Marvel Cancels Black Panther Comics Ahead of Planned Empyre Tie-In

The coronavirus pandemic has had a cataclysmic effect on the comic publishing industry, and the waves are still being felt as Marvel is scrapping previously announced comics and cancelling titles with no warning. Scribe Jim Zub took to Twitter today to reveal that his series Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda has abruptly ended with its eighth issue, released this week by the publisher. In addition, the planned tie-in for the upcoming Empyre crossover event, titled Empyre: Invasion of Wakanda, has apparently been outright cancelled before it could even be released. Zub called the sudden cancellations “not ideal,” but wrote that he was proud of what he and his collaborators put together.

“I assumed Invasion of Wakanda would be our swansong,” Zub tweeted. “So I built an ending into it to answer the big question I posed at the start of the series: How can T’Challa balance the many responsibilities heaped upon him all at once? How can he be all things to all people? Representative for Earth on the Congress of Worlds. King of Wakanda. Chairman of the Avengers. Head of the Agents of Wakanda. Plus being T’Challa the man. The answer is simple, but also crucial. He can’t do it alone. He needs his trusted friends and family close to live this life. And that’s true for all of us. I wouldn’t be where I am without the people I care about and who care for me. Keep your loved ones close and always tell them how much they mean to you.”

Created in the pages of the flagship Avengers comic series, the titular team included not only the Black Panther and his longtime associate Okoye but a whole host of various characters from the pages of Marvel comics including The Wasp, Ka-Zar, Man-Wolf, Gorilla-Man, Mockingbird, Roz Solomon, Broo, Fat Cobra, and American Eagle.

“Getting the chance to create wild and weird 2 issue “missions” that delved into unexpected parts of the Marvel Universe was a blast,” Zub added. “I know it’s not in vogue to talk about series ending because publishers don’t want to bring it up and freelancers don’t want to look like anything less than stunningly successful all the time. It’s okay to admit things aren’t what you hoped they’d be. Reality matters.”

The writer went on to thank his editors on the project, Wil Moss and Sarah Brunstad, and his artist collaborators Lan Medina, Craig Yeung, Scot Eaton, Marcio Menyz, and Joe Sabino.

“In 8 issues we tackled Sentry, Stargod and a moon monster, the Livewires, and Fin Fang Foom while Fat Cobra boasted big and busted balls. It was unapologetically ridiculous comic superheroics and we did our damnedest to give readers bang for their buck. Thank you for reading.”