Celebrities purchase one-of-a-kind pieces from Mississauga, Ontario cardboard artist

Comic book characters, band posters and (as recently as this week) even timely geopolitical skirmishes can be made into one-of-a-kind 3D cardboard art–and some celebrities are taking notice. 

Luanga (Lue) Nuwame, a Mississauga-based comic and cardboard artist who runs Zelpha Comics, isn’t new to pop culture art, but some of his works have recently piqued the interest of high-profile customers. 

Some celebrities that have inquired about or accepted Nuwame’s one-of-a-kind works include Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian and Captain America: Brave New World) and Danny Trejo (Machete franchise, From Dusk Till Dawn).

“I started doing fan art based on comic book covers and one-of-a-kind pieces and they started to sell pretty well,” Nuwame tells YourCityWithIN.com.

“I was slowly creating my own little niche and when I go to a convention, I only make one piece per character or genre. People appreciate that because if you get my unique Spiderman glow-in-the-dark piece in Miami, Toronto or Collingwood, you’re the only person in that city who has it. That spurred a fan base for me.” 

Collectable cardboard artwork is just one of the projects that Nuwame, a long-time comic book artist and pop culture aficionado, has pursued over the years. A comic book writer and board game creator, Nuwame recently released a colour version of his four-part series Paper Rock Scissors N’ Stuff Wars on Amazon and also went to work last year promoting Streetsville’s very first ComiCon.

Self-described as a lifelong geek/nerd who has been inspired by everyone from Thomas Edison to Stan Lee, Nuwame first began attracting attention when he created the Homemade Game Guru YouTube channel to share his love of cardboard DIY crafting with viewers worldwide. 

Since its inception, over 7 million people have watched him craft everything from cardboard swimming pools and furniture to comic book crafts. Nuwame says he works with extremely thick cardboard, such as the type appliances are typically shipped in. 

But while collectors have appreciated his hand-cut art for some time, Nuwame says things have been changing as he meets more celebrities at comic book conventions throughout Canada and the U.S.  

“The first ever [one-of-a-kind] piece was for Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters franchise) at a Hamilton comic con. I made him a piece of him as a Ghostbuster and he did not accept it, but he was so touched that he gave it back and he signed it for free,” he says.

After that, Nuwame made pieces for Kevin Eastman (co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Stan Sakai (creator of the Usagi Yojimbo comic series), Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and others. 

“People seem to like that a fan has made this for them. So when I go, I find out who the featured guests are and I make two pieces–one to sell to a hardcore fan who wants a one-of-a-kind piece signed by their favourite celebrity and one for the celebrity,” he says, adding that the pieces–made sustainably without any waste–sell for around $50. 

“This was a hobby to me and it was something I did for fun. I’m blessed that I can do this now and make a living off it and I want people to afford it.” 

Nuwame says he’s made exclusive pieces for Peter Weller (Robocop), Walter Koenig (Star Trek), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgement Day), Canadian radio personality Tarzan Dan and others. His pieces for Trejo and Espositio, however, stand out. 

“Giancarlo Esposito actually commissioned me to make pieces and Danny Trejo came to find me to get the piece,” he says. 

Nuwame says he first met the Breaking Bad actor at a convention in Ottawa. Hoping to give the performer his hand-made piece, he initially decided against handing it to him in person because the line to meet him was incredibly long. 

“I sold it to a fan and the fan got an autograph and came back and said, ‘he loves it, he wants to meet you.’” 

After being escorted to the front of the line, Nuwame chatted with Esposito, who he says commissioned an exclusive piece on the spot. 

“I made him two pieces, one based on various roles in his Spike Lee days and a second based on his role in School Days,” Nuwame says. 

Esposito holding his commissioned piece

At another convention, Nuwame was once again faced with a difficult decision: leave his own table to stand in line to give an exclusive piece to Machete star Trejo or sell the piece, instead, to a fan. 

After choosing to sell the piece to an attendee, Nuwame found himself face-to-face with the notoriously rough-looking character actor.  

“My back was to my table and there was Danny standing right there. He said, ‘I heard you got something for me.’ We did a video together; he called me his brother. He said it was amazing,” he said, adding that he’s confident the piece is in the actor’s home. 

Nuwame says he has also been commissioned to make pieces for wrestling legend Jimmy Hart and has even created a piece for Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. 

Ultimately, he says his work is for everyone.  

“I show people the depth of my work and that my stuff is for everybody, but there’s an honour in knowing it doesn’t matter if they’re athletes or celebrities or politicians, they have one of my pieces,” he says. 

Trejo (left) and Nuwame (right)

While it’s impossible to say what the future will hold, Nuwame knows that it’s challenging to compete against the plastic collectibles that have dominated collector’s shelves for decades. That said, he hopes the sustainable nature of his work helps it edge out the competition as tastes change and the desire for something different takes hold. 

“Instead of plastic and resin and vinyl from overseas, the 275-pound double-wall cardboard can also be a collectable. It’s upcycled, recyclable material. Plastic toys still outsell everything, same with vinyl. In time, as people learn more about the proliferation of plastic, they’ll give this more of a chance.”

Nuwame also says it can be challenging to compete against what he calls “the Dollaramifcation of consumerism,” especially when his goods, though affordable, cost more than posters sold in more mainstream venues. 

“You can get a poster somewhere for $5, but I keep going because I love what I do.”