Don't Ever Disrespect My Mother
Writer:
Ta-Nehishi Coates
Artist:
Brian Stelfreeze
Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Cover
Price: $3.99
Release
Date: July 27, 2016
Reviewed
By: Paul B. aka DatBeardedBastard
*NON
SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM*
As most of you guys know, I am a huge
fan of this book. It features one of my favorite Marvel Characters, with a new
writer who is bringing us a fresh perspective on Black Panther. We all know he is the king of Wakanda, we all know
he protects his nation and the world from impending doom, we all know that with
great power comes great…um, wrong guy, sorry. As I was reading this issue, I
wondered how a new writer to the comic book medium is able to do something that
a veteran like Dan Abnett seems unable, and that is tell the story of a king
trying to balance his duties to his people as well as fulfill his role as a
hero. So let's jump into the issue and see if the momentum is still going
strong with this arc.
We start off with a recap in the form
of a meeting with T'Challa and his top advisers. I like this better than recap
boxes, and it gives you the feeling of watching a scene from a movie where an
army is going over retaliation strategies.
I appreciated the recap of what
happened to the Man-Ape too, since that ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger. We
see what is happening all over Wakanda, as a revolution is occurring everywhere.
We also see a flashback of a young Tetu and how he deals with charlatans. I
wish we had more of these flashbacks so we could see more about his origin. He,
along with the Midnight Angels, are intriguing characters, and I am still more
interested in them than Black Panther himself.
Tetu meets up with the Midnight Angels,
and they decide to work together against their common enemy. That's not good
for T'Challa since they were tough enough on their own. We transition to a
scene with T'Challa and his mother, and she sets him straight. I really liked
this part, it’s T'Challa saying he has given his all to save his people and the
world, and his mom pointing out that he never did it willingly. It gives things
some perspective, most super hero comics never really deal with these kinds of concepts
in a way that doesn't feel forced (again, take note Dan Abnett.)
Black Panther then goes before the
people with his mother, and it for now they seem glad to see them. Back to Tetu
and Zenzi: he is doing some sort of ritual using his powers and a mystical
flower. Then, he meets up with Ezekiel Stane and at the same time there is an
explosion among the people Black Panther and his mother were greeting. There are
casualties, and his mother was injured in the blast. It looked like she was
dead, as Black Panther carried her like Batman carrying Jason Todd, but we later
find out that she survived.
At this point, Black Panther stops
treading lightly and deals with all of these "terrorists" head on. He
tells his council that they are terror itself as the issue concludes. I really
like the way these panels were done. It gives you a sense of Black Panther’s urgency,
and the council’s concern as well.
For an issue with not much action, this
book still delivered. It gives us all the information we need to move forward,
and keeps me wanting more background on the supporting characters. Since issue
one, this book has the feel of a TV show, or a movie vibe, and that keeps me
sticking around for more. The art was not as crisp as in other issues, but it was
still really good and adds a lot to the overall feel of the book. I really
can't imagine how this book would be with another artist right now; I hope that
this team sticks around on Black Panther
for a long time.
Bits and Pieces:
With this series I have the first two
issues in print form and the last two in digital. I regret not getting the
physical copies to complete my collection, so I may go pick them up or just
wait for the trade. I actually think that it would read much better in one
sitting, but even with that said, this is still one of the best books on the
racks right now.
8.5/10
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