Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/974985
B L A C K P A N T H E R | P E R S P E C T I V E 4 1 Touching down in Cape Town mid-morning, I was unusually quiet. Now, anyone who has worked with the fabulous Ilt Jones, location manager, knows he has the energy of a thousand 10 year olds, and we (Assistant Art Director Marlie Eckleman Arnold and I) had just flown through day and night. Ilt looked us dead in the eyes, with a big smile and in his upbeat Welsh accent said, "shall we begin?" We immediately went to Table Mountain and hiked down into the gorge. The white fog gave a natural diffusion to the ominous dark green and black rock walls, still slick from the just recent rain. We took pictures of everything, soaking in the colors, the sharp edges of the rocks, humorous shots of me "hiking," and all the indigenous plant life. It was breathtaking, a little bit eerie and really, really cold. In the morning, I sat outside in the hotel courtyard and returned to my morning ritual of coffee and a cigarette. I started talking to one of the men setting up the tables outside. We were talking about how excited we were that Serena Williams won her 22nd Grand Slam title. He told me that everyone in his village celebrated, ate lots of food and played music. All the families come together to celebrate a strong successful black woman. I said, "that sounds familiar." And he responded, "Yahboo (yes) of course, we're African, always a celebration, always a meaning." And I realized, through all the pain and evil that Africans have endured on both sides of the Atlantic, who I am at the core is who we always have been. That can't be taken, that bit of DNA, thousands of years of tradition cannot be broken, and we recognize that in each other. And those are the eyes I needed to create Wakanda. From that point forward, what I experienced was joy and pride, music and life. Godly landscapes too unimaginable to describe in words or capture on camera. After two days in and around Cape Town, our group went north. Durban was the next stop. We hiked Arbor Glade, Mzamba River, Oribi Gorge and Lake Eland. The next day, we headed to Blyde River Canyon where we hiked to World's End and A. RIVER TRIBE PROVINCE BY RAJ RIHAL USING MODO AND PHOTOSHOP. B. HALL OF KINGS ILLUSTRATED BY RICK BUOEN USING PHOTOSHOP. C. SET PHOTO OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF KINGS. C