It looks like that dope Ta-Nehisi Coates Black Panther comic book series is getting a prequel!

According to io9, Evan Narcisse will be writing Rise of the Black Panther, a new series exploring King T’Challa’s/Black Panther’s origins.

According to Narcisse, "Rise of the Black Panther 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.”

Narcisse, a self-proclaimed Black Panther fan, is super excited to be able to “breathe life” into an aspect of the character he’s always wondered about.

So, how did this come about?

True to “we’re living in the future” form, Narcisse simply got a text from Coates!

Marvel hopes the story featuring a younger T’Challa “rebelling against what’s always been done” will stand in contrast to Coates’ story arc where the Black Panther “represented the historical status quo.”

“One of the questions that faces black comics fans, critics, creators — or those from other marginalized groups — is this quandary of what to do with what we’ve inherited. The characters with messy, contradictory, well-meaning executions and fondly remembered embarrassments,” said Narcisse. “How do you pull that into the future so that it’s something that’s enjoyable, something that can survive and thrive? It’s a question I dealt with in my career and T’Challa faces it, too, in a different way.”

Rise of the Black Panther #1 is set to be released in January 2018, just before the African superhero hits the big screen. Exciting!

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Rise of the Black Panther

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