Just one thing: a Shuri-centric comic book series will be badass. Be very afraid, colonisers! OK, just kidding. When Avengers: Infinity War ended with evil, brooding Thanos halving the universe, I was shocked to see that Black Panther was part of the death count, the newest superhero to be added to the Marvel pantheon and one of the biggest Marvel products to date.
But after the shock wore off, I realised that his little sister Shuri had not vaporised and would perhaps inherit the crown. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler then threw gas on the fire, suggesting what the franchise needed was an all-female, Shuri-focused film.
Now the comic books are getting in on the act. Shuri is getting her own Black Panther comic book series, and fans are ecstatic. The new series will be penned by…wait for it… Afrofuturist author Nnedi Okorafor! Well, it’s not much of a surprise, given Okorafor’s proximity to Marvel comic properties, contributing to a several-issue run entitled Black Panther: Long Live The King, as well as the ongoing Wakanda Forever series, a spinoff focusing on the stories of the Dora Milaje.
(Editor’s note: I personally thought Nnedi’s take on Black Panther was a travesty to the genre and really didn’t anything to the canon, but that’s just me. I’m holding out that this one will be significantly better since she isn’t being forced to create new canon all on her own).
?Announcement: I’m writing Shuri. ?
“Black Panther’s Sister Shuri Is Getting Her Own Comic Book Series & It’s Happening So, So Soon” https://t.co/UkkQYGQci8 pic.twitter.com/bKximMptiD
— Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) July 17, 2018
Speaking to Bustle, Okorafor’s was thrilled to be taking on this new series, “Shuri is an African young woman of genius level intelligence who is obsessed with technology and has travelled spiritually so far into the past that she’s seen Wakanda before it was Wakanda. The Ancestors call her Ancient Future. And she’s super ambitious. What do I love about her? Alllll that and more. She’s a character in the Marvel Universe who really sings to me.”
The new Shuri comic book series will debut this coming October.
When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.
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