Written by Nnedi Okorafor and drawn by artist André Lima Araújo and colorist Chris O’Halloran, this super-work brings the nation of Wakanda to the forefront. Okorafor promises a story that digs deeper than ever before into what it means to live in this secretive city:
You’ll see the Black Panther interacting with tech-hacking village kids, vibranium-affected wildlife, and off-grid communities in Wakanda known as “mute zones.” Not only is this a deeply personal story about T’Challa, you’ll also see a side of the African country of Wakanda that no one’s seen before. Oh, and there’s a mysterious monster in the countryside causing problems for everyone.
This first issue is all about setting the mood for the story, and it does an amazing job of presenting us this new city–even after it’s attacked by a ten-foot-tall octopus-like creature.
Once the creature is gone, the vibranium that supports the city’s electricity supply is also gone, leaving T’challa without his suit and the people without protection. (Vibranium-based energy being something they had been over confident about.) Now, T’challa must travel to the so called “mute zones” and find out what caused this serious security breach… before anyone who wants to harm them finds out about it.
The series starts with great ambience, and a sort of dry humor that I find totally enjoyable.
Having started this first issue, I am more than looking forward to seeing what’s next. The team is great and I think Okorafor is one of the most inspiring female writers out there.
In case you didn’t know, Nnedi Okorafor is from Chicago and has Nigerian (Igbo) parents. A former teacher of creative literature at Chicago State University, she is now a Full Professor at the University at Buffalo, New York (SUNY). Her first book for adults, Who Fears Death, received the World Fantasy Award. She has also won a Parallax Award, a Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, and several others. I covered her Akata Witch book in 2015, a book that won the Best Book of the Year on Amazon.
Her new trilogy, starting with Binti, tells the story of an African woman who is selected to attend the Best University in the Galaxy. Binti has been attracting a lot of attention, for all the right reasons.
If you want to know more about Nnedi, follow her page, see her talk about Binti in this inspiring TED, and catch the first chapter of Binti: The Night Masquerade on Tor.com. You can thank me later.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this title for review purposes.
Featured image by André Araujo for Marvel
