By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Military veterans and life partners Manuel and Geiszel Godoy are the visionaries behind Black Sands Entertainment, an independent publishing house for comic books and graphic novels. The duo created the company to not only provide opportunities to Black creators, artists and writers but to tell stories that empower African-American youth.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Manuel Godoy
As they read stories of Black heroism and achievement, they also learn about their ancestors’ history.
“We make content about ancient African civilizations, so that our kids can know about the great civilizations they came from,” said Manuel Godoy. “No more slave stories.”
Despite beloved characters, like Black Panther, Blue Marvel and Cyborg, Black portrayals remain underrepresented in comic books and graphic novels. They’ve historically been relegated to sidekicks, painted as villains, depicted in a way that pushes stereotypes or presented as people in need of saving by other White characters.
Manuel Godoy said this standard was set a long time ago but persists in the industry. He wanted Black Sands Entertainment to be different.
“They won’t let go of this European standard where Africans have to be seen as less than and as people who need to be fixed,” said Manuel Godoy. “I wasn’t going to bring up anything negative about us in any way, shape or form.”
Before becoming a full-time creator, Manuel Godoy initially planned to spend his life serving his country. He joined the U.S. Army right after high school and served for six years—four active and two in the reserves.
His desire to join the Armed Forces sprung from his grandfather, who served for much of his life before retiring. Godoy intended to do the same, but a bad knee forced him to reconsider. He felt prepared to transition to civilian life, empowered by the education he received while serving. Godoy was a radar technician in the military and figured he would be able to secure an in-demand job.
For a couple of years, he worked in telecommunications engineering. Godoy later spent stints studying video game development, creative writing and economics. All the while, he maintained a keen interest in anime, role-playing games and comics.
Geiszel Godoy also served in the U.S Army as a human resources specialist for nearly three years. Afterwards, she spent several years in the fashion industry, but finding a permanent job in the field proved to be difficult.
Just before making the leap to be a full-time creator, Manuel Godoy was working for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a secretary. Two weeks before he would have received permanent status, he was let go.
“When they did that, I was like I’m done with this whole ‘regular’ work phase,” said Manuel Godoy. “I’m going to see if I can make a career out of just being a creative. I was a terrible writer at the time, not as far as story but as far as grammar and technical skill. It’s surprising we got as far as we did.”
In 2016, they started Black Sands Entertainment. Manuel Godoy began developing his first book series “Kids 2 Kings,” a story about a young boy whose life mission is to rule Kemet, an ancient name for Egypt that means “Black land.” In 2017, it hit the market but under a different name, “Black Sands, the Seven Kingdoms.”
Between Black Friday and the end of 2017, they made nearly $80,000 in sales. Their profits continued to climb along with their output. Gieszel Godoy penned Mori’s Family Adventures the following year, which follows a family on an adventure to South Africa.
“Black positive representation is important for black children and families to see so the community can be inspired, uplifted and proud of their Black heritage,” said Geiszel Godoy. “It lets children see themselves represented in a positive light and lets children want to become strong Black leaders and successful individuals for the next generation.”
The couple also began to build a following on social media and on Patreon, a crowdfunding platform that enables creators to earn additional income by offering rewards and extra perks to subscribers. In 2019, they released a “Black sands” DVD, using voice actors from the Black community. The next year, the Godoys decided to open an investment round to help them fund the creation of multiple projects at once.
By 2022, they were earning $1.1 million in sales. Their growth and unique mission landed them on “Shark Tank.” Though the couple reached a deal with businessman Mark Cuban and comedian and actor Kevin Hart, they did not move forward with it.
“Either way, we had a great showing out. I proved to the world that my company was legit, not just because of the books we make but also because of our business sense,” said Manuel Godoy. “We had published close to 40 titles at that time. We had tons of creators under us with publishing deals.”
Today, the husband and wife duo are preparing to create an anime of “Black Sands, the Seven Kingdoms.” They are hiring Black actors, like Debra Wilson and Eddie Griffin, to voice the characters. The Godoys currently have an investment round open that has raised $1.1 million so far, and contributions are still being accepted.
They hope that their content inspires readers and watchers to dig deeper into the history of Africa and its civilizations.
“I want them to actually look up the characters, locations and time periods,” said Godoy. “Do the research and get more immersed in cultures that you helped to found.”
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