Journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates to pen Black Panther comic series

Award-winning journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, one of the leading voices on race in American society today, is adding a new entry to his resume: comic book writer.

Coates – a National Magazine Award-winning journalist who writes about culture, politics and social issues as a correspondent for The Atlantic magazine – will pen a new, year-long series about superhero Black Panther, Marvel Comics announced Tuesday. 

He will collaborate with artist Brian Stelfreeze on a storyline that will deal with revolution, terrorism and heroism. The new series will begin spring 2016.

An avid comics fan, Coates often posts about them via Twitter. After Coates interviewed Marvel editor Sana Amanat – who helped revamp the character of Ms. Marvel as a Muslim teen – in May, the comics giant reached out to the journalist to explore a potential collaboration, he revealed in an interview with the New York Times.

Coates is a "powerful and singular literary voice" who will tell a story about "the world we have created, and the world we want to live in," Marvel editor in chief Axel Alonso said in a statement.

Baltimore-born Coates, 39, received widespread acclaim earlier this summer for his book Between the World and Me. 

• q audio | Ta-Nehisi Coates: 'Racism is a physical experience for black people'

An analysis of the current climate of racism and violence in America penned as an open letter to his teenage son, the nonfiction book quickly became a bestseller. Last week, it earned a nomination for the National Book Awards. 

Black Panther, the first black superhero, debuted in the mid-1960s. Along with the new series, the character is set to be introduced into Marvel's film universe as well: slated for an appearance in the forthcoming Captain America: Civil War before a planned solo feature film in 2018.