The Black Panther #1 cover by artist Brian Stelfreeze. The new series of Black Panther comics will be written by author Ta-Nehisi Coates.; Credit: Courtesy of Marvel

2016 will be a big year for the Marvel super hero Black Panther.

One of the last times that the character was in the limelight in recent years was the 2010 animated series. 

Since then things have been sparse, with group appearances in the comic books and sporadic showings on the TV shows.

Now, not only will he be a part of hashtag Team Iron Man in upcoming film Captain America: Civil War, but he’ll also be getting a brand new comic book series written by author Ta-Nehisi Coates. It’s exciting not just because the character hasn’t gotten much attention lately, but also because he’s one of Marvel’s premier heroes who is also Black. Whether it’s behind the scenes or as characters, Black representation in comics has never been a given.  So a character like Black Panther getting this much ink could be seen as a positive step.  Take Two’s A Martinez spoke with Frances Gateward, an Associate Professor at Cal State Northridge. Her new anthology is entitled, “The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art.” 

Audio coming soon