Once in a while I like to check out new ideas that are swirling around on the internet and sure enough, I stumbled upon this little gem right here. Black Sands is a story about 4 royal children traveling the world, facing ancient gods and legendary leaders. After I checked out the first comic strip, I knew they’ve got something here.
Black Sands follows the young prince Ausar on his path to become the next Pharaoh of Kemet when he and his kin are dragged into a war that threatens the realms of men. What Is UNIQUE about Black Sands compared to it’s competition is the extreme attention to detail in the narrative, political relationships, and mythological lore placed in the story. It is not simply a “Black Version of Avatar.” It is an epic story about a time period in history long forgotten.
Upon researching these guys and what they do, I was extremely happy by what I’ve learned about them. The owners Manuel Godoy along with his wife Geiszel Godoy have created children books, novels and animations that focus on African mythology as black heroes, something that I’ve personally been hoping to see happen for such a long time.
Black Sands, formerly known as Kids 2 Kings, has even received 4th best Indie comics of 2017 by Bleeding Cool Accepted in the Hollywood Just4shortz film festival which speaks volumes to the quality of their work. I’ve actually talked about something like this in two of my blogs: A Black Anime Shonen Protagonist Would Be A Breath Of Fresh Air and It’s Time For Japanese Manga Artists To Change Their Stereotypical Portrayal Of Black Anime Characters.
Black Sands according to the creators is inspired by Dragon Ball, Avatar: the Last Air Bender, Naruto, and the Boondocks, all three which I already a huge fan of, so it’s already leaning towards my alley of fiction. All the characters are unique and the designs for them are super dope! What’s even more dope is their powers, especially Seth’s. The narrative and story behind the world of Black Sands is pretty intriguing as well. Their world is filled with The Ancients (aliens that rule), gods, nations vs nations and a more. The ground work is laid out for epic confrontations, not only between gods, but between nations!
So yeah, I thought I’d bring it to you guys attention to keep an eye for it. They’re currently working on getting an animated series out on Netflix and already have a couple of comics out now, the first one been free: Black Sands Comic #1. You can support them on Patreon as well.