“Game of Thrones Meets Marvel Universe:” YouNeek Studios Kickstarts Its Next Chapter

We have long followed the rise of Roye Okupe’s YouNeek Studios, from its early start with E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale Williams to Malika: Warrior Queen and beyond. Like many new series, the “beyond” part is an achievement, the type of landmark that notes a body of work deep enough to intertwine stories and characters. Just like that, Okupe’s YouNeek Studios has created a universe in no small part thanks to Kickstarter and the books’ growing supporters. We spoke with Okupe about his journey of building his own comic book universe and the future of YouNeek Studios. Black Nerd Problems: How many years have YouNeek Studios participated in Free Comic Book Day, and have you found it to be useful in reaching a new audience of readers? Roye Okupe: We’ve participated in Diamond’s Free Comic Book Day since 2017. So, 3 years in a row. It’s been an amazing way for us to bring new readers into the YouNeek YouNiverse. I’ve had people personally walk up to me at events and say, “I don’t know where, but I’ve seen your work before.” Most of the time, they are referring to one of our Free Comic Book Day titles. BNP: So Free Comic Book Day has definitely served its purpose, exposing new fans to your finished work. Much of the excitement early on came from an animated short you made in promotion of E.X.O., which continued later with another animation for Malika. Can you describe the process for creating animated short films? How long does one typically take to create, and what’s been your biggest…