Black Panther volume 1: A Nation Under Our Feet


By Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-1-302-90053-3

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: The Cat’s Whiskers for Comics Fans… 8/10

Regarded as the first black superhero in American comics and one of the first to carry his own series, the Black Panther‘s popularity and fortunes have waxed and waned since July 1966 when he first met the Fantastic Four. You can even see how far we’ve all come in his fiftieth anniversary year as that intriguing introductory tale in included at the back of this slim new volume…

T’Challa, son of T’Chaka, is an African monarch whose hidden kingdom is the only source of a miraculous alien metal upon which the country’s immense wealth was founded. Those mineral riches – supposedly derived from a fallen meteor which struck the continent in lost antiquity – had enabled Wakanda to become one of the wealthiest and most secretive nations on Earth. For much of its history it has been an isolated, utopian technological wonderland.

The tribal resources and people of Wakanda have been safeguarded since time immemorial by a human champion who derived cat-like physical advantages from secret ceremonies and a mysterious heart-shaped herb which ensure the generational dominance of the nation’s Panther Cult and Royal Family.

The “Vibranium” mound had ensured the country’s status as a secret superpower for centuries but increasingly made Wakanda a target for subversion and incursion in modern times.

Now this sleek, extremely engaging restart – collecting Black Panther volume 6 #1-4 and spanning June-September 2016 – introduces a whole new era of political unrest to Africa’s oldest surviving kingdom and Earth’s most advanced (human) nation…

Scripted by correspondent and author Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) and illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze (Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Day Men) the story opens as T’Challa resumes the throne he had so recently surrendered to his sister Shuri before global catastrophe, economic collapse and consecutive invasions from Sub-Mariner‘s Atlantis and Thanos‘ extraterrestrial Black Legion wrought havoc amongst the Wakandans.

Now as he strives to reassure his people, a moment of indiscipline amongst his soldiers provokes disaster. As T’Challa addresses striking miners at the Great Mound, a gesture is misinterpreted and guards fire on protesters. Only the Black Panther’s senses can detect the presence of another influence, shaping emotions and triggering the escalating clash which follows…

Meanwhile, in The Golden City of Wakanda another crisis brews. A member of his formidable Dora Milaje elite bodyguards has acted beyond her station; punishing a local chieftain’s abusive treatment of wives and daughters with uncompromising finality.

For taking the law into her own hands Aneka must die…

Near the Nigandan Border a political cell of super-powered rebels takes stock. “The People” are dedicated to fomenting violent change in Wakanda using ancient sorcery, unsuspected connections to the palace and the fervent dream of a new nation…

Aneka’s resolve to face her fate bravely is challenged and swiftly withers when her comrade-in-arms and lover Ayo explosively breaks her out of jail. Wearing the latest in (stolen) Wakandan cybernetic war-armour, the women head into the wilds, seeking nothing but freedom but all too soon they are diverted by the horrific plight of abused women they continually encounter.

As the furious fugitives punish the awful ravages of malevolent bandits and rogue chiefs, emancipated women flock to their bloody banner. Wakanda’s growing civil war finds itself faced with a third passionate, deadly faction ready to die for their cause…

And in a place supposedly far removed from the cares of the world, recently deceased Queen Shuri is challenged by a mysterious stranger on The Djalia, the ethereal Plane of Wakandan Memory. Shuri is not destined for peace or rest but has a task to finish if the spirits of her ancestors are to be believed…

Tragically, as the opposing forces and ideologies converge in a very earthly hiding hole, the extremely rich white man funding much of the chaos gloats and further refines his grand plans…

To Be Continued…

Fast-paced, compelling and gloriously readable, this splendid blend of political thriller, action epic and mystic revelation comes with a stunning cover-&-variants gallery by Alex Ross, Stelfreeze, Olivier Coipel, Gabrielle Dell’Otto, Mark Brooks, Ryan Sook, Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg, Felipe Smith, Larry Stroman, Mark Morales & Jason Keith, Funko, Skottie Young, John Tyler Christopher, Neal Adams Dale Keown, Mike McKone & Frank Martin, Sanford Greene, Frank Cho, Jamal Campbell and Kyle Baker. There’s also a map of Wakanda and its encroaching border nation, a fascinating glimpse ‘Behind the Scenes with Brian Stelfreeze’ offering commentary, insights and a wealth of production art and sketches, and a feature on ‘Process and Development’ tracing typed word to printed page…

Moreover, following a comprehensive Black Panther Chronology and Creator Biographies, is followed by that aforementioned Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott classic. Here ‘The Black Panther!’ attacks the FF as part of an extended plan to gain vengeance on the murderer of his father.

A full-on rollercoaster ride no fan of Fights ‘n’ Tights furore will want to miss.
© 2016 MARVEL. All rights reserved.