When it was announced that Brian Stefreeze was illustrating writer Ta-Nehisi Coates' story for Marvel's new "Black Panther" comic, one thing comic readers knew for sure was that the book is going to look great.

Today, Coates shared a look at some of the early concept art and character designs Stelfreeze has produced for their series. Additionally, Coates, a first-time comics writer, offered some insight into how working with the veteran artist is shaping his story and approach to the iconic character.

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"One thing I did not count on was the extent to which the art would shape the story. Brian's thoughts on T'Challa, and his supporting cast, have been invaluable," Coates said in his column on The Atlantic. "After talking back and forth we came up with some new ideas for how T'Challa's famed Vibranium-weave suit might work -- in this case, absorbing kinetic energy and allowing him to fire that energy back out in short energy bursts. "Energy bursts" almost gets it wrong -- think 'force-push' not 'optic blast.' All the old powers are there-enhanced senses, agility, peak-human strength etc. But this idea (and others) really came out of Brian's thought -- not just on the suit -- but on the properties of Vibranium itself."

"Black Panther," by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze, arrives in 2016.