How Roye Okupe’s hit indie comic books became Dark Horse’s next big project

Up next for Dark Horse Comics is a 10-book partnership with hot indie player YouNeek Studios, publishers of OGNs featuring diverse characters, and unique stories in exciting new worlds. 

By Abdulkareem Baba Aminu

When Roye Okupe dreamed of creating an African superhero universe, he went all-out. After all, his inspiration includes the animated X-Men TV series, the Transformers, and other established properties. However, he didn’t bargain for his line of independently-published books to gain a large following that a publishing partnership with Dark Horse Comics would happen. The unprecedented deal will see the big publisher releasing YouNeek Studios’ entire line of comics, across 10 books, which Okupe created to focus on African stories and characters.

For Okupe, it’s a dream come true. A self-confessed geek, he grew up in Lagos, Nigeria on a steady diet of comics and related media, before moving to the United States in 2002, aged 17. While at George Washington University for a degree in Computer Science, he was simultaneously studying Animation at the Art Institute of Washington. After graduation, he created and shopped around an animated trailer featuring a futuristic African superhero, but it got little interest. He soldiered on, telling stories he wanted to tell, how he wanted to.

Fast-forward a bit, and YouNeek’s books are massive hits on the indie scene, reporting sell-out after sell-out of Kickstarter-funded books at conventions and online stores. The Dark Horse Comics deal was struck in 2019 when the publisher’s editor-in-chief Dave Marshall met Okupe at New York Comic-Con. He dazzled Marshall with an understanding of the market, as well as his success in creating an entire universe via complete stories and graphic novels, instead of splitting them into monthly issues like the big companies usually do.

The crackling energy of YouNeek’s books, created and written by Okupe, and drawn by rising African stars, have found them a lovely spot in a market currently ravenous for diversity. It will most certainly highlight the work of the artists, which include Chima Kalu, Sunkanmi Akinboye, Raphael Kazeem, Etubi Onucheyo and Toyin Ajetunmobi on ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’. On ‘Iyanu: Child of Wonder’, he is joined by illustrator Godwin Akpan, while on ‘E.X.O.’ he collaborated again with Akinboye, Kazeem, Ajetunmobi, Onucheyo and Tarella Pablo.

While the Dark Horse Comics deal is a good thing, Okupe feels the immediate impact is that YouNeek Studios will have a lot more people paying attention, causing a spotlight to shine on African creators, including his collaborators. The deal will see the books rolled out on Sept. 7, Sept. 21, and Oct 19, 2021. For a previously small indie publisher that began with a vision to create an African superhero universe – and talented creators dazzling their audience – things have become excitingly global.