by Joe Schickman, Reporter

Official Description:

A KING WITHOUT A CROWN! Banished from the throne and a fugitive in his own homelands, T’Challa still can’t leave Wakanda without its sworn protector. A king without a crown, he finds new purpose lurking the streets and shadows of the Wakandan city that bears his father’s name, BIRNIN T’CHAKA. New direction, new villains, new creative team – get in on the ground floor of Marvel’s next smash hit!

Creative Team:

Writer: Eve L. Ewing

Penciler: Chris Allen

Inkers: Chris Allen & Craig Yeung

Colors: Jesus Aburtov

Cover: Taurin Clarke

With T’Challa in supposed exile, the Black Panther must remain in the shadows as he determines what his role will be in Wakanda’s uncertain future. Plagued by introspective doubt in his isolation, the king must learn how to go from ruling on high, to serving those shuffled to the depths of his great society. He learns to negotiate the difference between abundance and necessity for his people during his fall from grace, but as an alienated foreigner without a home in Wakanda or beyond. 

This dissociation in T’Challa is sharply contrasted by N’yobi Umaru’s complete integration into the community that he serves, and the effortless way he navigates the shifting landscapes of Wakanda’s new political and economic structure as democracy takes hold. However, N’yobi’s endeavors are constantly tested and undermined by petty thieves, racketeers, and worse, all looking to take advantage of the power vacuum left in T’Challa’s wake. Opportunistic debt collectors also plague N’yobi, but as danger’s grip tightens around his throat, the king without a crown will step out of the shadows to save his people, and perhaps himself in the process. But how many new players will T’Challa have to contend with, and what impact will their end goals have on the people of Wakanda?

The level of detail exuding from each and every panel of this issue is incredible. You couldn’t ask for a better way to start Black Panther’s new status quo. Starting with Taurin Clarke’s beautiful cover, the artwork fills each page and brings Wakanda to life in new and varying ways. Eve L. Ewing’s wordsmithing is beautifully crafted, poetically impressing upon the reader the strife within T’Challa, parallelled by that of Wakanda itself. Chris Allen’s pencil work is masterful and forms an exquisite foundation for the expert inking he and Craig Yeung then apply. This is all heightened by Jesus Aburtov’s efforts, somehow perfectly blending an incredibly wide array of colors, representing the amalgam of worlds Black Panther traverses and Wakanda represents.

This comic was a joy to read, and I cannot wait for the next issue so I can see how Wakanda’s new democracy grows, where its displaced king will find himself, and what challenges both will face separately and together as danger looms around every corner.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Black Panther #1 – 4/5 claws.

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