Marvel Comics to Pay Tribute to Chadwick Boseman on Upcoming Comic Covers

Marvel Comics is prepping their comics line for a massive tribute to Chadwick Boseman. Beginning with the House of Idea’s new releases next week, most Marvel titles will carry a black banner at the top of the cover in honor of the late Black Panther star. In a picture obtained by AIPT!, the banner reads “Rest in Power Chadwick Boseman, 1976-2020.” It’s then adorned on either side with Marvel’s logo for Black Panther.

It’s unclear what titles and releases the tributes will be on exactly, or how long the tribute will be in effect. In the picture released in the initial reporting, both Juggernaut #1 and The Immortal She-Hulk #1 are seen with the updated cover. Unlike a similar tribute the House of Ideas did for Stan Lee nearly two years ago, the covers with Boseman’s tribute will retain the usual trade dress in addition to the tribute.

Boseman passed away last month after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43.

“I was deciding whether or not directing ‘Black Panther’ was the right choice for me. I’ll never forget, sitting in an editorial suite on the Disney Lot and watching his scenes,” Black Panther helmer Ryan Coogler wrote in his tribute to Boseman. “His first with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, then, with the South African cinema titan, John Kani as T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka. It was at that moment I knew I wanted to make this movie.”

Coogler’s statement concluded, “In African cultures we often refer to loved ones that have passed on as ancestors. Sometimes you are genetically related. Sometimes you are not. I had the privilege of directing scenes of Chad’s character, T’Challa, communicating with the ancestors of Wakanda. We were in Atlanta, in an abandoned warehouse, with bluescreens, and massive movie lights, but Chad’s performance made it feel real. I think it was because from the time that I met him, the ancestors spoke through him. It’s no secret to me now how he was able to skillfully portray some of our most notable ones. I had no doubt that he would live on and continue to bless us with more. But it is with a heavy heart and a sense of deep gratitude to have ever been in his presence, that I have to reckon with the fact that Chad is an ancestor now. And I know that he will watch over us, until we meet again.”

Cover photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney