In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Anaea Lay presents Darcie Little Badger's "Owl vs. The Neighborhood Watch."

When Nina first met Owl-with-a-capital-O, harbinger of death, destruction, and despair, He resembled Athene cunicularia , a wee burrower.

Just to meet our eyes will be to face a Gorgon; / to hear our cackles will be to feel / hyenas tearing at the hamstring.

Even though developed several decades apart ( The Black Panther appeared in 1966, and Coming to America was released in 1988), and written by people on different spectrums of the United States’ Salad Bowl ( The Black Panther was developed by Jewish Americans Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, while Coming to America was created by African American Eddie Murphy), both share similarities that make them an interesting comparison in how fictional Africa is perceived and narrated through the lens of mainstream American media, in both positive and negative ways.