Marvel Publishing its First Nigerian Female Superhero Story Written by Nnedi Okorafor
With all the talk about diversity and representation in comics, it’s important to tell stories from all over the world.
With that in mind, Marvel is publishing a new comic featuring a female hero from Nigeria. It is the company’s first hero from a real life African country.
Ngozi stars in Blessing in Disguise, written by sci-fi author Nnedi Okorafor, where she fights evil in Lagos. She is inspired by the kidnapped Chibok girls.
“It was an important decision for me to base Ngozi on one of the Chibok girls,” Okorafor told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Preview pages for Blessing in Disguise. Source: Nnedi Okorafor
“They were normal girls who suddenly had to deal with a huge change in their lives…and their story of perseverance is so powerful,” Okorafor added. “Like many Nigerian girls, Ngozi comes in a small package but is strong-willed and determined.”
Blessing in Disguise is a short that is part of the Venomverse series and will show Ngozi fighting with Marvel fan favorites including Black Panther.
Okorafor said the box office success of Wonder Woman helped get Ngozi’s story published, however, she feels there’s still room for more diversity.
“I‘m a huge Wonder Woman fan, but we can really push it further when it comes to diversity,” she said.
“I‘m not just talking about race and sexual orientation, but about having a range of personalities with different desires, dreams and flaws,” she continued. “I don’t only want to see badass female characters, I want to see much less predictable ones.”
Are you excited about a new Nigerian female hero? Will you buy Ngozi’s story?
