Ta-Nehisi Coates to Leave Black Panther After Issue #25

[skyvolt2000]

That's just it... the first trade sells well. But the second doesn't.

Using the Kindle numbers (which are his highest):

Nation v1: #18 in Superhero Graphic Novels
Nation v2: #1321 in Superhero Graphic Novels
Nation v3: #1453 in Superhero Graphic Novels

That tells me that most of the people who bought volume #1 didn't care enough to actually get the rest of the story.

That means that "his trades" aren't selling well. Only his first trade.

Also a question has to be asked-did the reader KNOW that the story continued in those other volumes?

I know the last three tell you that but did the rest do that?

That's still no reason to keep him on the ongoing. To paraphrase the esteemed Ms. Jackson: What has he done for T'Challa lately?

Lets look at the other volumes (under Kindle)

Volume 8 (most recent)
#1882 in Superhero Graphic Novels
#2371 in Marvel Comics & Graphic Novels
#5555 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
Volume 7
#3351 in Superhero Graphic Novels
#3931 in Marvel Comics & Graphic Novels
#9381 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
Volume 6
#2977 in Superhero Graphic Novels
#3575 in Marvel Comics & Graphic Novels
#8471 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels

The paper backs have fared better but not to the numbers of volumes 1-6.
vol 8

#345 in Marvel Comics & Graphic Novels
#651 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
vol 7

#562 in Marvel Comics & Graphic Novels
#1241 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
vol 6
#581 in Marvel Comics & Graphic Novels
#1283 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels

[DigiCom]

His initial sales, the publicity and the awards he won were probably enough reason for marvel to allow him to finish the story he was telling. It's not likey they had any particular reason to assume a different writer in his positon would necessarily sell better. He was all but guranteed to stick around as long as the book remained above 20k. And in the present state of the market, even dipping below that wasn't going to gurantee he would be removed.

Now, I'm not a publishing professional, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works.

Unless you want to claim that the Black Panther, star of the highest-grossing solo superhero film in history, can't sell comics?

[XPac]

Now, I'm not a publishing professional, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works.

Unless you want to claim that the Black Panther, star of the highest-grossing solo superhero film in history, can't sell comics?

The problem is that sucess in the movies doesn't translate to higher comic book sales. Marvel is pumping out billion dollar movies, and comic sales continue to decline. Movies vastly increase the overall value of an IP... but it's not generating any sort of bump in comic sales.

They do help comics in the sense that a book won't get cancelled if it has a sucessful movie, so indirectly it makes an impact. But there's little to no actual correlation between the sucess of the movies and the sales of the actual books.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Unless you want to claim that the Black Panther, star of the highest-grossing solo superhero film in history, can't sell comics?

The success of a movie of Black Panther merely means they like Black Panther as a movie, not as a comic book. The success of adaptations doesn't, by itself, ultimately translate back into the source material.

The success of Iron Man the movie hasn't made Iron Man the comicbook a top-seller. The success of GOTG hasn't suddenly made the Guardians into the biggest Marvel team.

And By-The-Way...Ta-Nehisi Coates began his run on Black Panther before the movie. A Nation Under the Feet was published well before the movie came out, and was even cited by Coogler as a reference for the movie. TNC brought Shuri back from the dead after all. The movie is mostly based on McGregor and Priest's work, but the idea of Wakanda being imperfect and the Black Panther as King being flawed, and T'Challa being vulnerable and also learning from his enemies, comes from Coates, as in the line "It's hard for a good man to be a king".

[Vibranium Weave]

The problem is that sucess in the movies doesn't translate to higher comic book sales. Marvel is pumping out billion dollar movies, and comic sales continue to decline. Movies vastly increase the overall value of an IP... but it's not generating any sort of bump in comic sales.

They do help comics in the sense that a book won't get cancelled if it has a sucessful movie, so indirectly it makes an impact. But there's little to no actual correlation between the sucess of the movies and the sales of the actual books.

Yet,Marvel is still pushing for Carol Danvers & the Gurdians of the Galaxy. But T'Challa can't sell comics. If that's what you want to believe.

[Marvell2100]

The success of a movie of Black Panther merely means they like Black Panther as a movie, not as a comic book. The success of adaptations doesn't, by itself, ultimately translate back into the source material.

The success of Iron Man the movie hasn't made Iron Man the comicbook a top-seller. The success of GOTG hasn't suddenly made the Guardians into the biggest Marvel team.

And By-The-Way...Ta-Nehisi Coates began his run on Black Panther before the movie. A Nation Under the Feet was published well before the movie came out, and was even cited by Coogler as a reference for the movie. TNC brought Shuri back from the dead after all. The movie is mostly based on McGregor and Priest's work, but the idea of Wakanda being imperfect and the Black Panther as King being flawed, and T'Challa being vulnerable and also learning from his enemies, comes from Coates, as in the line "It's hard for a good man to be a king".

The news about the movie was out well before the first issue came out. That was the biggest buzz that was driving people to the book.

[Marvell2100]

Yet,Marvel is still pushing for Carol Danvers & the Gurdians of the Galaxy. But T'Challa can't sell comics. If that's what you want to believe.

Not like this he can't.

[Vibranium Weave]

Not like this he can't.

Not sure I get what you're saying?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

You know, Christopher Priest's run on BP which so many (rightly) revere didn't sell particularly well either. Hudlin's run (which so many dislike) outsold his.

So sales are a mug's game to judge the value of a run on BP

[XPac]

Yet,Marvel is still pushing for Carol Danvers & the Gurdians of the Galaxy. But T'Challa can't sell comics. If that's what you want to believe.

No one is saying T'Challa can't sell comics. The point made was that there isn't any reason to believe the book necessarily would sell better with a different creative team than the one they got.

But they will still push T'Challa and Carol and Guardians, because it makes sense to push them. Movies don't necessarily increase comic sales, but they still do increase the value of their IPs and the comics of course will try and piggy back on that. It's just common sense.

[MouserGrey]

The success of a movie of Black Panther merely means they like Black Panther as a movie, not as a comic book. The success of adaptations doesn't, by itself, ultimately translate back into the source material.

The success of Iron Man the movie hasn't made Iron Man the comicbook a top-seller. The success of GOTG hasn't suddenly made the Guardians into the biggest Marvel team.

And By-The-Way...Ta-Nehisi Coates began his run on Black Panther before the movie. A Nation Under the Feet was published well before the movie came out, and was even cited by Coogler as a reference for the movie. TNC brought Shuri back from the dead after all. The movie is mostly based on McGregor and Priest's work, but the idea of Wakanda being imperfect and the Black Panther as King being flawed, and T'Challa being vulnerable and also learning from his enemies, comes from Coates, as in the line "It's hard for a good man to be a king".

Untrue by reading MacGregor's Jungle Action. Or Priest or Hudlin, or any other BP writer. Wakanda as a "perfect" utopia is a relatively new concept. Coates only focused like a laser on the concept to deconstruct what had being deconstructed for several years before he became its writer.

[Marvell2100]

Not sure I get what you're saying?

T'Challa can't sell comics the way he is currently being written in his solo.

[Vibranium Weave]

T'Challa can't sell comics the way he is currently being written in his solo.

Oh. Well.....that's why hopefully we get another run with another writer.

If Carol & the GotGcan sell comics, so can T'Challa.

[Vibranium Weave]

No one is saying T'Challa can't sell comics. The point made was that there isn't any reason to believe the book necessarily would sell better with a different creative team than the one they got.

But they will still push T'Challa and Carol and Guardians, because it makes sense to push them. Movies don't necessarily increase comic sales, but they still do increase the value of their IPs and the comics of course will try and piggy back on that. It's just common sense.

No need to argue...facts are facts. The Coates' run is canceled. Nuff' Said.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Untrue by reading MacGregor's Jungle Action. Or Priest or Hudlin, or any other BP writer. Wakanda as a "perfect" utopia is a relatively new concept. Coates only focused like a laser on the concept to deconstruct what had being deconstructed for several years before he became its writer.

Not once in Jungle Action or in Priest's run is the concept and foundation of Wakanda as an absolute monarchy and T'Challa as King raised to question and doubt. In both stories T'Challa has setbacks, a period of exile and so on, but he bounces back and returns to the status-quo.

Coates' run is the first to challenge that status-quo, and transform Wakanda into a Constitutional Monarchy. T'Challa listens to his enemies Reri and Tetu, and absorbs some of their ideas...much as Movie!T'Challa does so with Killmonger. In the process, Wakanda comes to the spotlight much like in the movie itself where Wakanda more than T'Challa is the protagonist.

I get that some people have a vociferous dislike for TNC, and I am not saying his run was perfect or wasn't flawed. Like I said, he peaked early but it did have a lot of interesting ideas at the start and A Nation under our Feet is legitimately a great comics story.