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ponch22's review
3.0
Wanted to support my local comic shop and Black artists & so recently picked up several new comics/graphic novels. I figured [a:Ta-Nehisi Coates|1214964|Ta-Nehisi Coates|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1595285597p2/1214964.jpg]'s Black Panther would be a good first read.
Unfortunately, [b:A Nation Under Our Feet|29246432|Black Panther, Vol. 1 A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1|Ta-Nehisi Coates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524191551l/29246432._SY75_.jpg|60696447] was quite hard to follow. First, I was disappointed on page 1 after reading that Shuri was dead. Second, the story felt very reliant on knowledge of past BP stories (one of the main reasons I don't read a lot of comics is the difficulty to understand decades of references and story arcs). Third, this 4-issue collection ends on a "To Be Continued" and is not self-contained like I wrongly assumed.
The art from [a:Brian Stelfreeze|611842|Brian Stelfreeze|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544399882p2/611842.jpg] is great, and I'm sure Coates's writing was good, but as a new reader of BP, it just wasn't for me.
This novel did earn an extra star because it also includes Black Panther's first appearance in 1961's The Fantastic Four #52. This [a:Stan Lee|10303|Stan Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206594565p2/10303.jpg]/[a:Jack Kirby|10299|Jack Kirby|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206594751p2/10299.jpg] was classic Lee/Kirby with the FF being invited to Wakanda to be hunted by Black Panther. It's a silly story that almost makes it seem like BP was planned to be a Kraven-like villain rather than an eventual-Avenger. But, it was still fun watching BP fight each superhero & almost win.
Unfortunately, [b:A Nation Under Our Feet|29246432|Black Panther, Vol. 1 A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1|Ta-Nehisi Coates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524191551l/29246432._SY75_.jpg|60696447] was quite hard to follow. First, I was disappointed on page 1 after reading that Shuri was dead. Second, the story felt very reliant on knowledge of past BP stories (one of the main reasons I don't read a lot of comics is the difficulty to understand decades of references and story arcs). Third, this 4-issue collection ends on a "To Be Continued" and is not self-contained like I wrongly assumed.
The art from [a:Brian Stelfreeze|611842|Brian Stelfreeze|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544399882p2/611842.jpg] is great, and I'm sure Coates's writing was good, but as a new reader of BP, it just wasn't for me.
This novel did earn an extra star because it also includes Black Panther's first appearance in 1961's The Fantastic Four #52. This [a:Stan Lee|10303|Stan Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206594565p2/10303.jpg]/[a:Jack Kirby|10299|Jack Kirby|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206594751p2/10299.jpg] was classic Lee/Kirby with the FF being invited to Wakanda to be hunted by Black Panther. It's a silly story that almost makes it seem like BP was planned to be a Kraven-like villain rather than an eventual-Avenger. But, it was still fun watching BP fight each superhero & almost win.
gemgem18's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
stefaniejane's review
3.0
I usually don't read comics, but I enjoyed this. In the past I read full collections at once, so I was surprised when I this volume 1 ended and I was into the "back matter"--will read the rest of Coates' Black Panther so I know what happens!
scam_likely's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
4saradouglas's review
3.0
Well, I liked it, but I had no idea what was going on. Do not go into this without knowing some backstory!
unladylike's review
3.0
I'll stick with this one, but I admit the story and context were hard to follow. For a volume 1, there's a lot of background info involved based on recent years of invasions and upheaval in Wakanda. Still, it's the best I've seen a Black Panther book written. Certain pages are pure poetry with beautiful visuals. Others are densely packed with word bubbles referring to things that will hopefully aid in long-game world-building but seem like awkward exposition in the meantime.
brandonadaniels's review
5.0
I understand why the reviews of this book are so mixed. It’s very dense for a superhero book, and there’s very little punching. Coates embraces the complex continuity of the character and the nation rather than provide a clean slate, which would have been pretty easy considering the whole universe restarted, but one of the central themes of the book is remembering history, and T’challa is the only person (I think) who remembers the Hickman Secret Wars reset. There are plenty of great jumping on points for Black Panther, but this isn’t one of them. If people thought it was, then that is the fault of the marketing department at Marvel Comics, not the creative team.
Instead, Coates (and team) delivers an introspective political drama that interrogates the idea of an idealistic African monarchy in the modern era and the reality of revolution. It doesn’t provide easy solutions to complex problems. It asks questions and provides few answers. It doesn’t hold your hand, and it’s not an action comic; it’s probably not even a political thriller. But to say that every issue of a superhero comic has to include a fight scene or be understandable by a twelve year old is incredibly reductive, the kind of thinking that has held the medium back for decades. This is a book written by a novelist, and it reads more like a “graphic novel.” Like a good, dense novel, you aren’t going to know what’s going on fully after one chapter, you are going to have to meet it part of the way. But, you will be rewarded if you do.
Instead, Coates (and team) delivers an introspective political drama that interrogates the idea of an idealistic African monarchy in the modern era and the reality of revolution. It doesn’t provide easy solutions to complex problems. It asks questions and provides few answers. It doesn’t hold your hand, and it’s not an action comic; it’s probably not even a political thriller. But to say that every issue of a superhero comic has to include a fight scene or be understandable by a twelve year old is incredibly reductive, the kind of thinking that has held the medium back for decades. This is a book written by a novelist, and it reads more like a “graphic novel.” Like a good, dense novel, you aren’t going to know what’s going on fully after one chapter, you are going to have to meet it part of the way. But, you will be rewarded if you do.