right?!

For Wild, he’s basically more digestible when talking about his scenes in the first part of the film.

Although a pretty carefree and crafty dude, this guy…is actually really depressing. Like, there’s some depressing shit going on with this man.

For one thing, Wild is actually remorseful about him and Wendell being in prison and tries to make things right for the both of them.

Additionally, Wild is also shown to meet Wendell’s expectations, though it’s a 50/50 chance with his ideas and all. He also convinces Wendell that his ideas can help with their funding. In short, he’s doing this for the sake of Wendell’s dream faire.

Actually, now that I think about, I think it’s possible that Wild doesn’t want to be part of his brother’s dream of opening up a faire. But has to because he doesn’t want to upset him.

Think about it, Wild is shown to be supporting on Wendell’s ideas, even trying to use his ideas just to support the dream faire. Hell, even after they find out Kat is their Hellmaiden, Wild goes out of his way to tell Wendell that they should go to the land of the living to build their faire.

It’s clear that Wild’s doing the dream faire for his brother, but at what costs. I mean, Wild is basically mentally abused by his brother and is basically his assistant of some sorts. But he goes out of his way to support him even after all the abuse he has gone through. (Let’s just hope that the second part isn’t too depressing)

And that’s it for Part 1 of my character analysis, now time to work on Part 2 (if I have the motivation)

[catesartworks]

I don't know if you already answered this question, but what real-life cultures were used as inspiration for the different countries seen in the comic?

Are we gonna see any more other countries coming into play or not?

Yep! I answered it here: https://www.tumblr.com/catesartworks/696382272474152960/what-cultures-and-countries-inspired-you-to-create

Details of post:

Limpette is a country with a lot of ports/trade because they live so close to the sea, so I imagine there are a ton of cultures that coexist in Limpette. That being said, it's racial demographics were inspired by Northern Africa, Middle East, and Central Asia. One of the aspects I was influenced by was the importance of bathing culture and soap. Bridgette's surname, Nahome-Karim, shows that she is a union between a Nigerian-Ethiopian (West African) household, and an Iranian-Arab (North African/Middle Eastern) household.

Each of these cultures in Limpette have a country equivalent. But the majority of the population have ancestry from Northern Africa, Middle East, and Central Asian populations that come from all over the world.

One of the countries mentioned in Isekai Maid, "Qamara" is the equivalent of Iran. Bridgette's mother, Yadira Nahome-Karim has ancestry there and is part of a minority group of Arabic speakers, while the rest of the country speaks an equivalent of Farsi. Nasir (see episode 60 and 79) is also from Qamara.

Tholassa is Greece, Teffrah is a mix of England and France. And each country has a population of immigrants from different countries. Which is why there seems to be a lot of cultures coexisting.

I really want to expand the map, and I will mention more countries in the future. :D

[clioarcadia]

Hello, I tried to login to your Pateron but it wasn't working for me for some reason. Maybe because I'm Nigerian or I don't know. I was wondering if you could post it on inkbunny website so that people who can't have access to your Pateron can go to inkbunny website and read it. Please with a cherry on top.😁😁

Hello, I appreciate your interest to read it but I won't do it. The idea of making porn gallery to later post it in my Patreon is to gain money and keep it away from minors.

Once I finish the comic and spend a couple of weeks in Patreon, I will post it in my Picarto account. the deal is like "Those who pay get to see first"

Another chance to be able to see the process of the comic is to assist the livestreams of my Picarto on Saturdays.

PICARTO PATREON

-DAS

[eluxurexisrandom]

Basically A Bio guys

So like before I start, I would like everyone to see this: Don't involve me in drama or harass me for anything. If I did something wrong, talk to me in dms. And whatever happens in my other blogs stay there. Don't bring them over here.

Anyways...

Yo! I'm Eluxurex! Or Zury for short. I am a female teenage artist that likes Undertale and is currently trying to introduce characters of an AU I am making. I am also a fan of Gravity Falls and Black Clover.

There's not really much of myself to talk about, I mean I'm very random (it's in the username for a reason).

I am a straight Nigerian Christian (Though I do have dual citizenship in New Jersey but that's not really important.). Oh and I'm weird.

So anyways, here just the few OCs which I have introduced in this blog: (Most the Ocs here, their desings have been altered)

My Persona (Finally redesigned her)

Rezmo, a ghost that belongs to my AU, Keytale.

My self insert, Eluxur

And of course the Sans of my AU.

Tags: #eluxurasks

#oc:eluxurex, #oc:eluxur, #rezmo

Ref Sheets:

[sagau-my-beloved]

This isn't a request or anything but I just had a showerthought. In a reverse-isekai Zhongli and Itto would 10000000% fall for the nigerian prince scam 😂

And as much as I love them, I wouldn't allow them unsupervised internet access until they mastered readers "how to recognise and avoid scams" class

Itto would fall victim to every known scam in existence and it'd probably just be safer to keep him away from the internet all together

You think you got him completely protected with multiple lectures and tons of antivirus software, but then you come back to a 200 dollar bank deduction and five separate instance of malware because there were hot singles in the area (which he swears he only clicked on because he thought that meant something entirely different)

Meanwhile Zhongli is probably pretty well versed in the traditional scams, he was a god over a city of trade after all, so while he might suck completely at bartering, he's not one to just let people lie to him flat out

Of course that doesn't really apply over the internet—

Poor guy would lose so much money because he's both overpaying (rich person syndrome of overestimating price/buying the most expensive version because he's used to a higher price equaling better quality/not knowing how your money works anyway and assume something crazy like 1 Mora = 1 dollar) and falling victim to having an actual conscious, which you just can't afford to have on the internet

Don't let him shop online, just don't, but on the bright side, at least his chance of getting viruses isn't super high, and no one can top Itto when it comes to disregarding internet safety in comical ways anyway

He'd probably fully believe that a website having a firewall means that if he ever visits that site your poor computer would burst into flames and maybe explode

Meanwhile Zhongli's browser history would just be five hundred pages of random questions about your world, culture, and how to fit in modern society without people thinking you're a God 101

He might accidentally be put on a few FBI watchlists when he gets around to researching nuclear weaponry tho—

[disneytva]

Disney+ Sets Key Art And Trailer For KUGALI and Walt Disney Animation Studios "IWAJU"

The official trailer and new key art has arrived for Iwájú — a brand new series from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pan-African comic-book/ entertainment company Kugali, streaming on Disney+ beginning February 28.

Set in a futuristic Lagos, Nigeria, the exciting coming-of-age story follows Tola (voice of Simisola Gbadamosi), a young girl from the wealthy island, and her best friend, Kole (Siji Soetan), a self-taught tech expert, as they discover the secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds. Kugali filmmakers — including director Olufikayo Ziki Adeola, production designer Hamid Ibrahim and cultural consultant Toluwalakin Olowofoyeku — take viewers on a unique journey into the world of Iwájú, bursting with unique visual elements and technological advancements inspired by the spirit of Lagos.

IWAJU soundtrack by Walt Disney Records will debut March 1, 2024 on all digital music platforms. The music is by renowned Nigerian composer Ré Olunuga, whose credits include score for Walt Disney Studios "Rise" (2020).

[rubin-therubix-loverofblorbos]

Hi, thanks for answering my ask, If it's not too hard can you tell me your race head canons for all the Mercs?

You're the best.

Engie: BLACK. He is not white. no. no don't look at the game. or the comics. or anything else related to engineer tf2. you cannot see that man at night. he's too much of a southern-black-mother-haver to be white. who cares about his dad, his MOM was BLACK. Polite, mildly violent when he needs to be, intelligent? His momma not white you can't change me.

Soldier: Native/Black. Mother Inuit and father African, OG last name Domoraud, got shortened to Doe through Immigration; OG first name was Amaqjuaq, but his parents had to choose a name on the spot. He has many identity issues, don't ask. Never takes off his helmet 'cause he doesn't like his monolids.Very touchy about the subject of race because where he lived was probably nearly as bad as Texas in terms of racism, feels he needs to devote every waking second to America or else he doesn't belong there. Yeah. He needs a bit of help. Has a weird accent but he hides it pretty well. Wow I rambled there...

Spy: Black/asian. Wow I really just dipped Tf2 into charcoal, didn't I? Didn't realize how many of them I Poc-ified until I put it down on paper. His mom was an asian woman, very stern, but she had a soft spot for her gender-weird kid. Dad was a black man, sweetheart, but he wasn't good at caring for people. Mother was a ballet star and taught him, he fucking mastered it. Broke his hip and disabled himself for life, but mastered it. Somehow he dramatizes it even more that it already was, and what actually happened was already halfway out a soap opera.

Sniper: Native. Māroi biological and Aboriginal Aussie Adoptive. He's Native on top of Native. Family spoke Antakarinya at home and he taught himself Māroi. Like Soldier, he has identity issues because languages and cultures get jumbled up in his head sometimes. Hates getting told he can't participate in Aboriginal activities because he isn't actually related to his parents. "BITCH? I WAS RAISED DOING THIS SHIT?" Is very passionate about his culture, especially his Antakarinya, because that is a language two breaths from death.

Scout: Black/white. LIGHTSKIN. CHEERIO-LOOKIN' MOTHERFUCKER. LITTLE E-FUCK-FEMBOY ASS. Soon as he pull out that fried chicken he's in a chick's panties. No explanation because you don't need one.

Pyro: Black. Heavy Nigerian accent, even when their speech isn't muffled people can barely understand them at times. Doesn't have the best english pronunciation, but their voice is jacked up anyways, so it doesn't matter. Fluent in American and British ASL despite this. Big person, bigger heart. 6'7'' 265 LB person with a voice deep enough to hit the Earth's core skipping around in Kidcore Aesthetic™️ and putting stickers on everything.

Demo: Black. we all know buddy. Although I feel like the Scottish are so on a different plane of being that they should be their own race. Black/Scottish. Very smart and has multiple degrees in chemistry and he drinks so much his blood has turned into pure alcohol. Scottish behavior. He wears kilts often, but sadly wears pants under his most times because they're. yknow. on a battle ground. But I think it's a shame. Can you tell I am getting tired.

Medic: I don't fuckin know. German. His race is Germany. The whole country. You ask him his race because his skin is very swarthy so you can't tell whether he's a really tan white guy or a weirdly light black guy. He's a pacific islander/white mix, but he actually barely knows. He'll remember his mother was Polynesian and go Oh. I forgor [Insert skull emoji and a facebook minion meme about mortality}.

Heavy: Black/white mix. He got his mother's beauty marks and his dad's bulkiness. Weird genes, very light but he has very pronounced black facial features. Big nose, big lips, high cheekbones. He gets asked if he's albino more than you would think. People actually don't expect him to have such a heavy Siberian accent because you expect white Vodka twink or white vodka dad that sneezes real fucking hard to have that much of a accent, not the guy that looks like he came out of a Nella Larsen book.

OH MY FUCK I'M DONE.

[samueldelany]

Nnedi Okorafor, (born April 8, 1974, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.), Nigerian American author whose science fiction and fantasy novels, short stories, and comics for both children and adults express her concepts of Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism. Okorafor often promotes young Black girls as superheroes in her work, and her writing investigates racial inequality, sexual violence, and other social issues.

[insomniac-jay]

DC OC Reading Lists

Billie Sunday | Faerie

Titania Knights: Faith, Trust, & Fairy Dust: The debut of DC's newest all girl team, the Titania Knights, and their newest heroes: Faerie, Hermia, Emerald, and Witchbane. Released around the same time as the first Blue Beetle comic.

Faerie - Billie's solo comic. It's an overall character study and exploration into her life as a Metahuman, relationships, and her future as she prepares to head off to Miami for college. It is confirmed that her and Jaime are in a long distance relationship.

Faerie: Miami Vices - Billie starts her journey as a nursing student, but not before she gets a message from Zatanna Zatara about malevolent magical forces in the city.

Fatale: Bloody Paradise - Billie makes a cameo as the nurse helping Jahzara recover from a car accident

Faerie & Blue Beetle - Billie and Jaime, now at a comfortable point in their lives, get married and settle down into a domestic life with each other in El Paso...or as domestic as one can be when they're a superhero

Faerie: All Haill the Queen - An Elseworlds comic where Titania names Billie as her successor to the throne of Fairyland

Jahzara Nwadike | Fatale

The Watchers: Public Enemies - The debut of Jahzara, daughter of a Nigerian business mogul, as the elusive Watcher Fatale in her quest to eliminate Bruce Wayne.

The Watchers: Watchers vs Owls - Jahzara joins the Watchers in the fight against the Court of Owls after Duchess (Serilda von Meier-Berger) is attacked in her home after refusing to join them

Fatale: Sins of Star City - After being framed for a crime she didn't commit, Jahzara flees from Gotham and hides in Star City

Fatale: Black Paradise - Now a successful lawyer living in Florida, Jahzara's work as Fatale isn't done when enemies from her past come back and new ones emerge

The Watchers: Future is Ours - Jahzara, now in her late 30s, trains the next generation of Watchers alongside Vicia

The Watchers: Who Watches the Watchers? - Jahzara's backstory and how she came to join the Watchers

Fatale: Corporate Espionage - An Elseworlds story where Jahzara and Duke meet later in life as adults

Vicia Lopez | Crimson

The Watchers: Honor Among Rogues - Vicia's debut alongside the rest of the Watchers. She has a few volumes dedicated to her character development

The Watchers: Public Enemies - Major supporting character since this series is mainly about Jahzara

Crimson & Pantheress - Duo series of Crimson and Pantheress (Imani Javiera) as they fight crime in Gotham's underground to keep their communities safe

The Watchers: Watchers vs Owls - Vicia joins the war after the attack on Duchess. A major moment is when she kills Talon

The Watchers: Future is Ours - An older Vicia helps Jahzara train the new Watchers, which includes her daughter Sanai Sheila Todd

The Watchers: Who Watches the Watchers - Exploration into Vicia's life before joining the vigilante organization, her relationship with Madame Nightshade, and how she joined

Blood Mary & the Final Girls - Elseworld story where Vicia never joins the Watchers; instead escaping juvie and becoming Bloody Mary, a murderous antiheroine

Crimson: Deadly Venom - Another Elseworlds where Vicia stayed with the Black Widows as an assassin

Greynasha Wiley | Crypt

Crypt: Back From the Dead - Greynasha's debut series. Based off the Static Shock cartoon, a major theme of the series is Greynasha learning how to live with her powers and the remorse that comes with being a survivor of the Big Bang

Midwest Titans (@punkeropercyjackson) - Greynasha is a member of the Midwestern branch of the Teen Titans alongside Blue Beetle, Miss Martian, and Static, Greynasha's love interest

@floof-ghostie @calciumcryptid @peachyblkdemonslayer @theautisticcentre @moonage-gaydream

[thegeekiary]

Lion Forge Entertainment and series creators previewed Nigerian-inspired animated series Iyanu at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

READ MORE: Lion Forge Entertainment Previews Animated Series “Iyanu” at SDCC 2024

[downthetubes]

British creator Bryan Talbot, currently working on a new graphic novel, The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor, has been officially inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

There were honours for other Brits, too: Tula Lotay, with Becky Cloonan, for Best New Series, Somna: A Bedtime Story, published by DSTLRY; for British/Nigerian Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, for Best Lettering, author Michael Molcher, for Best Comics-Related Book, I Am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, published by Rebellion: https://downthetubes.net/brit-wins-at-2024-eisners/

[fortressofserenity]

X-Men and Cultural Appropriation

I think this has to be said, if because even if X-Men stories preach a message of diversity and tolerance yet some X-Men fans are racist. Either they mock people of other ethnicities, outright dislike them or fetishise them but never show any real interest in them as people. This isn’t helped by that the X-Men stories are built on a flawed foundation, one built on a false equivalence in comparing otherwise potentially murderous (and currently murderous) characters to victims of racism. Kate Pryde has killed a lot of people these days, I don’t think a lot of black people go on killing people and committing crime.

As for Storm or Ororo Munroe, she comes off as a white person’s idea of an exotic black person. Not so much as an actual Kenyan, which is why she doesn’t speak any degree of Swahili (or even Luo and Gikuyu), doesn’t eat or cook Kenyan dishes and doesn’t even celebrate Boxing Day every 26 of December. Karma has been recently rectified by a writer of actual Vietnamese descent, who knows if Storm will eventually get the same treatment. Besides African comics fans exist, I’m even part of a Nigerian comics fan Facebook group.

Africans have done fan art of things like Hunter x Hunter and Bugs Bunny, so they’re not that ignorant of international pop culture in this sense. But I think because X-Men tends to appropriate a lot from African Americans that it’s telling it hasn’t led people to appreciating actual black people, as if the African American experience is more palatable if done by white people. It’s not hard to see why African Americans do complain about cultural appropriation when they see it, as if the things they’ve been mocked for look cool on anybody else.

I also don’t think X-Men stories delved on those who speak or know minority languages, that is other than Yiddish and it becomes telling why there’s not a single mutant who speaks any degree of Welsh or East Frisian as far as I know. I could be wrong in here, you might say that these languages are irrelevant. But people have been ostracised for speaking those languages, to the point where they don’t want to pass it down to others to avoid being stigmatised even further. Perhaps this goes a long way in explaining why X-Men writers’ tendency towards false equivalence always fails actual ethnic minorities and minority language speakers.

There’s not a single mutant in the X-Men world that I know of who speaks Irish to some extent, not a single mutant who speaks something like Lakota or Cheyenne even if it provides representation to those who speak these languages. So X-Men will never be a good stand-in for ethnic minorities, not helped by that they’re barely if ever written by these people. Actually I don’t think there are any X-Men fans who bother learning minority languages, I have tried the same with Irish and Breton but mostly due to Irish folk music.

So if there is a gap between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation, it becomes more evident in the X-Men world in how writers try to position mutants as the most oppressed yet not a single mutant speaks in almost any given minority language and how others come off as white people’s impressions of ‘exotic’ people until now.

[thelastonewastaken]

On Comedy and Comedians

In recent years, there's been a lot of debate about comedy and comedians, and about whether specific comedians are funny. So I thought I'd put some of my thoughts down, these are of course only my subjective opinions. I'm sure there must be a well-researched book on this matter.

Comedy is a performing art

It's very audience-based, and comedians learn how to work their audience: selecting the right jokes, presenting them in the right order, using specific inflections to deliver the punchline etc. It's no wonder that when on tour, comedians add a few jokes to their routine that are about the specific location they're in. (For example, watch Katt Williams' opening monologue at a show in Jacksonville.)

So if you listen to a comedian and don't think they're particularly funny, the first question you should ask yourself is whether you're a part of the audience they're speaking to. There are a wide range of comics doing very different types of comedy: Jerry Seinfeld does observational, everyday humour; Sarah Silverman likes to shock and takes pauses for effect; Michelle Wolf does conversational, quick-paced bites; Dave Chapelle does bit-wise comedy where you have to remember the full set; Aries Spears is great at mimicry; Jeff Ross is great at roasts; the list goes on...

In addition, comics build on the artistry of others: Seinfeld developed his niche based on Cosby, Eddie Murphy took some bits from Richard Pryor. So if you do not like one comic, there are many more you could like. One might simply not be for you, it doesn't mean they are not funny.

Jokes can be mean

The only requirement for a joke is to be funny, it might be mean, maybe tone-deaf, maybe even ignorant, but it should be funny. It might be funny in ways people are ashamed to admit, but that's what comics play on - that's their entire reason for existing.

Comics do not do shows to make people mad. It's counter-intuitive for a comic to try to displease their audience, it makes no sense on their part. They gain absolutely nothing from doing that, and they've thought about their jokes long before they say it. So trust me, they're not trying to be mean when they say something mean, they're being funny.

I agree that there's a thin line though. It gets mean when they continuously punch down on the same person, but typically comics direct a one or two jokes at a person then move on. So it's always good to think about intent. For example, Chris Rock's GI Jane joke at the Oscars was funny and relevant. It was a joke about a movie to an audience celebrating film and it was delivered perfectly.

No subject is off limits

Off-limit subjects are antithetical to comedy as an art form. You can not have a subject that people are afraid to make jokes about. It defeats the whole purpose of comedy. If you're offended by a joke because it's insensitive to something you hold dear, it's important to consider if it could be funny to someone who has no idea how dear you hold the subject matter.

You might also want to think about why you're very offended by it, most times it has nothing to do with the comedian. And I say this as a Nigerian (scams are a popular joke) and a Catholic (take your pick) who stutters (I mean...).

You have to evaluate a comic's full set

Long before comics record their specials that appear on Netflix or HBO, they go on tour. They test each joke at comedy clubs and nights they MC, they adjust and fine-tune each joke, gauging the laughs they get and how people respond to them.

When they record their specials, the jokes are ready. They know how to deliver them, when to back off, and when to double down. They also know how the audience will respond. So when evaluating a special, you can't take one joke and analyze it, you have to analyze the whole body of work. You shouldn't see a clip online and judge it, it's a bit like listening to only one song off a musician's album and passing judgement on it. You're unlikely to know what they were trying to do.

So, how do you know a joke is funny?

Comics usually play up a scene from reality and deconstruct it. It might be something they've witnessed or something imagined, they might focus on the scene's actors, the characters behind the scene, or the scene itself. They might ponder on what the outcomes of the scene were or should've been.

Then, they have to select an aspect of the scene for comedic rendering. To do this, they employ some language devices: analogy, onomatopoeia, symbolism, etc, as well as some elocution strategies. They may enlist some audience participation.

The only test for whether a joke is funny is whether the devices employed fit the aspect of the scene selected. And it's a valence test, i.e., how funny was it, as opposed to a content test, i.e., was it funny or not. The difference between a published comic and your funny friend is that the former's jokes are typically of high valence and the latter's jokes are of low valence. Whether a joke needs to be explained has no impact on whether it's funny or not, but typically the higher the valence, the less explanation is needed.

Finally,

There is the chance that you're listening to someone who just isn't funny, but unless you're in a comedy club that takes on unknown comics still trying to hone their craft, it's very unlikely.