Artist Tom Beland’s Heartfelt BLACK PANTHER piece becomes a variant cover; The Beat: The News Blog of Comics Culture, March 15, 2018

Taimur Dar, The Beat: The News Blog of Comics Culture; Artist Tom Beland’s Heartfelt BLACK PANTHER piece becomes a variant cover

[Kip Currier: I just chanced upon and got a copy of this moving Black Panther variant comic book cover by cartoonist Tom Beland, which Marvel Comics commissioned, following his original cartoon that went viral.
It's inspiring to see the diverse leadership roles that people can take to communicate messages and ideas that move individuals and societies forward in affirming ways.]

Black Panther variant comic book cover by cartoonist Tom Beland.
James "Kip" Currier (c) 2018

 

"As gratifying as it is to see Black Panther obliterating the myth that films with a predominately black cast can’t find mainstream success, perhaps its greatest achievement is the strong reaction among black girls and boys. If this 7-year old kid taking up the M’Baku challenge doesn’t melt your heart, then it’s probably made out of vibranium!

To say that Black Panther is a watershed moment for superhero films and representation is an understatement. Less than a week after Black Panther smashed box office records on opening weekend in February, cartoonist Tom Beland (True Story, Swear to God) drew this poignant piece. Despite taking Beland less than 15 minutes to draw, to his amazement it was shared over 10K times on social media!"

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief on company's diversity push, using a Japanese pen name; CBS News, June 2, 2018

CBS News; Marvel Comics editor-in-chief on company's diversity push, using a Japanese pen name

""We're 100 percent committed to diversity...Marvel is the world outside your window and we want not only our characters but our creative talent to reflect that world and it hasn't been an easy road to be honest with you. Going back to the 60s when Marvel were created it was created by a number of white men here in New York City who were working in our studio… But now, we do not have any artists that work in Marvel. All our writers and artists work -- are freelancers that live around the world so our talent base has diversified almost more quickly than our character base has."

One of the people in charge of making Marvel more inclusive is vice president of content and character development Sana Amanat. She created Kamala Khan -- Marvel's first Muslim superhero -- who helped sell more than half a million Ms. Marvel books to date."

Why I'm Writing Captain America And why it scares the hell out of me; The Atlantic, February 2018

Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic; Why I'm Writing Captain America

And why it scares the hell out of me

"Finally, but most importantly, I have to thank the black comic creators I admired as a youth, often without even knowing they were black—Christopher Priest, Denys Cowan, Dwayne McDuffie, specifically—without whom none of this would be possible. There has long been a complaint among black comic creators that they are restricted to black characters. I don’t know what it means to live in a world where people restrict what you write, and the reason I don’t know is largely because of the sacrifices of all those who were forced to know before me. I have not forgotten this.

Captain America #1 drops on the Fourth of July. Excelsior, family."

[San Diego Comic-Con]: G. WILLOW WILSON, MS. MARVEL AND THE WOMEN OF MARVEL; Comic Book Resources, 7/24/16

Albert Ching, Comic Book Resources; [San Diego Comic-Con]: G. WILLOW WILSON, MS. MARVEL AND THE WOMEN OF MARVEL:

"It's the last day of Comic-Con International in San Diego, but Marvel ended the show in a big way -- with a crowded and high-profile "Women of Marvel" panel, hosted by Marvel digital producer Judy Stephens and including Director of Character and Content Development Sana Amanat, Marvel social media manager Adri Cowan, Marvel live host Lorraine Cink, "Ms. Marvel" writer G. Willow Wilson, upcoming "Captain Marvel" writer Margaret Stohl, "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." costume designer Ann Foley and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." cast members Chloe Bennet, Ming-Na Wen and Elizabeth Henstridge...

The last person to ask a question at the panel asked where the panel thought things would be in another five years, given that a few years ago Marvel had no female-led titles (and now has 20). Amanat said she hopes that Marvel will be in a place where the number of female-led books no longer needs to be countered, and different genders and sexual orientations are "completely normalized.""