Meeting the people you admire can often be disappointing. While sometimes they appear almost Olympian from afar, capable of duplicating Hercules’ 12 labors with ease. However upon meeting them in person these same demigods are revealed to be all too mortal, filled with hubris to the point of bursting. With all of the praise (well deserved) that has been heaped upon the shoulders of Ta-Nehisi Coates you’d expect some moments of supreme swagger. If within two years’ time as a writer you’d won the George Polk award for commentary, a National Book award, NAACP Image award, named a Pulitzer price finalist, received a MacArthur grant and described by Toni Morrison as the spiritual heir to James Baldwin, some degree of arrogance isn’t just expected, truthfully it’s justified.

Mr. Coates, currently a national correspondent for the Atlantic magazine and current writer of Marvel Comics Black Panther didn’t bring any such ego to the Black Excellence Book Club at Fantom Comics. He did however bring an amazing degree of humility, humor and intelligence, not to mention a stunning memory of the history of the Black Panther and the Marvel Universe in general. Those who were fortunate enough to be in attendance got the chance to interact with someone who would have been just as authentic and genuine if he had sitting in the crowd with the rest of use. A fellow geek who cared most about sharing his love for the characters he’s writing and his genuine desire to “get it right”.

The task of writing the Black Panther cannot be described as an easy one, after the character’s portrayal by Chadwick Bozeman in Captain America Civil War, he is one of Marvel’s most valuable characters. In addition to his appearance in film, T’Challa aka the Black Panther, is a scientist, warrior, and king of the nation of Wakanda occupies a unique place in the world of comic books. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the pages of the Fantastic Four #52, the Wakanda and its king embody the dream of an unconquered African nation that was never subjected to colonial rule by Western nations. This idea has continuing significance for the descendants of African slaves in the Americas as it speaks to what Africa as a continent could be if allowed to develop to its full potential. As Mr. Coates stated the Black Panther has become a creation of the African Diaspora. Writing the story of such a layered and complex character may be an arduous task but over the course of his two-hour visit with the Book Club it became clear that this is a task that Mr. Coates has joyfully embraced.

During the two hours that he spent talking about his current run as part of the creative team on the Black Panther (if you want to see the Atlantic’s video, please click here)  with the legendary Brian Stelfreeze providing art. it became clear that the Black Panther is an amazing book because of Mr. Coates’s humility. He paid tribute to the work done by Christopher Priest and Reginald Hudlin, prior writers for Black Panther who contributed immensely to the mythos of the character. He explained to the audience the difference between his script, which called for a simple scene of a character standing at the top of the building, and his sense of amazement once he saw the finished art and saw how Mr. Stelfreeze enlarged the moment. But he also showed the need to move forward and revamp characters like the Dora Milaje.

Whether the audience was discussing the announcement of Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist) and Yona Harvey (Hemming the Water) on the upcoming World of Wakanda or the desire of some fans to see T’Challa and his ex-wife Storm reunited never did you get the feeling of “well I’m here and your there”. The spirit in the room was communal and titles and awards felt like they mattered very little and they created no artificial barriers between the writer and the audience. What was clear was his love of the character, for as much as T’Challa meant to those in attendance, it felt as if it meant just as much to Mr. Coates and it showed.

You can’t claim to know someone after interacting with them for 120 minutes, but I can truthful say that forgetting any awards, titles, or accolades, Ta-Nehisi Coates came across as being another brother who was concerned about the state of the world, loved history, loved comic books, and would have seemed just as comfortable asking questions as answering them. I think that tops being an Olympian demigod anytime. Truthfully it’s not better than being the Black Panther, but that’s asking for a lot.

Photograph provided by Naji Copeland (follow on instagram @naji.anansi & Najicopeland)