Basketball Legend Shaquille O’Neal Teaming Up With Archie Comics For Epic New Series

Shaquille O’Neal may be a legend of the basketball court, but now he’s bringing a different sort of legend to life on the comic book page. The former professional basketball player and sports analyst is teaming up with Archie Comics to bring to life the story of infamous pirate Black Caesar. Eisner-nominated writer Stephanie Williams is set to write the book with artist by Ray-Anthony Height and Studio Sky-Tiger.

According to Variety, the new series is titled Vengeance Unchained: The Legend of Black Caesar and will follow the titular figure, “an African king of extraordinary physical presence” who “must navigate the brutal transformation from royalty to slavery to piracy, searching for his kidnapped love while discovering that freedom in the Caribbean comes only to those willing to take it by force.” It’s expected to hit comic shops later this year.

“Growing up I always loved stories about warriors who refused to quit,” O’Neal said. “Black Caesar starts as a king, loses everything, and takes his freedom back on his own terms. That’s the kind of story I want to help tell. We built something that’s going to entertain you and make you think, and I’m ready for the world to see what we created with Archie Comics, an iconic brand I have been a big fan of for many years. Archie has such an incredible legacy of storytelling and being able to collaborate with a brand that has meant so much to generations of fans made this project even more exciting for me.”

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Vengeance Unchained Will Bring a Legendary Pirate (With Ties to Blackbeard) Into the Spotlight

In case you aren’t familiar with Black Caesar, he’s a legendary figure in pirate folklore. While perhaps not quite as well-known as Blackbeard, he has tied to that particular figure from the Golden Age of Piracy, though his story is one that is the stuff of myth and epic legend all its own. According to those legends, Black Caesar was an African tribal war chieftain of immense physical presence and strength who notably evaded capture by slave traders for a long time before he and several of his warriors were finally taken after being lured onto a ship. However, when the ship neared the coast of Florida, a hurricane ensured the ship’s destruction, Black Caesar and a sailor overthrew the captain and crew and escaped and survived the storm. Soon after, Black Caesar began his piracy career, terrorizing the Florida Keys and even serving aboard Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge. He was ultimately apprehended and tried for piracy, but acquitted.

Black Caesar is a fascinating figure whose story is the stuff of epic adventure and myth. His story has also had long-reaching impact on things such as Florida’s geography, which various landmarks, including Caesar Creek in Biscayne National Park and Black Caesar’s Rock, named for him. He’s also made some appearances in popular culture, being represented in the mini-series Blackbeard: Terror at Sea, the 2006, Angus Macfadyen-starring miniseries Blackbeard, Netflix’s documentary series The Lost Pirate Kingdom, and even an episode of The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow where Black Caesar is depicted as one of the historical figures brought back to life by the Greek Fates to mess with the heroes and their mission.

While Vengeance Unchained: The Legend of Black Caesar may not be a superhero story, it’s one that will have no shortage of action, given the history of the legend. It’s also a project that Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater called “one-of-a-kind,”

“We are beyond thrilled to be partnering with Shaquille O’Neal and Authentic Studios for this new, one-of-a-kind project,” Goldwater said in a statement. “Shaq is not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but a superstar on and off the court as a sports analyst, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and overall celebrity. A partnership between the two pop culture icons like Shaq and Archie is one for the ages. This project brings forth excellence in storytelling like only Archie can provide, with the expert guidance of Shaq and his team; it’s sure to be the comic event of the year.”

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