Roxane Gay Becomes Marvel’s First Ever Black Female Comic Book Writer
Roxane Gay will be the first ever black female writer for Marvel Comics. Yeah, we know, it’s 2016 and wild that it’s taken this long. But we’re going to focus on celebrating the long overdue achievement.
Gay will be teaming up with Ta-Nehisi Coates for a separate story in Marvel’s current Black Panther run. It will specifically focus on Ayo and Aneka, two lovers and former members of the Dora Milaje, the Black Panther’s personal all-female security detail, according to The New York Times.
“It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done, and I mean that in the best possible way,” said Gay.
The writer is primarily known for her work pulling from her own Hatian American upbringing, including her novel, An Untamed State, which is being turned into a feature film with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Gina Prince-Bythewood attached.
The series, entitled World of Wakanda, will also include a 10-page additional story co-written by Yona Harvey and Afua Richardson and art from Alitha Martinez to focus on other characters in Wakanda and work as an anthology for the most advanced country in the Marvel Universe.
After Marvel announced that a young black girl named Riri Williams would be filling in as Iron Man later this year, fans expressed frustration that the title was being written by yet another white man. In particular, Brian Michael Bendis, Marvel’s go-to diversity guy, would be taking the charge.
The result being that, in a matter of weeks, Marvel’s gone from no black women on their writing staff to three. This is a step in the right direction and it’ll hopefully benefit the content.
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