Marvel, via Nerdist, have announced award-winning novelist Nnedi Okorafor is writing “Black Panther: Long Live the King,” a biweekly ComiXology exclusive series starting in December. Andre Araujo (“Avengers A.I.,” “Spidey”) is illustrating the six-issue series, with Chris O’Halloran coloring.
The storyline is simply described as being concurrent with Ta-Nehisi Coates’ current ongoing, with T’Challa being pitted against a “terrifying new threat.” comiXology more specifically states on the book’s page that the antagonist is “a massive monster tearing through the country [of Wakanda], leaving a trail of destruction in its wake!”
Okorafor has written for Marvel before: she contributed the story ‘Blessing in Disguise’ to “Venomverse: War Stories,” which garnered global attention for its female Nigerian protagonist Ngozi. (Amusingly, T’Challa appears in that story, and dies, paving the way for the symbiote-bonded Ngozi to become his successor.) Okorafor is herself Nigerian-American, and told press that the character was a tribute to the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
‘Blessing in Disguise’ contributed to a rise in the author’s profile, though it was often erroneously reported that Ngozi was Marvel’s first Nigerian superhero (poor Idie Okonkwo). Okorafor has also written for Disney’s Star Wars anthology, From A Certain Point of View (due out today), and her 2010 novel Who Fears Death is currently being developed at HBO as a TV series with George R.R. Martin as an executive producer.
“Black Panther: Long Live the King” #1 will be released December 13; #2 will follow on December 27.
