BNP At Home Recommends: Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet

Writer: Ta-Nehisi Coates / Artist: Brian Stelfreeze / Marvel Comics With Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther run nearing its end, it’s a great time to revisit the beginning with the “Nation Under Our Feet” saga. In one of the boldest approaches in the history of the character, we see a dutiful T’Challa struggling to rule over a more conflicted Wakanda. In a time where conflicts both in and outside of the nation have lead some of its people to question their ruling body, a terrorist agitator stirs up trouble among the status quo. Meanwhile, there is dissension in the ranks among the Dora Milaje that leads to the increasing restlessness. The story doesn’t just call into question whether or not T’Challa is king enough to rescue Wakanda from imploding. It questions whether or not Wakanda even still needs/wants a king….or to be rescued, for that matter. The relevance to the current civil unrest is obvious right away, but “A Nation Under Our Feet” is more than just a political revolution. It’s almost like a Wakandan documentary or the most lit episode of Parts Unknown of all time. The level of world building from Coates is beyond laudable. For the first time in recent memory, Wakanda actually feels like a living breathing society with landmarks, cultural differences in the various regions, and ideological disagreements. I feel like I know more about Wakanda in a matter of volumes than I do about Gotham City after damn near 30 years of reading comics. And the level of representation we …