Stelfreeze talks reviving the legend, honing his craft, and helping comic book newbie Ta-Nehisi Coates hit the ground running.
Marvel Comics is well aware that—cameo appearance by a certain squinty-eyed web slinger aside—the upcoming Captain America: Civil War will be a massive coming out party for Black Panther. But before we saw a single frame of actor Chadwick Boseman in the iconic black costume of the African king/superhero T’Challa, Marvel put in motion a headline-grabbing plan to revive a hero who has cast a big shadow in the comics world since his 1961 debut (where he happened to take out the entire Fantastic Four singlehandedly). The announcement that author, journalist, and MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner Ta-Nehisi Coates would be collaborating with artist Brian Stelfreeze on a return of the Panther in April 2016 was met with almost universal OMGs.