Black Sands, an animated feature film based on the award-winning comic novels of the Black Sands Universe, is on the horizon. The African American-owned comic and children’s book publisher Black Sands Entertainment (BSE) recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the feature film vision to fruition.
Created by military husband and wife duo Manuel and Geiszel Godo, the series focuses on Pan-Africanism and Egyptian mythology to fill “a void in the comic book community that lacks diversity in its production, characters, and storytelling,” according to press materials.
The series follows the adventures of four kids — sons and daughters of royalty who must fight to keep their tribe and royal lineage alive as heirs to the throne. As the young protagonists come of age, they also must learn to how to use their superpowers.
The BSE brand was released nationally in 2017 and has found success with the comic book series Kids to Kings: Rumble in Kerma Part 1 and Part 2, the most popular of the BSE catalog, the novella Sons of Nibiru, and the children’s picture book Mori’s Family Adventures: South Africa, which has collectively sold over 10,000 units.
BSE has also won numerous awards, including Bleeding Cool’s Fourth Best Indie Comic of 2017 for Kids to Kings, which was also accepted into the 2017 Just4Shorts film showcase. The couple recently confirmed appearances at American Library Association (June 22-26, New Orleans) Dragon Con, the largest event in the southeast (August 29, Atlanta) and New York Comic Con (October, NYC).
Manuel began working on Black Sands Legends of Kemet, a visual novel based on ancient Egyptian mythology in 2014. In late 2015, he tried to bring Black Sands to market but failed in his Kickstarter campaign. After a major design and marketing overhaul, he relaunched with give-a-ways and another Kickstarter. The Kickstarter exceeded his $4k goal and produced near $20k and that was the beginning.
BSE’s current Kickstarter campaign to fund a feature-length animated film has also exceeded its goal. You can invest in the upcoming project here.
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Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.