Wakanda, an African nation untouched by the outside world, sheds light on black excellence in "Black Panther." Wakanda, an African nation untouched by the outside world, sheds light on black excellence in
Yes, lots of comics were racist. A new generation of Black artists is reinventing them By Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times
Published: May 10, 2021, 6:02am
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2 Photos RIVERSIDE, CA - MARCH 7, 2021: John Jennings, comic book illustrator and professor of media and cultural studies at UC Riverside on March 7, 2021 in downtown Riverside, California. Black artists are using comics as a medium to address racial injustices.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Photo Gallery
Manuel and Geiszel Godoy are military veterans, and they believe deeply in social justice. But above all, they are entrepreneurs who saw an underdeveloped sector in their industry and dove in.
Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times
Manuel and Geiszel Godoy are military veterans, and they believe deeply in social justice. But above all, they are entrepreneurs who saw an underdeveloped sector in their industry and dove in. We have to show that we can pull a Tyler Perry as a community, Manuel Godoy, president of Black Sands Entertainment, says in a recent video interview. The idea is that the bigger the company gets, the better the IP does, the more everybody wins, and we can fund our projects ourselves because we have the experience, the expertise to do it.
The Godoys niche is a growing one: indie comics by Black artists, written for Black families about Black people, with a focus on tales of Africa before slavery. Among their projects are an upcoming animated series and the Black Sands Publishing app.
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“If we get this done,” Godoy says, “we’ve proven that you no longer have to walk through the gate they built in order to get to the main stage.”
Black Sands isn’t the first through the gate. It joins a growing hive of Black creators who’ve carved space in a format that for decades was
steeped in racism and exclusion.
“Black Sands: The Seven Kingdoms” is the flagship comic series of Black Sands Entertainment.
(Black Sands Entertainment)
Booming genres like Afrofuturism (which meshes African culture with science fiction) reflect worlds envisioned by Black activists: Worlds in which existing power structures are dismantled and Black people thrive.