Hot on the heels of their Digital First Black Panther comic, Marvel is getting further into the Black Panther-verse with
Rise of the Black Panther, an “early years” story to be written by Evan Narcisse. (Can’t find the name of the artist but the cover is by Brian Stelfreeze. Narcisse is best known as a journalist, currently for io9, and he’s a Certified Beat Pal, so go Evan!
Obviously Marvel is ramping up its printed Black Panther output in time for the movie, a smart move. io9 has the scoops:
io9: How did Rise of the Black Panther come about? Were you trying to moonlight on me?
Narcisse: The project came about when I got a text from Ta-Nehisi [Coates]. After reading a really in-depth interview I did about his run on the title, editor Wil Moss asked him to reach out to see if I’d be interested in working on a Black Panther project.
Is this sort of a Black Panther: Year One?
Narcisse: Don’t get the Distinguished Competition’s legal department a reason to look for me, Rob… but yes, this is essentially the story of T’Challa’s first year as king, where he makes the decision to end centuries of secrecy and let the world know about Wakanda. It’s a choice that angers many in Wakanda and attracts the attention of the global community on Earth-616.
So there you go, Ta-Nehisi Coates is still staying very involved in the Panther-verse and in a very good way!
