What a year for Black Panther!
The Wakandan King made his film debut in this year’s box-office smash hit, “Captain America: Civil War” while celebrating his 50th anniversary. Scripted by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the comic sold 253,259 copies in its first month, making it the best selling comic thus far in 2016. That number will likely increase by roughly 50,000 copies once re-orders are factored in.
By comparison, in second place on the list, “Star Wars: Poe Dameron” sold 175,000 copies. Often considered a B-list Marvel superhero, the character’s sales mark mirrors that of Marvel’s best selling solo superheroes of 2015: “Invincible Iron Man No. 1” which sold 279,000 copies and “Spider-Gwen No. 1” which sold 254,000 copies.
Black Panther is the first black mainstream superhero and Coates has garnered stellar reviews in his re-imaging of the character. A solo film for the prince from the fictional African nation of Wakanda is scheduled for July 6, 2018 and is hotly anticipated.