Now that Demba is more important than I had originally planned (Issue 1 was originally intended to be the entire first story arc, but now it has been split into 2) I figured that it would be a good idea to get used to drawing this guy.

It also occurs to me that Demba Guisse doesn't have a biography, per se. In issue 1, he is Fred's first patron and a bit of a condescending jerk, better versed in financial matters and the playboy lifestyle than the grim realities of the impending war.

(whipping this one up quickly) Guisse grew up in surroundings that most of his countrymen would be completely unfamiliar with- as things like electricity, cars, and municipal water reluctantly trickled into his backward country his family was among the first to have the means to use them. He grew up in his family's estate, a fashionable residence near the Palace District, and generally enjoyed a quite high personal standard of living in his early youth. In short, he was spoiled.

It's important to note that the cheetahs, members of the small Serola tribal minority, are entrenched in the political and professional elite in Nouveau Cotentan, the result of old French political ambitions and the need for regional allies. In short, the French had capable, teachable workers in the Serola and the Serola gained protection and power from the French. More than a decade after the French finally granted the country its independence the Serola minority continues to dominate the political scene. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the Serola have a cultural appreciation for commerce, technology, and education, much more so than their other tribal rivals.

He obtained his education through tutors, private schools abroad, and finally the University of Chicago, where he obtained a Master's in Economics. In his absence, his home country endured political upheaval after upheaval, during which his father was killed by the Army and his mother fled the country never to return. He returned home after his uncle led a successful (and some would say corrupt) bid to contest the country's general election. In short time he put his financial talents to use on behalf of his foster guardian, Uncle Kairaba. For the last two years he's served as a sort of unofficial state treasurer, doing much to reopen trade with the West and encourage the free market. The actual Minister of the Treasury is senile and incompetent and doesn't care what Demba is up to so long as his credibility remains intact.

At the onset of the story, Demba is of both old and new money, a deft and rather unscrupulous financier. However, he often forgets that the power he enjoys is very unstable. The militarists do not appreciate the new government, nor its West-embracing policies and the stratification of wealth. He holds no official capacity with the government except that he is the C.F.O. of a holding company that helps launder state funds and aid, providing his uncle with a cash candy jar to draw resources from without drawing suspicion.

In Demba's mind, there is nothing wrong with the unequal distribution of wealth or a little bit of corruption, provided the money does end up enriching the country in some way, shape, or form. He believes, sometimes justifiably, that most of his countrymen do not understand the basic principles of economics and how to effectively govern a country.

What he doesn't understand, until it's arguably too late, is that he lives in a world of constant personal danger and that arrogance is a luxury he can no longer afford.