Roxane Gay: Yona is actually writing a comic based on the character Zenzi, while I am writing Ayo and Aneka. Heroic Girls: Ta-Nahisi Coates told The New York Times that he recruited you and Yona Harvey personally to write Ayo and Aneka in an effort to “have diversity both on the page and on the payroll.” With Coates’ backing in the Marvel world, how much creative freedom are you given with these already established characters in the Wakandan universe?
An acclaimed writer, Gay was kind enough to share some insights with Heroic Girls about transitioning from feminist novels to the world of comics and superheroes. Gay, a best-selling author known for works such as Bad Feminist, An Untamed State and Hunger, is Marvel’s first black female lead writer. The series revolves around ‘Dora Milaje’ warriors Ayo and Aneka, who rebel together and fall in love. Earlier this summer, Marvel announced that feminist writer Roxane Gay will team up with poet Yona Harvey to write World of Wakanda, a spin-off of Ta-Nahisi Coates’ Black Panther.
