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Black Panther 1-7 Review posted: 12 Sept 2005 Writer: Reginald Hudlin Artist: John Romita Jr. Artist: Trevor Hairsine (issue 7) Publisher: Marvel  3.00 out of 5 Stars Reviewed by Adam White

Until recently I had avoided this new Black Panther series, mainly because I was such a big fan of Priest’s run on the previous series not that long ago. I was seriously upset that Marvel wouldn’t give Priest’s run the time of day (even though it was the one of the five best series Marvel has ever published), and yet here came another new first issue being hyped to death like it was the Second Coming or something. That turned me off to it, and the fact that Marvel kept mentioning that it was by the writer of House Party didn’t really enthuse me either (I have nothing against House Party, I’m simply ambivalent to it). Anyway, months passed and I missed reading about the Black Panther, who is one of my favorite Marvel characters, so I broke over and picked up the whole run (issues #1–6, inadvertently followed by #7).

Although most Hollywood “talent” currently ensconcing themselves in the comic industry have no ability to write a coherent script whatsoever, Reginald Hudlin goes against the grain and proves that he can write an entertaining comic book. Hudlin spends the first two issues detailing the history of Wakanda and the Black Panther mythos, which encapsulates different ideas from over the years about the character and produces an enjoyable tale (even if the ancient tribal characters’ dialogue sounds a little too modern). Hudlin plays fast and loose with Panther continuity, and jumps around in the timeline frequently, which actually leaves some confusion as to when the bulk of the latter issues (#3–6) actually takes place (it at first seems to be a tale of Panther’s past, but then the other characters necessitate it being current Marvel Standard Time). Regardless of the problems, the characters are all enjoyable, and Panther comes across as the regal, intelligent man he is, even if he gets little “screen time” in the first few issues.

Hudlin especially pulls off a coup by making some third- and fourth-rate villains interesting. The Rhino makes his most entertaining and well-scripted appearance in memory, and actually had me wanting to see more of the character. Ulysses Klaw, Panther’s only real archenemy over the years, also becomes quite the devious villain, and you get a solid backstory for him as well. Priest did use Klaw well, but the one benefit here is that he is a non-costumed villain, and that seemed to make him more of a threat. The Radioactive Man put in a star appearance as a murderous brute, although I could have sworn he was currently being used in New Thunderbolts to the opposite effect (I don’t know for certain, though — I am a long-time T-bolts fan, but I dropped New Thunderbolts because it sucks). Batroc the Leaper gets an appropriate appearance as well, but I was most interested in Hudlin’s re-imagining of the Black Knight. The Black Knight has been both a hero and a villain over the years, and the costume worn by several men, yet this new portrayal goes against much of what has come before — which actually doesn’t bother me, because I really never cared at all about the Black Knight because he was a lame character. This new Knight, however, is an instrument of the Roman-Catholic Church and serves as a Crusader to go out and “do God’s work,” which happens to be whatever the church says it is on any given day. This interpretation of the Black Knight has a lot of interesting potential and I hope to see more of him in the future.

John Romita Jr.’s art is good in some places, not so much in others. JR Jr. draws big guys (such as Rhino) really well, but his females are a little too manly for me. JR Jr. has gotten so wrapped up in his own style that it has become over saturated with itself — you never have any doubt that it’s his pencils, but that comes at the expense of the quality. The short version is that it works in some parts of the arc and in others it doesn’t. If JR Jr. could reign in his style of drawing a bit, the overall package would benefit greatly. Another issue I have with the art is that T’Challa is wearing his old costume throughout, which is part of what makes me wonder when the story occurred. The costume popularized in Priest’s run made a lot more sense for the character than the old pajama version, so I don’t know what motivated that stylistic choice for this new series. Trevor Hairsine’s art in #7 is just poor, with Quicksilver looking like a hairless chimp throughout. It’s a House of M tie-in, though, so it really means nothing to me anyway (I ordered it not knowing it was a tie-in).

Overall, the new Black Panther series is an enjoyable, action-packed series that improves with each issue. I think that, given time, Reginald Hudlin could make his mark in Black Panther history, but only if he is given a long-term, reliable artist on the title (it’ll be hard to beat Sal Velluto and Bob Almond, though). I’ve pretty much excluded BP #7 from this review because it’s a House of M tie-in, and stupid is as stupid does. So while the new Black Panther has a long way to go to live up to its predecessor, it’s still a worthwhile series that I believe will only get better with time.