Marvel’s latest Black Panther series will only reach issue #3 in January, but if you add up all his previous series, you get 200 issues — so Marvel’s celebrating with an oversized issue.
The comic is already pretty special, as it’s the third issue of the new series by Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley and artist Juann Cabal. Ridley follows Ta-Nehisi Coates on the title and promises the comic will be a “hybrid espionage-Super Hero thriller, but at its core, it’s a love story.”
The cover to the first issue teased an appearance by Storm, and she’s front and center on issue #200:
Marvel says the issue will include “bonus stories celebrating the past and foreshadowing the future of the Black Panther and the world of Wakanda.” It will also introduce a new hero who “rises up to protect the people of Wakanda while T’Challa finds his life and role as Black Panther thrown into turmoil.”
And oh yeah — mutants:
The main story will find T’Challa facing off against the X-Men and his ex-wife. He goes to visit her on the newly terraformed Mars, but Marvel says the reunion isn’t so happy.
Here’s another variant cover:
Black Panther #3, or #200 with legacy numbering, arrives in stores Jan. 26.