Marvel’s World To Come

Marvel Knights returns! For those who weren’t there 25 years ago, this sub-imprint of Marvel really made the publisher what it is today. Starting with Daredevil and Black Panther, Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti found the right creators (not necessarily themselves) to bring new life to characters that the average reader had started overlooking.

And really, you can give credit to later writers like Reggie Hudlin and Jonathan Maberry for fleshing out the World of Wakanda, but the man who really started it all was Christopher Priest with a groundbreaking Black Panther series.

So if Marvel Studios feels like it’s floundering a bit with what to do with Wakanda all these years after the tragic passing of actor Chadwick Boseman, Priest and Quesada may just have a way forward. Always look to the comics. The two creators join with master colorist Richard Isanove to bring their vision of Wakanda’s future to life. Yes, Wakanda’s future is Marvel’s future. And I can’t wait.

From Marvel Comics:

n 1998, the Marvel Knights line reignited the comic book industry and redefined Marvel storytelling for the 21^st century. Now, over 25 years later, two of the imprint’s key creators—influential writer, artist and former Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada and acclaimed writer Christopher Priest—present a new evolution of the Marvel Universe under the groundbreaking Marvel Knights banner this June in MARVEL KNIGHTS: THE WORLD TO COME!

Developed and almost already completed in its entirety, MARVEL KNIGHTS: THE WORLD TO COME is a six-issue series where Quesada and Priest combine their decades of experience crafting masterful comic book sagas to produce an entire new vision of the Marvel Universe. The story begins in Wakanda with startling developments centered around T’Challa, Storm, Shuri and more that will reverberate across the globe, changing the Marvel mythos as you know it and boldly reinventing its most legendary heroes.

The King of Wakanda is DEAD, leaving unguarded the world’s most advanced technology, most precious metal, and a cryptic vault of dark secrets while triggering global conflicts among Marvel’s heroes, villains and mutants. With T’Challa gone and the future of the Marvel Universe teetering on a vibranium knife edge, a tribal challenge ensues for the Wakandan throne and its mysterious victor will emerge as the new leader of Wakanda and usher in THE WORLD TO COME.

Recounting the history behind Marvel Knights, Quesada said, “In September 1998, Marvel Knights Daredevil #1 hit the stands, followed by The Punisher, Inhumans, and Black Panther. Eight months earlier, Jimmy Palmiotti, Nanci Dakesian, and I, along with our creators, spent endless hours and sleepless nights producing the best books we could. We knew they looked different—edgier than anything Marvel was publishing at the time—but in a struggling comic book industry, there was no guarantee anyone would notice. We were confident they’d do well, but we didn’t anticipate the overwhelming fan reaction or the lasting impact Marvel Knights would have on Marvel.

“Fast forward to October 2017—my best bud, mentor, and Marvel Knights Black Panther writer (and, for my money, the best writer in comics), Christopher Priest, pitched me an idea rooted in his original Marvel Knights take on T’Challa and Wakanda. It was insane, beautiful, and edgy as hell. I told him I HAD to draw it—and that we should go even bigger.”

“Priest delivered an opus—a journey that lets us—and fans—celebrate those original books while taking familiar characters to new and unexpected places. I haven’t had this much fun drawing a project since Marvel Knights Daredevil #1,” Quesada said of the new series.

“More than twenty years ago I started as an Editorial Assistant on Marvel Knights books and now I get to watch Joe and Priest celebrate it with this masterwork,” says Executive Editor Nick Lowe. “We’ve been working on this for a long time (Joe’s finishing the last page of #5 this week) but I can’t believe the rest of the world gets in on it with us this June!”