Marvel: Black Panther Relaunch

[Local Hero]

Marvel Comics has released a description of the new Black Panther series, by Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr.

Here¹s how Marvel describes the book:

"The new series will create an adventure that is of epic proportions, returning to the origins of the Black Panther and his ancestral home of Wakanda, a fictional country in the heart of Africa. Wakanda has remained elusive to the modern world, despite its advancements in science and technology, as well as its vast resource of a precious fossil fuel, vibranium. Not only does Wakanda¹s independence block the total dominance of Africa by colonial powers, its cultural evolution has gone unchecked for centuries.

"It's from this exiting culture that Hudlin begins to tell the rich history of the Black Panther and bring him into prominence within the Marvel universe. The first six issues will recreate the legacy of the character for Marvel fans - his family history, his enemies, and his strength. The second six issues will begin to integrate the character into the Marvel universe. By the end of the second story, the Black Panther will have impacted every major character in the Marvel Universe.

"When Marvel first created the Black Panther, there was excitement and real magic in the character for me," Hudlin said. "The Black Panther is a king of a powerful yet untapped country, a son avenging his father's death, and a man educated in the finest schools. I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity to bring back the character in a way that not only respects the original idea of Stan Lee, but also explores a side of his history that fans have never seen before."

"Reggie Hudlin¹s idea to bring back the Black Panther with a storyline that repositioned the character's role from that of a niche character to much larger role in the Marvel Universe was so fresh and exciting, we were all captivated with the idea," said Joe Quesada, editor-in chief. "In fact, we see the Black Panther taking on the same kind of prominence in the Marvel Universe as Spider-Man."

[GlennWalker]

Of all of the mainstream writers coming to comics of late I am real happy about Reggie Hudlin doing Black Panther. He is a man who understands that comics are visual and are at their core cinematic storytelling - something he knows all too well. Score one point for Marvel!

Glenn Walker

[The Truth]

At the moment I only have the first issue and am currently waiting for the next this Wensday before I start to pass judgement. I realize that this is a relaunch of not only the Black Panther title, but also of the Black Panther character and as such I'm trying to be cautious on how I approach the book.

One the one hand they've already done some things right, both in the writting and in the art direction, but on the other hand I can already see where they may have done some things wrong. Like I said, I'll wait for issue #2 before I pass any sort of judgment (yeah I know I just judged....) but at the moment I really want to like this title and hope it can convince me to add it to my monthly list.

[GlennWalker]

One thing I am curious of, and wondering if any of the folks who follow Marvel more closely than I could help... Klaw seems to have had a makeover of sorts. Is this new to this title or did it happen elsewhere? When I think Klaw, I think of the noseless chapp in the red and purple pajamas and the metal woofer/tweeter hand. The guy in the new Black Panther is a bit more updated, and yeah, more menacing.

Glenn Walker

[The Truth]

It happened within the new series. Klaw's more human appearance seems to be part of the relaunch of the Panther and his Rogues and his mythos. For instance...

[spoiler]Originally T'Chaka, the Black Panther of WWII, fought Captain America to a standstill. In the new series and "new history" of the Panther, T'Chaka defeated Captain America.[/spoiler]

So no worries, you haven't missed anything.

[GlennWalker]

No matter how you slice it, I'm enjoying this book a lot.

Glenn Walker