In honor of Black History Month and of course, the upcoming
debut of Marvel's Black Panther Movie February 16th, I dedicate this segment of MMP to the first
Black Superhero of Comicdom, Tchalla, mostly known as The Black Panther!
"Why are they’re not Black people in comics? Why aren’t
they being represented"?
-Jack Kirby when discussing that it was his idea to create
Black Panther.
From an archived interview. And to further elaborate on Kirby's contribution and co-creation of the Black Panther, read this interview!
This interview will always resonate within my geek soul as
it lends further credence that Jack Kirby was responsible for a character who
was a concept ahead of its time (the racially charged 60’s and the Civil rights
era.) in both pop culture and most importantly, racial identification. It’s
true to a certain extent, that Stan Lee helped to further embellish and
establish BP’s concept, but the idea was originally Kirby’s as were Silver
Surfer along with a few other characters and concepts from the House of
“Ideas”.
Take a character who is a ruler of a fictional isolationist
African nation imbued with super strength, speed and scientific intellect and
what you have here is a force to be reckoned with!
Synopsis: Wakanda, a nation located within the heart of
Africa contains sacred mounds enriched with a rare element called- Vibranium.
you know the one that is responsible for Captain America’s shield. And it was
due to that same element known as Vibranium, T’challa’s father and Chieftain,
T’chaka was killed by the Dutch Scientist Uylsses Klaw, when he refused to hand
over the allow to him and thus began T’challa’s destiny as the new monarch of
Wakanda and its guardian; The Black Panther!
“One of the titles was Jungle Action, a collection of jungle genre comics from the 1950s, mostly detailing white men and women saving Africans or being threatened by them. I voiced a lament that I thought it was a shame that in 1973 Marvel was printing these stories, and couldn't we have a black African hero.”
-Writer Don McGregor of Marvel’s critically acclaimed Jungle
Action featuring Black Panther
 |
| Panther Vs the KKK in this excellent arc from Marvel's Jungle Action courtesy of Don McGregor and Rich Buckler. |
What sets Black Panther apart from other characters at the
time, would be that he is more dignified without the need for stereotypical
tropes (I’m looking at you, Luke Cage!) is that he’s highly educated, does not
conform to the wishes of other nations, devoid of corruption unlike certain
real life African leaders, Politicians and what have ye, also he is capable of
holding his own against the likes of The Fantastic Four, Avengers which he
eventually joined. With his status as a scientist, inventor, martial artist,
acrobat and tactician, these traits put BP on equal ground with
well-established characters such as Captain America, Reed Richards and Batman!
As a matter of fact, the Black Panther has been often
compared to the latter because of a few similarities; both lost their parent(s)
to a murderer, both are scientists/inventors, have some mysterious dark
presence, Animal themed nomenclatures and of course T’challa and (Bruce) Wayne
have impeccable hand to hand fighting techniques and prowess. (See Batman vsBlack Panther fanboy faceoff.)
For more about this legendary character, here are a just a
few recommended trades you can find via Amazon Kindle store or Comixology.
(They’re the same damn company since Amazon acquired the digital Comicbook
retailer.)
1. Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther?
A Nation in Crisis! Klaw! Captain America gets neutered!
Deathloks?!!?
This is one of my favorite reads if not the favorite of
Black Panther. Writer Reginald Hudlin throws in the kitchen sink with this
reintroduction of the titular hero. The plot comes off pretty much like a
political thriller filled with suspense, intrigue and even better-a nice sick
burn aimed toward the Bush Administration. I can only imagine how Mr. Hudlin
would've handled the current administration as there is a plethora of material
to work with!
This Four- volume comic has its share of interesting
flashback sequences to fill in any plausible gaps relating to the protagonist’s
background and one that stands out, is T’Chaka’s run in with a certain Star-spangled
Avenger and while somewhat controversial, it's highly credible.
Artist John Romita provides a simplistic yet comprehensible aesthetic
toward the series and if you liked his previous works such as Kick-Ass or
Daredevil: The Man without fear, you won’t be disappointed with the artwork.
The Comic could’ve easily have been adapted into a Movie but
instead Marvel & Black Entertainment Television took the cheaper animation
route and the results are pretty good for what I deem as a “Motion comic”.
2 .Black Panther Vol.1&2 (Jack Kirby)
The King does an amazing and underappreciated run of this short-lived
comic. The King Solomon Mines arc preceded some of the things that are now
witnessed from the Indiana Jones series. The most fascinating part about this
run, is how Jack had (cleverly) threw in Star Wars like characters who were
part of some Science fiction theme park attraction, however, this was during
the time when Kirby was commissioned by the government to create conceptual
sketches and designs for a faux tourist attraction called Lords of Light. Said
designs were used as a proxy to rescue hostages in Iran.
(See Argo)
Also, Kirby’s art packs a mean punch and while there’s
B-Movie dialogue accompanied by laughably titled characters like "The
Black Musketeers", Kirby's last take on the Panther, was highly
entertaining nonetheless.
3. Black Panther: Civil War
Also from Hudlin, is the then married King T'Challa and
Queen Ororo, who embark on a honeymoon and most importantly a diplomatic world
tour that will have them spanning the globe
while running into familiar faces Dr. Doom, Namor and to POTUS just to
name a few. T’challa finds himself at odds with both Steve Rogers and Tony
Stark. It’s a solid tour de force with interesting dialogue, good art and
action sequences I rate this as one of the better tie in issues for the Civil
War storyline. BP Civil War gives a refreshing take on an outsider’s approach
to heroes (who are also his friends) divided.
4. Captain America: Flags of our Fathers
For the first time ever, read the full story of the first
encounter between Captain America and the Black Panther! (Think of it as the
expanded scene of that fight between Cap and then Panther, T’chaka!)
Set during World War Two the Black Panther, featuring a
young and somewhat inexperienced Steve Rogers battles that Nazi of Nazis-The
Red Skull! Part of the storyline is told from Corporal Gabe Jones’ perspective
as an enlisted member of Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos-also, he’s Black so
right off the bat you're headed to familiar territory whether it’s the
treatment of Black soldiers who had bravely served in "The Great War"
or the real reason why Gabe was recruited for Fury's division and it's very
telling!
Hitler plans to launch a Missile within the United States
and the only source that can prevent it from being knocked off its trajectory
is Vibranium.
This leads to the Nazis attempt at invading Wakanda of
course and all hell breaks loose and by that, I mean, Tchaka rips a new a-hole
into Hitler’s invading forces!
Flags of our fathers served as yet another solid effort by
Hudlin and this time, Denys Cowan who handed the artwork for the Black Panther
miniseries well over 30 Years ago. If you happen to be a fan of both Cap and
Panther like I am, this is the book for you!
“In time you will represent to your people what the Black Panther represents to Wakanda. And that is a good thing. But today, I must teach you a lesson”.
Anyway, these are but a sample of recommended Trades of this
gamechanging hero that you can find at electronic distribution retailers like
Amazon for a discounted price!
"Hail to this King, baby"!