“Niobe: She-Tribe” Cover by Tehani Farr

Thuso Mbedu will author a one-shot comic titled “NIOBE: SHE TRIBE” along with Stranger Comics’ president Sebastian A. Jones. It will be part of Stranger’s TALES OF ASUNDA series and will feature Niobe, the franchise’s star character, who was first introduced in “The Untamed: A Sinner’s Prayer.” Mbedu and Jones will work together in writing the Comic, set for release in spring of 2023.

Stranger Comics is known within the comic industry for its diverse heroes and championing BIPOC women including its franchise star NIOBE, as creators of worlds. TALES OF ASUNDA is an ongoing series in the expanding, interconnected world of Asunda, which is rich in culture and tradition with years of development. It celebrates many of its lead characters and backdrops in afro-fantasy inspired settings, but with emotional themes that resonate globally on a deeply human level.

NIOBE: SHE TRIBE will tackle the pros and cons of “tradition,” asking both character and reader if all traditions are good, to be followed as law, binding in mind, body, and spirit. If they are disputed, what are the motives? If they are flawed, how can they be resolved? And if traditions are changed, how can people accept and evolve?

Jones, who created the world of Asunda, said of Mbedu: “Upon meeting Thuso I knew I had to work with her. Her honesty and modest genius hold a well spring of magical and relatable stories that need to be told. When we started brainstorming for the ‘She Tribe’ comic, Thuso breathed new life into Niobe and the vulnerable character relationships with such thought and care. Thuso is a rare spirit who speaks of many lives lived, here and before, and I couldn’t be more excited to share with our fans what we’ve got in store for Niobe and Asunda.”

When Niobe learns of a tradition that a tribal chief is decided in a fight to the death she must choose between challenging and changing an ancient custom or remaining hidden from the world and her destiny.