Joe Quesada is heading back to Marvel, and teaming up with Christopher Priest, for a brand new series: Marvel Knights: The World to Come. Oh, and they’re killing off T’Challa, the Black Panther.
The six-issue series set in the future of the Marvel universe — which is “almost already completed in its entirety,” per a press release from the publisher — finds T’Challa dead, leaving not only Wakanda’s Vibranium unguarded, but also a “cryptic vault of dark secrets.” This leads to a global conflict among Marvel’s heroes and villains as 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.”
Marvel Knights has a long and storied history, as recalled by Quesada. “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.”
Continued Quesada, “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.”
Added Executive Editor Nick Lowe, “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. 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!”
The first issue will feature a wraparound cover by Quesada. You can check that out as well as interior art with colors by Richard Isanove, below.
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