Trailblazers & Trendsetters: Basi Affia launches Iowa's first Black comic book company

Rachelle Chase, Des Moines Register

March 1, 2023 at 2:54 PM·4 min read

A flagship is pummeled by debris in deep space. The crackle of flames, slap of running feet, explosions, firing of “plasma weapons,” growls of aliens, and an original theme song fill the air. Images of a multicultural crew of captains and admirals and heroes — two teen engineers — slide on and off the screen. Voice actors bring the crew to life.

No, it’s not an animated version of Marvel’s new "Alien" comic series. It’s “Lost With All Hands — The Motion Comic” by Sensi’il Studios LLC, Iowa’s first Black-owned comic book company.

“Lost With All Hands” was originally a comic book written by Basi Affia (whose legal name is Aniekanabasi White) and published by Affia's company, Sensi’il Studios LLC in October 2022.

The motion comic was a labor of love

"Lost With All Hands" was published by Sensi'il Studios LLC, Iowa's first Black-owned comic book company, in October 2022. In it, "Jaxon Flores and Dita Talassa, two love-struck engineers on their way to help colonize one of humanity's first extraterrestrial colonies, thought that joining the Kupaa Initiative would be the perfect start for their relationship. But when the admiral begins behaving oddly and the ship is boarded by bloodthirsty monsters, they quickly find themselves running for their lives."

Affia loved finding seven talented voice actors, like Des Moines’ Matthew Eclatt and Kiera McGregor, as the lead characters Jaxon Flores and Dita Talassa.

He loved the cross-media aspect of the production, the blending of different industries, to show the fuller potential of what it could be, especially for Black culture.

He loved creating a theme song in which he and his friend Anna Mora performed and his good friend Genie of @Geniemixedit did the audio mixing.

He wants others to love it, too, and wants them to watch it — for free. Because he knows many young people don’t have a lot of money. But he hopes they will share the motion comic and read one of his webtoons, then share it and say, "Oh yeah, man, I read one of his stories. It was awesome. You should go check it out," as a free way to show support.

Why a Black comic book company is necessary in Des Moines

Affia noticed the booming interest in comics in the Black community, in large part due to Marvel and DC Comics, so he felt the time was right. And while there are a few comic shops in Des Moines — like Jay’s CD & Hobby and Mayhem Comics — there wasn’t one for Black and other creatives of color.

Affia wants Sensi’il Studios, created a year ago, to be a central point for Black and minority comics in Iowa. He wants to see people come together and build a community and support each other. He wants it to be a site where people come to buy a friend's comic and see a comic by someone they don’t know and buy that, too.

Additionally, he feels that futuristic stories of people of color need to be told. “That's why I chose sci-fi,” Affia said, “to show like, ‘Hey, minorities and Black people and members of the Pan African diaspora. We have a future. We will be here for centuries. We've been here for millennia and we will continue to be here and we will continue to be great. We go through things in life, you know, we go through hardships and there's the ups and downs.' But I really want to focus on the ups so that way we can be inspired to continue to work our way out of our current position in society.”

What’s Next for Basi Affia and Sensi’il Studios?

"Aaru En Duat: Ascension (Part 1)" is a new book scheduled for publication in June 2023 by Sensi'il Studios LLC, Iowa's first Black-owned comic book company.

Affia is preparing to publish “Aaru En Duat: Ascension (Part 1)," which is a coming-of-age story where the main character is coming out from under her father’s shadow. Affia believes it will be particularly relatable to Gen Z and younger millennials who are realizing that their path may be different than their parents' path, and that doing things to please their parents may not be what they are called to do.

He’s launching a Kickstarter campaign on March 3 to raise money to print it, making it available for him to sell at his table at Des Moines Comic Con June 3-4, where Sensi'il Studios will, once again, make history.

Who is Basi Affia?

Aniekanabasi White, aka Basi Affia, created the first Black comic book in Iowa.

Affia is a self-professed nerd who’s always been interested in cartoons, anime and comic books. He started writing in the first grade and acting in high school, which led to performances with the Pyramid Theatre Co. a couple of years ago. Seeing works by different playwrights motivated him to return to his first love: writing stories. So about seven years ago, he started writing novels and comic book scripts. Last year he decided to make it official: he formed Sensi’il Studios LLC to release published works.

For more information

Check out free webtoons, short stories, the motion comic and buy “Lost With All Hands” at sensiilstudios.square.site.
Help with printing costs for the new comic book, "Aaru En Duat," at kickstarter.com/projects/sensiilstudios/aaru-en-duat.
Listen to the “Lost With All Hands” original theme song at open.spotify.com.
Watch the “Lost With All Hands Motion Comic” at sensiilstudios.square.site/movies.

Rachelle Chase is an author and an opinion columnist at the Des Moines Register who had never seen a motion comic until now and will be on the lookout for Sensi'il Studios' next one. Follow Rachelle at facebook.com/rachelle.chase.author.