Roye Okupe

Roye Okupe is a Nigerian-American filmmaker, author, and entrepreneur born in Lagos, Nigeria, and the founder of YouNeek Studios — an award-winning multimedia company dedicated to African-inspired superhero comics, graphic novels, and animation. Launched in 2015 after a decade of self-publishing and 10 successful Kickstarter campaigns, YouNeek secured a landmark 10-book publishing deal with Dark Horse Comics in 2021. His graphic novel series Iyanu: Child of Wonder was adapted as an animated series for HBO Max and Cartoon Network (2025), where it debuted as the #1 series on Cartoon Network. Okupe serves as creator, executive producer, and showrunner. He was nominated for the 2021 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics. YouNeek's library spans E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale Williams, Malika: Warrior Queen, and WindMaker.