Lee, Kirby, O’Neil, Claremont, Nocenti, Starlin, Shooter, Simonson, Gruenwald, Bendis, Brubaker, Rucka, Simone, Morrison, Fraction, Deconnick, Johns, Slott, Thompson, Snyder, Hickman.
McGregor…Priest…Hudlin…
The previous list is what I would consider a list of some of the greatest Comic Book Writers. It’s obviously incomplete as there’s many I left off but I chose them because all of them have had at least one Industry Shaking run on a Character. The kind of Comic Book Title Runs that by the 4th or 5th issue you begin to realize, “I’m reading History.” Ta-Nehisi Coates has been added to their ranks and he recently ended a 5 year run on one of the greatest comic book characters of all time : Black Panther.
He’s my #4 on my favorite characters of all time. T’Challa is a king, in every sense of the word and he changed the game in ’66 and in ’18 and allowed little black boys and girls to be able to look at a page or a screen and feel recognized, seen and not only accepted, but celebrated. I never had to worry about not seeing myself represented on the page or the screen and I never realized how important it was until Black Panther.
Now, I personally had to wait on Writing this issue because I wanted to Include Coates’ Run on Captain America that also recently ended…but something came up and those thoughts will be in a future video.
As for this Black Panther run, I wanted Ta-Nehisi Coates to write him forever but everything has to come to an end and I love that even in the ending, T’Challa still carries on and now I can’t wait to see what John Ridley does with the character starting in August.
When Coates was brought on in 2016, I had no idea who he was. I hadn’t read a single article of The Atlantic, hadn’t read either of his fantastic works at the time of Between The World and Me or This Beautiful Struggle, and I hadn’t heard him speak as an analyst on any of the news channels. I’ve since become much more familiar with him and he’s actually become one of my favorite writers. Coates brought a humility to T’Challa that was previously unseen. He maintained his regality and his noble nature but he allowed to look behind the throne, so to speak. T’Challa is not perfect by any means but what separates him from other characters is the fact that he struggles with those imperfections so much internally. He loses friends and mentors, he fights against people he once trusted, he leads even when he’s not certain of the victory. That’s what makes T’Challa different. His strength isn’t something that comes from an herb or Vibranium, his strength is in his heart. If T’Challa has one fatal flaw then it’s his stubbornness to accept help from those around him.
Coates understands this and nails it perfectly.
I think the second half of the run(The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda) is where he’s really able to shine, particularly with his world building abilities. He had set a lot up in the earlier issues without us even knowing. Especially when it comes to the gods of Wakanda. This clearly wasn’t a story he was writing month by month, this had been planned for years. This arc showed us what does a King do when he realizes he’s gone too far and that his kingdom may be destined to follow in the same paths as their enemies. Beautiful Arc.
Now, although T’Challa is the star, the supporting cast is wonderful as well. Okoye, Shuri and Ramonda are all clear standouts and The Maroons might be my favorite “New”(Kinda) group in comics, but for me, it’s T’Challa’s relationship with Storm that steals the show. They are a King and a Goddess on one page and then become these vulnerable, complex lovers on the next. It’s this balance that Coates creates that makes it the best part of the book for me.
I could go on for hours about why you should check this out but I’ve rambled on enough. So go check out this and other fantastic Black Panther Stories. Black Panther is freedom, he’s power, he’s all that is truly good in this world. Wakanda Forever!
