Black panther panel discussion 2
Photo Credit: Shahar Azran/WireImage
Ta-Nehisi Coates Penned a Moving Eulogy for Chadwick Boseman
Ta-Nehisi Coates paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman in the latest Marvel Comics issue.
The latest issue of Marvel Comics offers a moving tribute to the franchise's brightest stars. On Wednesday, Ta-Nehisi Coates, who penned storylines for the Black Panther franchise from 2016 to 2018, wrote a eulogy honoring the late Chadwick Boseman. Boseman passed away in August at the age of 43.
The eulogy honors Boseman's alma mater, Howard University, Black authors and philosophers, as well as the king he portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"In the Black Panther mythos," Coates writes, "T'Challa often retreats to his City of the Dead, where all the previous kings and queens of Wakanda have been buried. There, T'Challa finds wisdom and counsel from his ancestors who have gone before. It was in such a city, almost 25 years ago, that I met Chadwick 'Chad' Boseman. Our City of the Dead was Howard University, a place where we felt our ancestors — Kwame Ture, Donny Hathaway, Zora Neale Hurston — walked with us."
\u201cMarvel's comic book tribute to Chadwick Boseman (written by Ta-Nehisi Coates/drawn by Brian Stelfreeze) is truly beautiful.\u201d— alex (@alex) 1601469485
"It would not have been enough for Chad to become a leading man in Hollywood," he continues. "His art would have to somehow advance the ancestral war for justice. Not that Chad needed much urging. I met him leading a protest with my friend Kamilah Forbes to preserve the dignity of Howard's fine arts college...Before I knew Chad the artist, I knew Chad the warrior. And he was regal even then. There was something almost otherworldly about Chad — I would listen to him talk and only catch about 60 percent of what he was actually saying. It took time to realize that this was because Chad was always a few steps ahead of everyone."
Read Ta-Nehisi Coates' full eulogy at ComicBook.com.
