ta-nehisi coates

Marvel’s reveal of its Marvel NOW line of comics set for release in the wake of Civil War II has taken the form of a steady drip of announcements over the past week and a half, but now news is flooding in, and not all from official sources. Leaked scans of this week's Marvel NOW Previews magazine revealing the publisher's line-up for October and beyond have hit the internet via sites such as Reddit and 4chan. We’ve rounded up all the information we could find to give you a sense of the new landscape of the Marvel Universe this fall.

Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze's new volume of Black Panther has already been one of the biggest crossover success stories of the year. It seems like everyone wants to get their hands on a copy, and President Barack Obama even name-dropped it in a recent commencement speech at Howard University, Coates' alma-mater. If you missed the first issue, or are struggling to keep up with the many plates that are spinning as Wakanda begins to crumble, Marvel has put together a video that features Coates going into detail about the new characters and status quo established in Black Panther #1, and it's set to the fierce tunes of rap supergroup Run The Jewels.

On this day in 1966, in the pages of Fantastic Four #52, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the world to Wakanda, the most technologically advanced civilzation in the world, hidden in the heart of the African continent. At the head of this great nation was its king, T’Challa, who had recently assumed the throne from his father, and with it the title of the Black Panther.

Celebrated journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ upcoming comics debut, alongside legenadary artist Brian Stelfreeze, has already made Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther series one of the most hotly anticipated comics of the year. Coates is known for his grounded and insightful takes on contemporary social issues, and how they affect the lives of black communities in America and beyond. Today, Coates has published an essay at The Atlantic about his transition from journalism to comics, and how his creative process has grown and adapted to a visual medium. The Atlantic has also provided a preview of several fully-lettered pages from Black Panther #1, with gorgeous art from Stelfreeze displaying T’Challa (and his new costume) in action.

Black comic book characters are enjoying a renaissance right now on both the page and screen, whehter it's Sam Wilson as Captain America, Bumblebee front-and-center in DC Super Hero Girls, Vixen guest-starring on Arrow, or Black Panther making his big-screen debut in Captain America: Civil War this summer and getting a solo series from Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze. But many of comics' best-known black characters are the work of white writers and artists, from a time when the industry didn't offer many opportunities for black writers and artists. The next generation of black heroes will come from black creators who can tell their own stories and offer up their own unique creations. From traditional superheroes with a twist, to everyday people trying to survive in an apocalyptic sci-fi world, these black comic book creators are doing it all.

Comics are often set in opposition to “serious” literature, but that convention is one that has long been flouted by highly esteemed, award-winning authors who grew up reading comic books and aren’t ashamed to talk about their continued love for the medium. Some of them have even tried their hand at writing comics, or have populated their novels with characters who are cartoonists. Here are ten literary luminaries who have close relationships with comics. Some may surprise you --- but a few won't come as much of a shock! Most are living; some are literary giants that we've lost. Together they represent a diverse swath of the globe. Something they all have in common is excellence: Among these ten writers are three National Book Award winners, two Pulitzer Prize winners, two Mann Booker Award winners, two Nobel Prize Laureates, one MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, one National Humanities Medal recipient, one Officer of the French Legion of Honor, and one knight!

We all knew a Black Panther title had to be on the way from Marvel, given the character's upcoming movie appearance in Captain America: Civil War. We also knew it was a title the publisher had to get right. Black Panther is arguably the most important black superhero in comics, not just because he's the first, and not just because of the resonance of his name, but because his strength, status, and ingenuity mark him out as an icon of black excellence. Marvel needed to pick a creative team that showed due respect to everything the character stands for. Today Marvel revealed that writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze are the creative team for a brand new Black Panther series. Hey, Marvel; good job.