In part one, I highlighted five Black indie animations: Toward Galaxy’s End, The Chaotic Misadventures of Arch & Reggie, Wheels & Roses, Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to be a Magical Girl, and The Three Tomes. In part two, I highlighted The Moon Odyssey, T-Effect: The Angel’s Sun, Hero Corps: Deep Genesis, Indigo, Captain Zero, and Mmanwu. Then, in early May, I noted three series that had exceeded their crowdfunding goals: hey., The Moon Odyssey, and The Three Tomes. My recent newsletter additionally profiled the Junichiro Jackson proof of concept. This all comes as Iyanu, a Black superhero series, on a mainstream platform and produced by an established studio, finished its second season in late May, with a film in July. In addition, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder has a Christmas special coming in mid-November.
This part focuses on nine series and films, some in development, and others ongoing, particularly Defenders of Alodia, The Will of Monsters, Crocodile Dance, Master, hey., Terri Starstrike, Deadstar Saga, The Ebony Witch, and Skelly Closet Cases. The nine indie animations in this article come from a YouTube playlist shared with me by Breana Navickas in early February and my own research.
Defenders of Alodia
Defenders of Alodia is an indie series in development I have been following for years. It centers on Rebecca Winstead, a Black teenage girl who is, according to the YouTube channel description, “transported to the sci-fi western fantasy world Alodia, filled with crooks, techno-wizards, aliens, and sorcerers,” where she is imbued with a certain energy. Afterward, she travels westward with Zaid, a wanted mercenary, and other companions, like a defective robot. As she tries to make her way back home, she faces the vile ruler, Barian, who attempts to capture her so he can “unlock the secrets of her abilities.” In April of last year, I described this series as a “sci-fi action-adventure cartoon…created by Naya [Fae], a Black animator and founder of Shockwave Animation, with art direction and character design by Vector Convoy.”
Although no videos have been posted on the series’ official YouTube channel for years, the current page on Shockwave Animation implies that the series is presently in development. The animation studio, based in Atlanta, founded by Fae, is producing on Animation Station and a horror webseries titled Lacey’s Webisodes. Apart from previous work on Paracity by creating “a proof-of-concept animation test,” the official Bluesky stated that studio is doing color work on Zsazsa Zaturnnah.
Presently, Defenders of Alodia remains an indie animation in development. This is evidenced by an Instagram post on May 22nd of this year. In addition, Fae continues to list the series in her Instagram bio, where she notes she created Animation Station, wrote for Diner At The Edge of The World, and composition on Mystery Skulls Animated and Skobeloff Forest. Considering all that, it is hard to know if this series is on a back burner or not, compared to other projects that Shockwave Animation is working on right now.
The Will of Monsters
In a posting last year, I talked about this young adult action-adventure film, created by filmmaker and animator Christopher Wade. The official teaser came out in mid-November 2019. That video called the film a “2D animated story bursting with mystery, action and adventure,” following the story of Jarrad and his young apprentice Cham as they “join up with a sorceress in training named Pai to brave the terrors of their explosive, magical and dangerous world.” It lists Atla Hrafey as producer, along with animators (Wade, Serena Henderson and Matt Bixler), character designers (Serena Henderson and Angela Sprecher), cleanup artists (Zak Wood), background designers (Sarah Gavagan), composers (Zack Mitchell/Atra Aeterna), sound mixers (Colin Andrew Grant), original melody composer (Jeremy Waters), and other animators (Matt Atych Taylor).
Since that time, there have been occasional updates. The series is moving forward with development. There is no Discord, with Wade, understandably, saying it is too much work, adding that “the Will of Monsters means alot [sic] to me and I want to spend my time engaging with my characters and their world so you all can enjoy them at their best.” He further stated that if there is a Discord server, he will not be a part of it. A new Kickstarter for funding the entire film will be launching soon, with the description saying the film will be 50 minutes long, focusing on Pai Hex-Haggle, “a young, powerless witch” who crash-lands in a country of “Monsters” with the question of whether she will “join forces with two bumbling scarecrows” or if she “will she meet her death at the jaws of deadly creatures.”
Crocodile Dance
I am somewhat familiar with this indie animation because it has the same production company that worked on Wheels & Roses, a company also working on The Turners and Popsicle. This animated film exceeded its crowdfunding goals, in December of last year, by about 28.1%! It is produced by Coker Co-Op, which “develop[s] projects that showcase the richness of African narratives and expand representations of its diaspora.” The film’s co-creator, Shofela Coker, worked on the short film “Moremi” within the Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire film anthology, with his creative works drawing from Yoruba mythology.
Since then, digital rewards have been distributed to backers, updates about storyboards, a novella, and artbook have been shared, and production has continued. The film is Africanfuturist, referring to stories “specific and rooted in African cultures, history, mythologies, and technology” that do not “center the West in its narratives.” That differs from Afrofuturism, a sci-fi subcategory that centers around Black people in the diaspora and “often features stories from outside of…Africa and usually in colonized Western societies like America, Canada, and the UK.” Examples of the latter are films like Wakanda Forever and Black Panther.
The film has been described by fans as beautiful and fantastic. Animation Magazine described the film as compelling and said that the crowdsourced funds will be used to create a “three-minute animation test that will provide the launch pad for further development, financing and co-production connections.” The film is “rooted in West African mythology,” while centering on “Roukia, a Northern Nigerian griot (storyteller) whose voice and music hold the power to confront Mami Wata, a feared and revered water goddess,” who must “reclaim her voice, confront ancestral fear, and reshape her destiny.” The article further states that the film “delivers moments of heightened drama and supernatural tension” with an emotional core that “explores grief, self-belief, ancestral memory and the reclamation of power through creativity.”
Master
Last year, I highlighted the above project in development, entitled Master, noting that the pilot was being written, and in pre-production. It follows a young Black woman named Olivia, who has superpowers, hopes that her family will get to a better life and realized that the life she wants to leave is “the one she should be fighting for.” The executive producer is the well-known Peter Ramsay, known for co-directing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film’s creator is Jamaal Bradley, a Black male animator known for his short films Canvas and Substance, who wanted to tell “an alternative vision of womanhood” for his young daughter, rather than a princess, appealing to an 10+ age demographic.
The official site for Steamroller Animation, which produces this film, says “currently being written! Stay tuned!” There is also a behind-the-scenes video showing off production of the trailer, by Steamroller Animation and Pop Willy Productions. Steamroller produced the pilot for Spice Frontier: Escape From Veltegar (and possible future series) and a game entitled Curse of the Deadwood.
I refuse to believe what some people on social media have said: that Master has been shelved permanently. I say this because the official pre-production reel from December 2024 features Master, as does a demo reel from mid-June of this year, showing it three times at the end. Posts on social media indicate they have a poster for Master up in their workspace, which people working there see every day. For the most part, the official Instagram heavily focuses on their Spice Frontier series, official expansions of that universe (like Cooking With Kentucky), and those who work at the studio.
hey.
I was somewhat familiar with this series, but multiple related videos, such as an update video, theme song, shot progression, were listed in aforementioned playlist shared with me by Breana Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes. An official Instagram for this series describes it as “the story of two people who really love each other trying to figure out how to love each other,” and a mix of Bob’s Burgers and Insecure, in a “new adult-animated sitcom.” hey. follows the “misadventures of a young black couple (Marcus Showers and Shania “Nae” Young) navigating their mid-20s after moving in together and the friendships that bring them closer.” The crowdfunding campaign succeeded with flying colors in June.
With production updates in June, July, August, and October, the series is moving forward. The series creator, Al-Tariq Harris, known as ToonrificTariq on YouTube, promoted the series through the crowdfunding for this exciting animation. He, and others, will certainly provide more updates in the days, months, and weeks to come. There’s been fanart, new animators and artists joining the crew, as noted on Bluesky, so I look forward to future developments for this series going forward.
Terri Starstrike
I learned about the first two episodes of this indie animation, plus a short, rough pilot, and clean episode, from the aforementioned playlist shared with me by Breana Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes. This series has its own YouTube channel. Unlike some other indie animations, at this point, it is a fully-fledged series in its own right. It centers around Terrina Ave-Lo (voiced by Eri Castro), who is part Puerto Rican and part Jotuzon, as she learns what it means to be a human and embraces what it means to be a Jotuzon, while spending time on Earth.
The series, developed by Eri Castro, begins with Bailey Wilson (voiced by Eri), a Black girl with a caring mother named Martha (voiced by Sarah Crawford) and guitar-loving brother Jody (voiced by Nate EO). She wants to be an astrophysicist that proves her father’s theories, and have a friend who understands her. After her mom encourages her to attend an elite high school after summer break, she meets Terrina. The latter has a familiar, a blob named Gelli (also voiced by Eri). As Terrina adapts to her new life in Westshore, California, her friendship with Bailey grows stronger, even as Bailey has a slight crush on her, calling her “Terri” for short.
The series has heart and soul, with plans to fully animate the series, and has a compelling story. Bailey is bisexual as indicated by stickers on her locker. In later episodes, she and Terri get closer, as Terri lives in Bailey’s garage, often transforming from her true height (57 feet and 7 inches tall) to “normal” human height. All the while, they deal with school drama, bullying, and gossip. Terri struggles with her height and Bailey has a big revelation, taking on a new identity of becomes Bailynn Lo-Shanta, with her mom’s support. The fun times continue even after a trans “know-it-all” genius giant, Jacqueline (voiced by Rosalyn Damlo) comes down to to earth, a paranormal agent, Glory Warren (voiced by Sarah Crawford), investigates whether Terri is a threat. On top of that, there’s stress, friendship strains, anxiety, and a mutual love confession.
Deadstar Saga
For years I have been writing about indie animated series created by Black animator Brandon Wright. For instance, in in July 2022, I noted Guardian Instance, Diver: The Animated Series, and Silver Lin. Last year, I followed up and noted that Wright had another series in the process: Deadstar Saga, describing it as centering on Black characters and having sci-fi themes. The 22-minute pilot, which released in March 2025, has about 1,800 views on YouTube. Each episode of this series, and others, is created in Blender by Wright, who directs and writes each episode too, which is clearly a lot of work, to say the least. Presently, Wright is working on a new series, Starship Tales.
The pilot not only continues from Wright’s first sci-fi fantasy animated series (in 2011), Deadstar, but it begins with sweeping visuals. It focuses on the perspective of a ship welder as two men boast about how much reward money is being put forward for fugitives, claiming one is a witch and another a soldier. Set in a dystopian landscape where you put seeds in a machine to grow fruit, one character, a woman with green hair named Panela (voiced by Lessen Ley), goes back to the spaceship, sitting in a wooded clearing. It is there that she meets the other protagonist, Harrison “Red” (voiced by Wright himself), her teacher. He occasionally has flashbacks to his traumatic combat experiences. She aims to honor her magical zor energy abilities. Panela and Red are the fugitives mentioned earlier.
The pilot fits together, despite having separate chapters. They both eat the food Panela “made.” In a nice scene, she tries to tell Red how to hold a fork and knife correctly, revealing she used to live in the palace, implying she was once upper class. Later, Panela changes her hair color, likely an effort to conceal her identity, despite giving up her privilege. Red saved her when robot soldiers were about to arrest her for having powers that “belong” to Atlas corporation. The pilot ends with a speaker stating that while Red and Panela are wanted criminals, their crimes are being misrepresented.
The Ebony Witch
Back in April of last year, I talked about The Ebony Witch, based on an ongoing webcomic by Poppihin/Lydiah Mwangi, with various crowdfunding campaigns. Prior to the most recently successful crowdfunding effort, there was an unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign. The pilot centers upon a Black female Witch, her demon teddy bear, and a cat knight who go on a quest in order to find magic, with Poppihin as an animator. This fantasy film is part comedy and part musical, with commenters praising the animation style, the character hair, and feeling that two characters may be flirting with one another.
The pilot is nearly nineteen minutes long (and a second episode on the way). It begins with the Queen declaring that witches have changed from flying the sky and living in forests, where they cause destruction by burning. Viewers are soon introduced to Ebony “Bonnie” (voiced by Jessica Moon), a witch clinging to her teddy bear, as she sneaks through the forest after she was chased out of town. She is cornered by a terrifying crow, until her demon teddy bear kills it, to her dismay and horror. This whole sequence has no dialogue, but there’s music. Ebony chases after a black yellow-eyed cat who stole her teddy bear. She follows it to a dwelling. The cat, and other cats, transform into a cat-man (voiced by Big Ben VA), who serves a mistress: Lady Circe.
Ebony (voiced by Tyannimah) talks to Lady Circe (voiced by Kaveki Ru) who reforms herself. She becomes her friend, as Circe gives her huge green magic witches hat, and cloak. She soon is jettisoned into the sky on a witches broom. I love how that although she is scared at first, she soon finds it exciting. It echoes Elphaba Thropp riding a broom, or Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service and two protagonists of Witchy PreCure doing the same. This wonder is followed by a flash-forward to an older Ebony with her magic witchy powers and her trusty black at at her side. She calls herself a “wicked witch” that wants to create chaos. The final part has a young woman, Issadoh, living in a castle, with her friend saying the queen is upset. I look forward to what comes next.
Skelly Closet Cases
This pilot is listed within the aforementioned playlist shared with me by Breana Navickas, creator of The Three Tomes. Created by Kayla Davis, this mature animation has adult humor, swearing, skeletons, and trauma, following the story of Sarah Kazmer (voiced by LaKira Porter). In interspersed scenes with her therapist, reminding me of Captain Zero (which does the same), she tells him about a undead skeleton living with her and he doesn’t believe her! This pilot, mostly is an animatic, has Sarah agreeing to serve drunks at the skeleton’s dive bar, accessible by her closet, where people party all night long. As such, her sleepiness causes issues during her day job at a “woke” marketing company, led by stuck-up Runi, where has a crush on her co-worker, Blaine.
I liked about this crowdfunded pilot not because it is mainly an animatic like Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want To Be a Magical Girl and The Three Tomes, or Sarah’s weird co-workers (Amy, Rush, Douglin, and Ike). Rather, it was because the story weaves together so nicely. Sarah is a very relatable character since she has a terrible life due to awful boss, parents who don’t care about her much, and having to serve drinks late at night. She’s often annoyed by the undead skeleton, Skelly B. Bones (voiced by Richard Kingston), who she calls a “bone bag.”
Apart from this story, Porter is well-known for her voice work. Previously, she voiced Cassandra in T-Effect: The Angel’s Sun, Tammy Harris in The Three Tomes, Ami in Toward Galaxy’s End, Millie Martins in Animation Station, Rana the Genie in Me & My Genie, Shi in SHIBAA, Jasmine in Pieces of Powder, and Sky in Brooklyn Broke the Universe. Most of those are Black female characters. I look forward to the next part of Skelly Closet Cases. The post-credits scene hints at something darker as a brother strangles his own brother for unknown reasons.
