There are a lot of comics out there, but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week, we’re spotlighting “Black Panther”, Marvel’s Wakanda-based espionage series!
Who’s this by?
“Black Panther” is written by John Ridley. Ridley worked on a few WildStorm comics in 2004 such as “The Razor’s Edge: Warblade #1” with
Simon Bisley. Ridley also worked in film and television. John Ridley wrote the screenplay for the “12 Years a Slave” film that was based on a memoir about Solomon Northup. In 2014 “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for Best Picture. John Ridley joined DC again for excellent boundary-breaking titles like “Future State: The Next Batman” from 2021 which put Timothy “Jace” Fox in the role of Batman. In addition, Ridley worked on the fantastic “The Other History of the DC Universe” which focused on the individual stories of minorities in the history of DC Comics.
Juann Cabal is a Marvel Stormbreaker. The Stormbreaker program highlights strong up-and-coming artists at Marvel. Cabal started at Marvel on “Elektra” with Matt Owens and “All-New Wolverine” at Marvel with Tom Taylor. Cabal quickly got more and more important titles at the publisher scaling up to be the main artist on “Guardians of the Galaxy” with writer Al Ewing. Cabal drew most of the series and was able to capture a big ensemble cast really well. “Black Panther” is a wonderful opportunity for Cabal thanks to the wonderful expressions Cabal lends to each character.
What’s it all about?
T’Challa is The Black Panther and former King of Wakanda. T’Challa relinquished his position as king to allow Wakanda to become a Democracy. T’Challa is the chairperson of The Avengers but the destabilization of politics in Wakanda has left his attention divided. T’Challa dives deep into the espionage threatening his home and tries to save the people of Wakanda from a Dictator. T’Challa is overextended in this series and gets dragged into minor diversions like visiting his ex-wife.
What makes it so great?
Cabal and Ridley’s “Black Panther” examines T’Challa with a lot of context. T’Challa is currently working on trying to stabilize the turbulent political climate of Wakanda. When the series opens, T’Challa is in denial about the current state of Wakanda. Author John Ridley does a wonderful job building up a clear threat between Wakanda and T’Challa as the title progresses. This new volume of “Black Panther” requires a close reading of the new characters and ideas that Ridley adds to this title. Thanks to all the fascinating espionage elements counteracting the high-tech world of Wakanda, “Black Panther” has a fascinating aesthetic. The technology of Wakanda intersects with the action sequences leading this new “Black Panther” volume to feel like it is on the cutting edge of T’Challa’s mythology and technology.
“Black Panther” sows as many seeds in T’Challa’s personal life as it can. Ridley explores T’Challa’s love life, ties to the X-Men, Wakanda, and Avengers in great detail. The way Ridley mixes the cast of Wakanda with the current landscape of The Marvel Universe is enthralling. Ridley has covered so much ground in half-a-dozen issues of the series. Ridley ensures that each encounter from T’Challa will tie back into the story. The encounter T’Challa has with Storm seems inconsequential at first but there are several ties back into the main series if you dig deeper into their interaction.
Artist Juann Cabal is a master of expression. Cabal is wonderful at capturing the stoic nature of T’Challa through body language and expression. The series opens with T’Challa emoting on a panel where his face is obscured through his costume. Cabal was able to get the emotion of T’Challa captured through the look in his eyes. The wonderful pink hues in the background from Federico Blee open up a level of cognitive dissonance that shows just how thoughtful this work is. The entire artist package for the series is presented really well. The covers that Alex Ross lends to each issue of “Black Panther” helps capture the art in this series in a bombastic manner.
Continued belowCabal draws a large cast of plainclothes Wakandans for the series and is careful to add enough nuance to tell each cast member apart. The fashion in T’Challa’s everyday outfits was able to really capture my imagination here. The first issue ends with a wonderfully drawn teaser sequence that shows readers everything to come in the next couple of chapters of the title. I found Cabal and Ridley to have a great working relationship in this series as well. There are numerous complicated action scenes that are paced really well in terms of scripting and art. Marvel’s editorial team should be commended for how easy this issue is to read in spite of the complicated ideas, concepts, and cast members.
John Ridley and Juann Cabal’s “Black Panther” is great because of all the ways Ridley and Cabal show readers how unique T’Challa is. T’Challa is a former king, Avenger, brother, and superhero. Ridley uses Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s classic Spider-Man pacing to ensure the stakes for T’Challa’s storyline are high. T’Challa never has enough time to complete all his duties in a day. Cabal and Ridley are spinning a “Black Panther” storyline so in-depth that I hope this team will be recognized as fondly as former “Black Panther” creators like Mark Texeira, Don McGregor, Rich Buckler, and Jack Kirby.
How can you read it?
“Black Panther” is currently published monthly by Marvel comics and is available for purchase in finer comic book stores. The first collected volume of the series is titled “Black Panther Vol. 1: Long Shadow Part 1” and is scheduled for release in June. Do not miss this exciting new series!
