{"id":15811,"date":"2016-11-23T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T08:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=15811"},"modified":"2016-11-22T18:10:23","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T18:10:23","slug":"black-panther-volume-1-a-nation-under-our-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2016\/11\/23\/black-panther-volume-1-a-nation-under-our-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Panther volume 1: A Nation Under Our Feet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Ta-Nehisi Coates<\/strong>, Brian Stelfreeze<\/strong>, Stan Lee<\/strong>, Jack Kirby<\/strong> & various (Marvel)
\nISBN: 978-1-302-90053-3<\/p>\n

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: The Cat’s Whiskers for Comics Fans\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarded as the first black superhero in American comics and one of the first to carry his own series, the Black Panther<\/strong>‘s popularity and fortunes have waxed and waned since July 1966 when he first met the Fantastic Four<\/em>. 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\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

T’Challa<\/em>, son of T’Chaka<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/em> and Royal Family.<\/p>\n

The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vibranium\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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.<\/p>\n

Now this sleek, extremely engaging restart – collecting Black Panther<\/strong> 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\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

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

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\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

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

For taking the law into her own hands Aneka<\/em> must die\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Near the Nigandan Border a political cell of super-powered rebels takes stock. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The People\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are dedicated to fomenting violent change in Wakanda using ancient sorcery, unsuspected connections to the palace and the fervent dream of a new nation\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Aneka’s resolve to face her fate bravely is challenged and swiftly withers when her comrade-in-arms and lover Ayo<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

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<\/em>, the ethereal Plane of Wakandan Memory<\/em>. Shuri is not destined for peace or rest but has a task to finish if the spirits of her ancestors are to be believed\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

To Be Continued\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

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’<\/em> offering commentary, insights and a wealth of production art and sketches, and a feature on ‘Process and Development’<\/em> tracing typed word to printed page…<\/p>\n

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

A full-on rollercoaster ride no fan of Fights ‘n’ Tights furore will want to miss.
\n\u00c2\u00a9 2016 MARVEL. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 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 … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Black Panther volume 1: A Nation Under Our Feet”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[165,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-black-panther","category-marvel-superheroes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-471","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}