Marvel’s Black Panther made history once again this past week, becoming the first superhero movie to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (among a total of seven Oscar nominations). And, to mark the occasion Jeremy Kirby, the grandson of legendary comic book artist and Black Panther co-creator Jack Kirby, has shared his grandfather’s first ever sketch for the character. Take a look here…
When my grandfather first put pencil to paper on @theblackpanther he had no idea a simple sketch would change so many lives. He wanted to make a small contribution to equality and give readers a hero who looked like them. Congratulations team for an amazing movie! First BP sketch pic.twitter.com/GJZeK1pfVr
— Jeremy Kirby (Grandson of Jack Kirby) (@jackkirbycomics) January 22, 2019
As you can see, the initial design for the King of Wakanda is very different from the Black Panther who made his debut in the pages of Fantastic Four #52 back in 1966 and features a ‘T’ emblazoned on his costume to signify ‘Coal Tiger’, the original name used by Kirby for his concept artwork.
SEE ALSO: Marvel’s Kevin Feige comments on Black Panther’s Best Picture nomination at the Oscars
After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T’Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Black Panther sees Ryan Coogler (Creed) directing Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa alongside Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Sterling K. Brown as N’Jobu, John Kani as King T’Chaka and Nabiyah Be as Linda.
