Studio 8 has signed on to adapt Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3’s superhero series BLACK. Director Seith Mann, who has worked on The Wire, The Walking Dead, Elementary, Heroes, and more, has been tapped to work on the adaptation, according to Deadline. Osajyefo and Smith will co-produce, and Black Mask Studios’ Matteo Pizzolo will produce.

Drawn by Jamal Igle with covers by Khary Randolph, BLACK examines a world in which only black people have superpowers from the perspective of a young black man who survives being gunned down by police. Black Mask released the six-issue series, which was funded via a highly successful Kickstarter campaign. Barnes & Noble named the first volume of BLACK among its best of 2017 (see “Barnes & Noble Names The Best Comics Of 2017”).

The adaptation is undoubtedly a direct result of the success of Marvel’s Black Panther, a film made by, starring, and about black characters that has shattered records around the world (see “'Pacific Rim: Uprising' Tops Weak Box Office”). Studio 8 plans to build a franchise around BLACK and already has designs on followup BLACK [AF]: America’s Sweetheart from Osajyefo, Smith, artist Jennifer Johnson, and cover illustrator Sho Murase. A third comic series in the franchise, BLACK [AF]: Widows and Orphans, is scheduled to launch this week.