Overview

A timely look at contemporary African American creative works through the lens of Ta-Nehisi Coates's ground-breaking entry into the comic book industry. Writing Black Panther traces Ta-Nehisi Coates’s presence in comic books from 2015-2023, focusing on his contributions as the writer for Black Panther. His ambitious 50-issue run of the Marvel comic coincided with ongoing and multifaceted debates concerning diversity and inclusion – what we might call representation struggles – at a key moment in the history of comics with respect to Black writers. Howard Rambsy II locates Coates’s contributions at the intersection of African American literary studies and comic book studies, showing a dynamic convergence that redefines both fields and broadens the scope of Black creativity. Writing Black Panther demonstrates key aspects of Coates’s comics narratives that overlap with major themes and topics in African American literature. These include the depiction of multiple Black characters, exploration of intra-racial and interracial conflicts, excavations of Black histories, displays of Afrofuturist aesthetics, and attention to cultural geography. As a prominent essayist, bestselling author, and popular comic book writer, Coates stands out as a notable gateway figure who bridges multiple genres. His time as a comics writer constitutes an important, defining phase of his professional career. And as this book shows, Coates’s work on Black Panther went a long way to dispelling the myth that “diversity doesn’t sell” in the comic book industry.

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Reviews

Using Ta-Nehisi Coates and his tenure penning comics as an extended case study, Howard Rambsy II employs meticulous research, impressive detail, and a constant awareness of the issues surrounding representation and diversity to offer literary scholars, comic book readers, writers and journalists, and anyone else interested in heroes and history a transformational scholarly examination of the intricacies of creative success – or not – in a divided America. Writing Black Panther is an informative, delightful, and engagingly haunting exploration. * Trudier Harris, J. Carlyle Sitterson Distinguished Professor of English, Emerita, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA * This book offers a unique and timely analysis of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Black Panther run, bridging African American literary studies and comic book studies in a way that fills a critical gap in scholarship. It is well-suited for academic audiences and cultural studies enthusiasts, aligning with the cultural impact of comics. There isn’t a book out there like this one. * Sheena C. Howard, Professor of Communication, Rider University, USA *

Author Information

Howard Rambsy II is Distinguished Research Professor of Literature at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA, where he specializes in African American fiction, poetry, and comic books. He is the author of The Black Arts Enterprise (2011) and Bad Men: Creative Touchstones of Black Writers (2020), and he is creator of Remarkable Receptions, a podcast series on African American literature.

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