Novelizing Black Panther -- ep. by Howard Rambsy II

A brief take on the expanding world of Black Panther novelizations, tracing how writers from Jesse J. Holland to Sheree Renée Thomas extend Wakanda’s remarkable literary legacy.

Written by Howard Rambsy II 

Read by Kassandra Timm 

Transcript

In 1966, two Jewish comic-book creators came up with a novel idea: a leader of a fictive African country that possessed a special mineral, vibranium. Over decades, various creators, white and Black, composed comic-book storylines featuring T’Challa, Black Panther, and Wakanda. Then, there was a major blockbuster movie, Black Panther. And now, more recently, we have writers novelizing Black Panther.

You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions, a podcast about the reach and circulation of African American literary art and more.

For many decades, writers have produced novels based on comic books and science fiction franchises such as Star Trek and Star Wars. But for some reason, there were no novelizations of Black Panther.

In 2017, Jesse J. Holland published Black Panther: Who Is the Black Panther?, a novel based on Reginald Hudlin’s comic book story arc.

The popularity and remarkable reception of the 2018 Black Panther movie created an even bigger demand for stories on Black Panther and Wakanda.

In 2018, Ronald L. Smith published the middle-grade novel Black Panther: The Young Prince, and in the same year, Jim McCann published Marvel’s Black Panther: The Junior Novel. The next year, Nic Stone published a young adult novel, Shuri: A Black Panther Novel.

In 2020, Ronald L. Smith published the YA novel Black Panther: The Young Prince – Spellbound, which was a sequel to his previous Black Panther novel. Nic Stone followed with a sequel to her novel, Shuri: The Vanished in 2021. The appearance of middle-grade and young adult novels reflected an interest among publishers in participating in the large and growing market for young readers.

In 2022, Jesse J. Holland edited a collection of short stories, Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, which included short stories by Linda D. Addison, Maurice Broaddus, Tananarive Due, and Nikki Giovanni, among others.

In 2025, Sheree Renée Thomas published Black Panther: Panther’s Rage, and Suyi Davies Okungbowa published Marvel: Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.

The Black Panther saga continues to develop in new and exciting ways, producing fascinating and ongoing remarkable receptions.

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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy, edited by Elizabeth Cali, and read by me, Kassandra Timm.

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