Book Review: Black Panther. Vol. 1, A Nation Under our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, and Chris Sprouse

Author:Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze (Artist) and Chris Sprouse (Artist)
Title: Black Panther. Vol. 1, A Nation Under our Feet
Publication Info: New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, LLC, [2017]
Summary/Review:

This collection includes the first four issues of this Black Panther series.  The illustrations are amazing, and Coates’ sparse, meditative text makes one thing.  I do find it hard to identify all the characters and keep up with the story, but that may just be a me problem with inexperience reading comics.  The collection also includes a reprint of Black Panther’s 1960s debut in a Fantastic Four comic when he apparently was a villain.

Rating: ***1/2

Comic Book Review: Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, and Laura Martin

Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze, and Laura Martin
Title: Black Panther #1
Publication Info: Marvel (2016)
Summary/Review:

I’m one of many people who don’t usually buy comics who picked up this issue of Black Panther because Coates is writing comics for the first time.  It picks up the ongoing story of T’Challa – ceremoniously known as Black Panther – the ruler of the African nation of Wakanda, which is the most technologically-advanced country in the world due to the minerals extracted from a meteorite.  In this issue T’Challa returns home to find dissidents attempting to foment chaos in Wakanda.

The art work is striking although it does have that comic book problem of women’s clothing and bodies defying gravity and reality. It’s all good, but essentially nothing happens in this issue. It’s all exposition and a very thin issue at that. I look forward to getting the whole story bundled together in a single volume. There is a nice feature at the end where Stelfreeze and Martin discuss their artwork which is very interesting.
Rating: ***