This weekend, I attended VirtuousCon and sat in on a panel entitled “Worldbuilding Wakanda: Beyond the Comics.” The panel was hosted by Angélique Roché (a journalist, attorney, and writer) and explored how the esteemed creators Evan Narcisse, Sheree Renée Thomas, Fred Joseph, and Karama Horne are continuing Wakanda’s legacy beyond the comics. In other words, these brilliant artists are using transmedia storytelling to explore the nuances of Wakandan society and celebrate diversity of the fictitious nation, which has implications for the diversity of blackness in general.
Since I have spent the past few weeks researching how black authors can use transmedia storytelling to increase representation and visibility, I thought I would include some examples from these creators here.
If you haven’t purchased the following books/comics, I recommend that you check them out now. Each work makes a unique contribution to the world of Wakanda and explores an element of that society that is not portrayed on the big screen.
- Black Panther: Panther’s Rage, a novel by Sheree Renée Thomas
- Protectors of Wakanda: A History and Training Manual of the Dora Milaje from the Marvel Universe, a novel by Karama Horne
- Rise of the Black Panther, a comic by Paul Renaud, Evan Narcisse, and Ta-Nehisi Coates