Black Panther #1

History

Marvel announced the collaboration in September 2015, and the news — pairing Coates with veteran cover artist and illustrator Brian Stelfreeze — was widely described as the most significant superhero-comics announcement of that year. Stelfreeze has said that he and Coates were given unusual creative latitude by Marvel editorial, with Stelfreeze using that freedom to redesign Wakanda as a civilization that blended ancient African traditions with advanced futurist technology — a conscious Afrofuturist visual framework. Stelfreeze also fought specifically to bring colorist Laura Martin onto the book, with whom he had previously run a studio, regarding her contribution as essential to the series' distinct look. The arc title, 'A Nation Under Our Feet,' was drawn from the Pulitzer Prize-winning work of the same name by historian Steven Hahn, which examined the lives of Black Americans in the post-Reconstruction era — a literary debt that signals the intellectual seriousness Coates brought to his first comics script.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published April 6, 2016 by Marvel Comics (cover-dated June 2016); written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, art by Brian Stelfreeze, colors by Laura Martin, letters by Joe Sabino — this was Coates's first-ever comic-book writing credit.
• First appearance of villain Zenzi (an empath capable of manipulating mass emotions, created by Coates and Stelfreeze), first appearance of villain Tetu (a Wakandan shaman and nature-manipulator, also created by Coates and Stelfreeze), and first appearance of the rebel faction known as The People.
• Dora Milaje members Ayo and Aneka — previously established characters — appear prominently and begin their defection from the royal guard, a plot thread that would culminate in their becoming the Midnight Angels across the 12-issue arc.
• The opening story arc is titled 'A Nation Under Our Feet,' borrowing its name from Steven Hahn's Pulitzer Prize-winning history of Black American political life after Reconstruction.
• Coates was announced for the project in September 2015; the issue shipped with 25 variant covers, including a Hip-Hop Variant (first announced in September 2015) that sampled Jay-Z's Black Album iconography.
• The issue received more than 300,000 pre-orders ahead of its April 6 release date, and according to Diamond Comic Distributors it was the best-selling comic book of April 2016.
• The collected first volume (issues #1–12) includes a reprint of Black Panther's debut appearance in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four #52 (1966), contextualizing the character's 50-year history for new readers drawn in by Coates's fame.
• The 'A Nation Under Our Feet' story arc was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.

Full credits

Variants (24)