The Black Panther is quickly becoming the hottest thing going at Marvel Comics. He stole every scene he graced in Captain America: Civil War, and his solo comic series by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze is selling like crazy (and is insanely good, too). It’s no surprise then that Marvel announced a new Black Panther spinoff series titled Black Panther: World of Wakanda. You have to give the people what they want and what they clearly want is more Black Panther comic books.
The big surprise, however, is that the series will start of being co-written by Roxane Gay, who is known for her nonfiction work like Bad Feminist. The announcement was made at Diamond Comics’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con and picked up by io9, includes the news Ta-Nehisi Coates will be co-writing with her; as he was also new to the world of comics when he started with Black Panther, it seems clear that Marvel is looking for fresh and unique voices to tell these stories. If the sales and response to Black Panther are any indication, it’s a strategy that is paying off big time with readers.
Art will be handled by Alitha Martinez, who is perhaps best known for some superb work on DC Comics’ Batgirl. There are some preview pages of Black Panther: World of Wakanda floating around now and they look pretty fantastic. Martinez is a great addition to what is quickly becoming one of the best-looking corners of the Marvel Universe.
Each arc of Black Panther: World of Wakanda is going to focus on a different character or characters within Black Panther’s world. We know that Gay’s arc will take place before the Coates and Stelfreeze series, and that it’ll showcase two characters that play a role in the uprising against T’Challa that is currently a focus of the main title. After that, the sky’s the limit for the series. New writers and, most likely, artists will come in for each arc and help to develop the world of the Black Panther. Wakanda is definitely an underutilized area, so it’ll be cool to see Marvel build on that and give us more history and characters.
If you liked the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War—and who the hell didn’t love the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War?—then now is the perfect time to check out his comic series. The main title, Black Panther, is one of the best looking, most intriguing comics Marvel is putting out and this new title looks be the icing on that delicious cake. We can’t wait to see who Marvel taps for upcoming story arcs. Here’s hoping they continue to look outside the traditional comic book stable.
Images: Marvel Comics
