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Black Panther Epic Collection
Black Panther Epic Collection, Vol. 2: Revenge of the Black Panther
Behold as the Black Panther sets out on adventures that only his co-creator, Jack Kirby, could conceive! T'Challa will discover the secret of King Solomon's frog, encounter alien races, battle eternal samurai warriors and much, much more. The history of the Wakandans, their majestic city, their amazing technology and the origins of Vibranium are also explored with a power and passion that only Kirby can offer. Then, Ed Hannigan and Jerry Bingham present an epic battle between the Black Panther, the Avengers and Ulysses Klaw. Next, T'Challa returns to the American South to root out the evil Soul Strangler's cult. Finally, Peter B. Gillis and Denys Cowan craft a compelling tale as the Panther fights apartheid in the neighboring nation of Azania. COLLECTING: VOL. 2: BLACK PANTHER (1977) 1-15, MARVEL PREMIERE (1972) 51-53, BLACK PANTHER (1988) 1-4, MATERIAL FROM MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) 100
456 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2019
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109 people want to read
About the author
Jack Kirby
2,800 books474 followersJack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 12, 2019
In 1972, an incredibly woke Marvel editor named Don McGregor pointed out to his bosses how publishing a book called Jungle Action and filling it with reprints of 50s comics featuring white colonialist explorer types was culturally outdated and insensitive. In true management style, Marvel made this McGregor's problem and gave him the reins to Jungle Action where he immediately started writing new stories featuring the Black Panther. While this run was sometimes choppy in execution, it also was where Killmonger (used so effectively later by Christopher Priest and by extension Ryan Coogler in the film) was introduced to readers for the first time. Additionally, McGregor was willing to court controversy by having the Black Panther eventually take on the Klan, only to have that arc cut short by Jungle Action's cancellation.
In 1976, after a stint with DC Comics, Jack Kirby returned to Marvel, this time handling both writing and art duties, much like he did when he was at DC. However anyone familiar with this era of Kirby's work, on both "The Fourth World" and The Eternals (which let's face it, is just kind of Kirby ripping himself off) would consider this to be Jack's "cosmic" phase and apart from asking whether Kirby was dropping acid on a regular basis, it seems that Kirby wanted to present everything on an epic scale. This is no different for his work on Black Panther which begin in media res with the Black Panther associating with a group of eccentric collectors whose MacGuffins are overpowered items on a cosmic scale. There is no explanation as to why the Panther is here, given that the last time we saw him in his own book he was staring down a guy dressed like a flying eagle who was under the employ of the KKK (or a group very much like them.) I can't say that I had any expectations that Kirby would pick up where McGregor left off--by that point in his career I'm pretty sure that Kirby had enough cachet to do whatever he wanted with the book (although while at DC he apparently didn't have enough cachet to draw Superman on the pages of Jimmy Olsen.) But given how groundbreaking McGregor's run on Jungle Action was, the fact that Kirby decided to go full Eternals on Black Panther is disappointing.
Eventually Kirby left the book and the new creative team decided to pick up on McGregor's Klan arc, only to have the book be cancelled again. However, Marvel had avenues for finishing these unfinished arcs by the end of the 70s, and the story arc was finished in the pages of Marvel Premier and are included here. In addition we are treated to a Marvel Team-Up story featuring the Black Panther and Storm by Chris Claremont and John Byrne that was the likely inspiration for Reginald Hudlin marrying those two characters during his run on Black Panther as well as a four issue limited series from the 80s that is enjoyable but not nearly as impressive as McGregor's run on the book, even though there are shadows of McGregor's run here(in the limited series the antagonism comes from an white African regime supporting apartheid, which was incredibly relevant at the time.)
As with the previous volume, the execution is the problem here. The mistake was putting Kirby on the book, likely in the wake of The Eternals being cancelled. Since Kirby co-created Black Panther with Stan Lee, I think from Marvel editorial's perspective assigning Kirby, who appeared to be under a five year contract with Marvel at the time looked like a good idea. But Kirby wasn't interested in portraying T'Challa as an African king with the problems a political leader would be dealing with on a regular basis. The trail blazed by McGregor was not a path to be taken for Kirby, and honestly wasn't fully realized until Christopher Priest wrote the book, where he deftly wrote the Panther as a world leader who was not only a superhero imbued with the power of the Panther god that granted his rule of Wakanda legitimacy, but also a leader who knows how to play the game of thrones, always trying to stay a step ahead of those who would take him off the throne.
But that is a review for another time.
In 1976, after a stint with DC Comics, Jack Kirby returned to Marvel, this time handling both writing and art duties, much like he did when he was at DC. However anyone familiar with this era of Kirby's work, on both "The Fourth World" and The Eternals (which let's face it, is just kind of Kirby ripping himself off) would consider this to be Jack's "cosmic" phase and apart from asking whether Kirby was dropping acid on a regular basis, it seems that Kirby wanted to present everything on an epic scale. This is no different for his work on Black Panther which begin in media res with the Black Panther associating with a group of eccentric collectors whose MacGuffins are overpowered items on a cosmic scale. There is no explanation as to why the Panther is here, given that the last time we saw him in his own book he was staring down a guy dressed like a flying eagle who was under the employ of the KKK (or a group very much like them.) I can't say that I had any expectations that Kirby would pick up where McGregor left off--by that point in his career I'm pretty sure that Kirby had enough cachet to do whatever he wanted with the book (although while at DC he apparently didn't have enough cachet to draw Superman on the pages of Jimmy Olsen.) But given how groundbreaking McGregor's run on Jungle Action was, the fact that Kirby decided to go full Eternals on Black Panther is disappointing.
Eventually Kirby left the book and the new creative team decided to pick up on McGregor's Klan arc, only to have the book be cancelled again. However, Marvel had avenues for finishing these unfinished arcs by the end of the 70s, and the story arc was finished in the pages of Marvel Premier and are included here. In addition we are treated to a Marvel Team-Up story featuring the Black Panther and Storm by Chris Claremont and John Byrne that was the likely inspiration for Reginald Hudlin marrying those two characters during his run on Black Panther as well as a four issue limited series from the 80s that is enjoyable but not nearly as impressive as McGregor's run on the book, even though there are shadows of McGregor's run here(in the limited series the antagonism comes from an white African regime supporting apartheid, which was incredibly relevant at the time.)
As with the previous volume, the execution is the problem here. The mistake was putting Kirby on the book, likely in the wake of The Eternals being cancelled. Since Kirby co-created Black Panther with Stan Lee, I think from Marvel editorial's perspective assigning Kirby, who appeared to be under a five year contract with Marvel at the time looked like a good idea. But Kirby wasn't interested in portraying T'Challa as an African king with the problems a political leader would be dealing with on a regular basis. The trail blazed by McGregor was not a path to be taken for Kirby, and honestly wasn't fully realized until Christopher Priest wrote the book, where he deftly wrote the Panther as a world leader who was not only a superhero imbued with the power of the Panther god that granted his rule of Wakanda legitimacy, but also a leader who knows how to play the game of thrones, always trying to stay a step ahead of those who would take him off the throne.
But that is a review for another time.
September 11, 2020
This is such an odd collection of stories, it's certainly an "Epic Collection" or several runs instead of one uniform title.
Jack Kirby's run is weird. His voice for T'Challa is awful and sounds nothing like him, what other writers did before and after. He fashions the Black Panther as a sort of Indiana Jones for the first half of his run, exploring the world and some time travelling space shenanigans that aren't "Black Panther" as we know it but are still fun. For his final issues he starts to flesh out more of T'Challa's family - the heroes and the villains - before leaving the title after the penultimate issue of his arc. Jim Shooter comes in to plot the final of the arc, Black Panther #13, in what is clearly the best full issue in the entire collection. This villainous kidnapper "Kiber the Cruel" who abducts people and siphons their energy from them, which is wonderfully sci-fi and leads to some great action sequences when the Black Panther comes up against his henchmen.
Ed Hannigan scrips the Jim Shooter issue, then goes on to script the remaining solo series issues and its continuation in Marvel Premiere. Frankly I hated what he did, it picked up on a lot of the plot threads left hanging from the quick cancellation of Don McGregor's Jungle Action but it changed them for the worse. I'd almost rather they didn't continue at all.
There's also the Peter B. Gillis mini-series which is pretty boring and cliche, with some questionable art choices. It tries, it sure does try, to incorporate some politics and statements about racism, but it's a pale imitation of McGregor's work before him.
While not a full issue, the Claremont/Byrne story from Marvel Team-Up #100 is fantastic. It features the meeting of famous X-Men mutant Storm (Ororo Munroe) and the Black Panther (T'Challa) when they were young, tied in with them reuniting in the present day. In the modern era these two have a complicated and tumultuous relationship, so to see the roots of that was great. And Claremont, who of course wrote so much of Storm in X-Men before and after this story, brings a weight to his words that's compelling and a must-read for fans of either of these two characters.
I don't know if I can really call this collection "bad". It's great that Epic Collections are gathering these scattering of stories at all. And most of the time it's not awful, just mediocre or uncharacteristic. But aside from maybe the Marvel Team-Up #100 story I think most of this volume could probably be skipped and little of value would be lost.
Jack Kirby's run is weird. His voice for T'Challa is awful and sounds nothing like him, what other writers did before and after. He fashions the Black Panther as a sort of Indiana Jones for the first half of his run, exploring the world and some time travelling space shenanigans that aren't "Black Panther" as we know it but are still fun. For his final issues he starts to flesh out more of T'Challa's family - the heroes and the villains - before leaving the title after the penultimate issue of his arc. Jim Shooter comes in to plot the final of the arc, Black Panther #13, in what is clearly the best full issue in the entire collection. This villainous kidnapper "Kiber the Cruel" who abducts people and siphons their energy from them, which is wonderfully sci-fi and leads to some great action sequences when the Black Panther comes up against his henchmen.
Ed Hannigan scrips the Jim Shooter issue, then goes on to script the remaining solo series issues and its continuation in Marvel Premiere. Frankly I hated what he did, it picked up on a lot of the plot threads left hanging from the quick cancellation of Don McGregor's Jungle Action but it changed them for the worse. I'd almost rather they didn't continue at all.
There's also the Peter B. Gillis mini-series which is pretty boring and cliche, with some questionable art choices. It tries, it sure does try, to incorporate some politics and statements about racism, but it's a pale imitation of McGregor's work before him.
While not a full issue, the Claremont/Byrne story from Marvel Team-Up #100 is fantastic. It features the meeting of famous X-Men mutant Storm (Ororo Munroe) and the Black Panther (T'Challa) when they were young, tied in with them reuniting in the present day. In the modern era these two have a complicated and tumultuous relationship, so to see the roots of that was great. And Claremont, who of course wrote so much of Storm in X-Men before and after this story, brings a weight to his words that's compelling and a must-read for fans of either of these two characters.
I don't know if I can really call this collection "bad". It's great that Epic Collections are gathering these scattering of stories at all. And most of the time it's not awful, just mediocre or uncharacteristic. But aside from maybe the Marvel Team-Up #100 story I think most of this volume could probably be skipped and little of value would be lost.
December 5, 2021
The half of the book which was drawn and written by Jack Kirby was terrible, but the second half was a decent read.
March 30, 2024
Black Panther (1977) #1-7 - Where to begin? Well, first of all Jack Kirby, the co-creator of the Black Panther is back! That’s a good thing right? Well, there’s the problem. Okay, the good part of this is that this is a fun, fast-paced thrill-ride that only Kirby can deliver. There’s tons of crazy stuff thrown at the reader here and it’s a roller coaster of chaos. Basically - it’s typical Kirby. What’s not to love? Well, there’s the problem. What's not to love? Everything. When last we saw Black Panther he was in the pages of Jungle Action (see: Black Panther Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Panther's Rage) and fighting for his life in a really progressive thriller that pitted him against the Ku Klux Klan. No seriously. It was a deeply personal and sociopolitical story about racism and how the United States was refusing to deal with institutionalized discrimination. Heady stuff for a comic book being published in the 1970s. And now we’re getting a crazy story about Collectors, frog shaped time machines, alien-humans from millions of years in the future and King Solomon’s Tomb. And then we’re off on a wild goose chase to find a elixir vitae in some hidden samurai conclave in … I suppose the Himalayan mountains, cuz that’s a yeti right? When Kirby returned to Marvel he got to pick his titles: Captain America, Black Panther and the Eternals (see: Captain America and the Falcon: Madbomb, Captain America and the Falcon: The Swine, Captain America: Bicentennial Battles & THE ETERNALS BY JACK KIRBY MONSTER-SIZE for those other titles, and from this same era you might want to check out 2001: A Space Odyssey, Machine Man: The Complete Collection & Devil Dinosaur: The Complete Collection). But as fun as his run on Black Panther was, it left us fans of the Jungle Action series without resolution. And it was shock inducing and frustrating. On its own, this stuff of pure Kirby magic and two-tons of fun, but it is an infuriatingly unrecognizable different take on the character of T’Challa, the beloved Black Panther.
Black Panther (1977) #8-13 - This wraps up Kirby’s return to his co-creation of the Black Panther. Sadly, it was a bit controversial and probably under appreciated. Controversial? Because it caused the abrupt and premature end to the Panther vs. the Klan storyline in Jungle Action (which was itself controversial, but it deserved an ending). Under appreciated? Because it ran only 12 issues before Kirby left mid-story and other had to step in and wrap up the final chapter. Nonetheless, what we have is pure Kirby in typical frenetic and chaotic fashion. The first half deals with T’Challa returning to Wakanda from his time with the Collectors and the threat of someone trying to usurp his reign while he was away, while the second deals with a new menace, Kiber the Cruel, that kills people by converting them into life-force energy. Yeah, that parts definitely creepy. The last chapter of the second story arc is from the hands of Jim Shooter, Ed Hannigan, Jerry Bingham and Gene Day who are filling in for Kirby.
Black Panther (1977) #14-15 - The Avengers help out as T’Challa sets up a Wakandan consulate in NYC and have to face a renewed threat from Klaw, the self proclaimed master of sound. It’s a story designed to pick up where the threads from Kirby’s run on the titles left off and bring in threats from the abrupt ending of Jungle Action. Great plan. Except the Black Panther title got canceled, ending with #15, before they could really get to those dangling Jungle Action threads. In any case, this is a fun story that illustrates the Black Panther’s ties with the Avengers.
Marvel Premiere #51-53 - And we’re back! With the long awaited conclusion to the Panther vs. the Klan that was so unceremoniously cut off when Jungle Action was canceled (see: Black Panther Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Panther's Rage). It’s not quite how I think it would have played out originally, but it at least offers longtime readers a sense of closure.
Marvel Team-Up #100 (second story only) - This story is an example of something I usually don’t care for. Retroactive Continuity is a curse on the comic book industry. It’s far too easy to do, usually done poorly, and far too hard to make it work AND make it stick. In this case, it works. Chris Claremont & John Byrne provide a back story for Storm, of the X-Men, and T’Challa, the Black Panther. Giving us a short story of them meeting and having an adventure together as teenagers. It’s just a short story, but it provides new depths for both characters that will eventually blossom to full reward when T’Challa finally marries. But that’s a story for another time.
Black Panther (1988) #1-4 - This mini-series is in many ways a return to the types of stories that were seen in the pages of Jungle Action. Even so, it doesn’t have the same cohesion, although it does pack a lot of power and poignancy. Particularly when considering the time it came out. There was a lot of strife and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa at the time, just as there is today, and it was nice to see the Black Panther tackling some of those issues.
Black Panther (1977) #8-13 - This wraps up Kirby’s return to his co-creation of the Black Panther. Sadly, it was a bit controversial and probably under appreciated. Controversial? Because it caused the abrupt and premature end to the Panther vs. the Klan storyline in Jungle Action (which was itself controversial, but it deserved an ending). Under appreciated? Because it ran only 12 issues before Kirby left mid-story and other had to step in and wrap up the final chapter. Nonetheless, what we have is pure Kirby in typical frenetic and chaotic fashion. The first half deals with T’Challa returning to Wakanda from his time with the Collectors and the threat of someone trying to usurp his reign while he was away, while the second deals with a new menace, Kiber the Cruel, that kills people by converting them into life-force energy. Yeah, that parts definitely creepy. The last chapter of the second story arc is from the hands of Jim Shooter, Ed Hannigan, Jerry Bingham and Gene Day who are filling in for Kirby.
Black Panther (1977) #14-15 - The Avengers help out as T’Challa sets up a Wakandan consulate in NYC and have to face a renewed threat from Klaw, the self proclaimed master of sound. It’s a story designed to pick up where the threads from Kirby’s run on the titles left off and bring in threats from the abrupt ending of Jungle Action. Great plan. Except the Black Panther title got canceled, ending with #15, before they could really get to those dangling Jungle Action threads. In any case, this is a fun story that illustrates the Black Panther’s ties with the Avengers.
Marvel Premiere #51-53 - And we’re back! With the long awaited conclusion to the Panther vs. the Klan that was so unceremoniously cut off when Jungle Action was canceled (see: Black Panther Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Panther's Rage). It’s not quite how I think it would have played out originally, but it at least offers longtime readers a sense of closure.
Marvel Team-Up #100 (second story only) - This story is an example of something I usually don’t care for. Retroactive Continuity is a curse on the comic book industry. It’s far too easy to do, usually done poorly, and far too hard to make it work AND make it stick. In this case, it works. Chris Claremont & John Byrne provide a back story for Storm, of the X-Men, and T’Challa, the Black Panther. Giving us a short story of them meeting and having an adventure together as teenagers. It’s just a short story, but it provides new depths for both characters that will eventually blossom to full reward when T’Challa finally marries. But that’s a story for another time.
Black Panther (1988) #1-4 - This mini-series is in many ways a return to the types of stories that were seen in the pages of Jungle Action. Even so, it doesn’t have the same cohesion, although it does pack a lot of power and poignancy. Particularly when considering the time it came out. There was a lot of strife and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa at the time, just as there is today, and it was nice to see the Black Panther tackling some of those issues.
March 29, 2019
An odd collection with a few characters who I don't believe appeared outside of this series. I did enjoy them, but not as much as I hoped I would.
September 19, 2020
Early Black Panther was a strange, mixed bag, man.
The first half of this collection tells the Panther's early adventures of his first solo series after Jungle Adventures. It's classic Jack Kirby and it is absolutely bonkers. The brightly colored, cosmic/sci-fi adventures take center stage. I appreciate some classic Kirby but it was tough to read Black Panther adventures from then, knowing the cultural powerhouse his character would become.
The second half moves T'Challa more in the direction we know of him today. Some fighting the KKK in a small arc. Some establishing a history with Storm many years before their wedding became a thing. And, finally, his 4 issue 80s limited series that was very enjoyable if not still searching for an identity.
This collection takes you to some random places in Marvel history. If you're a Black Panther fan, though, I would say find the limited series for a decent story, but you can skip the rest of this unless you're a Marvel completist.
The first half of this collection tells the Panther's early adventures of his first solo series after Jungle Adventures. It's classic Jack Kirby and it is absolutely bonkers. The brightly colored, cosmic/sci-fi adventures take center stage. I appreciate some classic Kirby but it was tough to read Black Panther adventures from then, knowing the cultural powerhouse his character would become.
The second half moves T'Challa more in the direction we know of him today. Some fighting the KKK in a small arc. Some establishing a history with Storm many years before their wedding became a thing. And, finally, his 4 issue 80s limited series that was very enjoyable if not still searching for an identity.
This collection takes you to some random places in Marvel history. If you're a Black Panther fan, though, I would say find the limited series for a decent story, but you can skip the rest of this unless you're a Marvel completist.
March 26, 2021
A tome of two halves. The first reverses all the character development and African heritage developed by McGregor’s first stint on the Black Panther, much of which is captured in the movie.
Kirby’s story arch turns the king into a circus freak literally chasing golden eggs. Once this dreadful run ends, the book comes to live. Battles with the KKK and the spiritual embodiment of the victims of racism is conceptually breathtaking.
As is the four-issue series concerning apartheid South Africa. This is the most politically charged Marvel has ever been. The conflict between the man and the enraged and vengeful god is a telling call to arms and unity that echos to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. They have always mattered. Black Panther pushed this envelope in the 1980s. Now we all push it with him.
Ignore the Kirby run and dive straight into the real Black Panther stories to enjoy a marvellous, emotionally charged and provocative journey. You won’t be disappointed.
Enjoy!
Kirby’s story arch turns the king into a circus freak literally chasing golden eggs. Once this dreadful run ends, the book comes to live. Battles with the KKK and the spiritual embodiment of the victims of racism is conceptually breathtaking.
As is the four-issue series concerning apartheid South Africa. This is the most politically charged Marvel has ever been. The conflict between the man and the enraged and vengeful god is a telling call to arms and unity that echos to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. They have always mattered. Black Panther pushed this envelope in the 1980s. Now we all push it with him.
Ignore the Kirby run and dive straight into the real Black Panther stories to enjoy a marvellous, emotionally charged and provocative journey. You won’t be disappointed.
Enjoy!
May 9, 2020
This is largely dumb and incredibly uneven. Each writer has, basically, an entirely different book that they're writing.
The Kirby stuff feels very dated -- outside of his incredible look. It's a series of adventures that seem designed to create weird covers. And some characters with big reactions but not much depth.
And the goofy "Black Panther family" has rightly been consigned to the dustheap of continuity -- as well as the idea that vibranium turns you into a pink exploding bomb-monster-man.
Jim Shooter comes in and tries to clean it up.
The Hannigan & Bingham story feels like an "Avengers Team-Up" book. It's perfectly fine.
The Gillis & Cowan tries to write a direct sequel to some of the MacGregor stuff and tries hard to make it as though all the intermediate stories never happened.
Confusing! And mostly dull.
The Kirby stuff feels very dated -- outside of his incredible look. It's a series of adventures that seem designed to create weird covers. And some characters with big reactions but not much depth.
And the goofy "Black Panther family" has rightly been consigned to the dustheap of continuity -- as well as the idea that vibranium turns you into a pink exploding bomb-monster-man.
Jim Shooter comes in and tries to clean it up.
The Hannigan & Bingham story feels like an "Avengers Team-Up" book. It's perfectly fine.
The Gillis & Cowan tries to write a direct sequel to some of the MacGregor stuff and tries hard to make it as though all the intermediate stories never happened.
Confusing! And mostly dull.
July 1, 2019
"It belongs in a museum!" This was running through my mind for quite awhile when I started the book.
I had a lot of fun with this collection. I certainly wish there was more Kirby, but that could probably be said about most books, so I'll take what I can get. These are basically about a half-dozen loosely connected stories about the Black Panther mythology, with particular notes referencing Apartheid. Taken as a whole, they weave together pretty well, both from run to run and within each issue of the particular runs.
Importantly, you don't need to be a super nerd about T'Challa to dive into these books, although having read Priest's run did help with identifying some of the characters. Solid read.
I had a lot of fun with this collection. I certainly wish there was more Kirby, but that could probably be said about most books, so I'll take what I can get. These are basically about a half-dozen loosely connected stories about the Black Panther mythology, with particular notes referencing Apartheid. Taken as a whole, they weave together pretty well, both from run to run and within each issue of the particular runs.
Importantly, you don't need to be a super nerd about T'Challa to dive into these books, although having read Priest's run did help with identifying some of the characters. Solid read.
February 14, 2021
Not as good as I was thinking it would be. Kirby returns to Marvel and takes on the Black Panther. The result is... just ok. Kirby has this annoying character called the little man being a sidekick to Black Panther. He's supposed to be comic relief (I guess?) but he is really just annoying. The story's Kirby comes up with aren't that strong either. Rather than having Black Panther fighting a bunch of Samurai, Kirby has them have this strange sort of honor duel, where they talk about honor and that's how they fight?
The saving grace is the artwork, as Kirby was really hyper developed at this point.
The saving grace is the artwork, as Kirby was really hyper developed at this point.
March 26, 2021
Kirby’s take on Black Panther is not for everyone, and it’s very unlike the MCU version (or really any other comics version). It’s much more like Kamandi or New Gods. If that’s not what you’re looking for, look elsewhere. I absolutely love Kirby’s 70’s work, and this was no exception. The other stories in here range from forgettable to pretty solid, but the Kirby run is the crown jewel.
February 13, 2022
The Jack Kirby issues are absolutely worth a look for how completely insane they are. Off the wall storytelling and artwork heavily influenced by his time at DC. They aren't necessarily good, but worth checking out for a strange forgotten time in Panther's history. The rest of the book is fairly dull and forgettable, nothing really stands out after the Kirby's work.
August 31, 2020
The Jack Kirby stuff is so disjointed from the Jungle Action that preceded it and the Hanigan stuff that succeeded it. Read the Kirby stuff if you're a Kirby fan, but don't look for much in the way of recognizable Black Panther stuff. The 80s mini-series was bananas, but I'm glad to have it included.
For more, check out Comic Book Coffee Break:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikuP...
For more, check out Comic Book Coffee Break:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikuP...
July 26, 2019
The first third to maybe half of this collection is pretty rough, but once it starts picking up steam it gets very good in a hurry.
December 15, 2020
Quirky, kind of all over the place. Fun read if you are looking to go deeper into Marvel's past. Overall best described as Black Panther before he found a solid place in the Marevel universe.
March 16, 2021
The Kirby issues are WILD. Then Black Panther punches some Klansmen, followed by some exquisite Denys Cowan art. It’s all over the place, little of it ages well, but golly it’s fun.
December 30, 2021
The Kirby stuff is insane but also kinda great
January 7, 2023
A mixed bag. It improved around the halfway mark, but I wouldn’t recommend unless you’re a completionist.
April 20, 2023
50% 2 stars
50% 4 stars
50% 4 stars
December 30, 2023
A fifty/fifty deal, with it all depending on your tastes as to which fifty you choose to be the bad half.
I personally love the Kirby stuff. It's big and bold, very light on the politics and reminds me alot of old newspaper adventure strips.
It has the feel of the Phantom, but filtered through Jack's imagination.
Like how it's basically 3 four part stories, with a connecting thread.
Kirby builds an interesting Wakanda and I like his supporting cast.
Once Kirby leaves, so does a lot of my enthusiasm.
The art immediately gets smaller and goes from bold to fine.
The story switches gears to wrap up a story from a previous Black Panther series, we get a less interesting supporting cast and the politics are dumped on with a shovel.
The mini from Peter Gillis is better. Like that the bad guys are basically just a different country's super hero team, but it's the same story every writer does on Black Panther: Panther doubts himself and almost loses his throne.
Might have been interesting to see what Gillis would have done if this story had launched a series.
A decent collection and I finally get the complete Kirby run.
I personally love the Kirby stuff. It's big and bold, very light on the politics and reminds me alot of old newspaper adventure strips.
It has the feel of the Phantom, but filtered through Jack's imagination.
Like how it's basically 3 four part stories, with a connecting thread.
Kirby builds an interesting Wakanda and I like his supporting cast.
Once Kirby leaves, so does a lot of my enthusiasm.
The art immediately gets smaller and goes from bold to fine.
The story switches gears to wrap up a story from a previous Black Panther series, we get a less interesting supporting cast and the politics are dumped on with a shovel.
The mini from Peter Gillis is better. Like that the bad guys are basically just a different country's super hero team, but it's the same story every writer does on Black Panther: Panther doubts himself and almost loses his throne.
Might have been interesting to see what Gillis would have done if this story had launched a series.
A decent collection and I finally get the complete Kirby run.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews