Exciting Times! Nnedi Okorafor's comic 'Ngozi' for Marvel debuts on news stand
SISidomex··2 min read
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We were all excited following the announcement that Nnedi Okarafor was writing a superhero story for Marvel Comics, “Ngozi: Belssing in Disguise.”
We even had a sneak view of the superhero’s character Ngozi following Okorafor’s chat with BBC last month. Now we can have the whole story. An eight-page short story, which out is already out for sales. Okarafor revealed this on her Twitter page Wednesday and included a preview of the comic.
The comic, the first to be published by Marvel for a black superhero set actually in a real Africa city is part of Marvel’s “Venomverse” comic. Ngozi will be a recurring character of the series alongside more established Marvel characters like Venom, Black Panther and Deadpool.
In a chat with the Thomas Reuters Foundation, Nnedi talked about the inspiration behind the comic, which she attributed to the over 200 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014.
“It was an important decision for me to base Ngozi on one of the Chibok girls. They were normal girls who suddenly had to deal with a huge change in their lives … and their story of perseverance is so powerful.”“Like many Nigerian girls, Ngozi comes in a small package but is strong-willed and determined.”
Okorafor also threw some light on what diversity means among superhero characters especially following the success of Patty Jenkins movie “Wonder Woman” that starred Gal Gadot in the lead role.
“I’m a huge Wonder Woman fan, but we can really push it further when it comes to diversity.“I’m not just talking about race and sexual orientation, but about having a range of personalities with different desires, dreams and flaws,” she added. “I don’t only want to see badass female characters, I want to see much less predictable ones.”
