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This is the episode where he leaves the Interpol to become a boat captain, because he is tired of crooks. Good luck with that, Prince.
Still happy with this series.
A comic series so great.
I had read the original novel (just like all others except the latest so far) before but found the graphic version quite intriguing, pretty accurately portraying the Berlin of the Weimar republic, much of which was lost in the war (e.g. the Karstadt department store on Hermannplatz prominently featuring in the final scene). It seems it has come out in English now (cf. this report on crimefictionlover.com , so let me recommend it to you.
In anticipation of the Black Panther film coming out within the month, I got into my collection of some of the first Black Panther comic stories published, including his origin in a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby comic and all of Don McGregor's run with the character in the Jungle Action series of issues to get an idea of who the character is and what to expect.
I came away from the character's origin story very underwhelmed. It was a Fantastic Four crossover from the 60s where Stan introduced Panther by having him invite Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben to Wakanda where he tested his abilities in a fight with them in order to prepare for the return of Klaw. An alright issue, but the writing has dated horridly and I found the overwhelming amount of silliness and coincidence/random luck in the issue very tiresome. I think Panther is a character like Batman, by which I mean that he was written better by those who didn't create him. While Bob Kane and Bill Finger have the honors of bringing Batman to life, as Stan and Jack do T'Challa/Black Panther, other voices captured the inherent nature and tone of the characters better. In Black Panther's case, that "voice" was Don McGregor's.
Before Black Panther took over as the character of the Jungle Action comics, Marvel used the umbrella of that name to feature stories of white characters in jungle settings having all forms of adventures. Climbing up the Marvel ladder from a proofreader to a lead writer, Don McGregor called out the silly and outdated Jungle Action books and their pushing aside of African characters in exchange for those of Caucasians, and Marvel game him the reigns to do what he wanted with the Jungle Action name. With the only restriction being that McGregor had to set his work in Africa, he took the character of Black Panther from his corny origins into a more adult, sophisticated and literary arena in an unexpected way. I'm only a few issues into the Jungle Action run of Panther stories, but I must say I am incredibly taken aback and McGregor has already become a writer who I would seek out the entire oeuvre of.
While it's the likes of Frank Miller and Alan Moore who are often given credit for forcing comics to "grow up" in the 1980s through works such as The Dark Knight Returns/Batman: Year One/Daredevil and Watchmen/V For Vendetta respectively, Don McGregor seems to be a somewhat forgotten pioneer in comparison despite doing this kind of mature trailblazing with Panther a decade or more before the titans above. What he did with the Black Panther character truly is startling and impactful, as he took a character who was very thinly described in the 60s and gave him a dimensional and powerful sense of character into the 70s.
The best way I could describe these comics is by using the adjective "poetic," as the art and writing come together to create issues that are as stirring and evocative in text as they are in visuals. While McGregor is sometimes criticized for the wordiness of his storytelling, filling entire panels and pages with many text bubbles or boxes, I really enjoy this kind of style as a fan of literature outside of comics. He writes with such grace, knowing exactly which words to employ given the situation, and everything has such an effective sense of movement like poetry should have. The best writers create music with words, paying attention to the rhythm and sound of their sentences, and that essence is very much at work here. Because of all this, these are comics that are about as close to literature as you could get, and that's down to how McGregor demands you to pay attention and become engaged by what he's writing because he works overtime to build up his characters, develop them through conflict and weave an overarching story of kingship, responsibility, duty, love, compassion and sacrifice.
Just as Frank Miller and Denny O'Neil took a campy character like Batman and gave him maturity and layers, McGregor does the same with the Black Panther. In his story he has T'Challa just coming back from a long time in America, returning to Wakanda to find his native land erupted in conflict, murder and general upheaval through his absence. Through a series of gradually explosive events, T'Challa learns of his own duty as king and the consequences of what can happen when you leave your throne vacant and your people without a leader or protector. McGregor weaves a powerful story here where he tests T'Challa on all levels, not only as a man, but as a king. He's constantly haunted by the death of his father, a man whose death abdicated the throne to him, and we see how fearful he is of failing to be the kind of leader his father would've wanted as he's taken from trial to trial. It's a quintessential human story, and McGregor writes T'Challa/Black Panther as a very relatable and deep character with contradictions and blemishes that give him a profound life despite being a figure of royalty and great wealth who are commonly without such layers.
To put it simply, these aren't comics for those expecting fun and simple hero/villain fights and very straightforward narratives. The stories are wordy and demand great engagement to fully experience, and the stories are very mature in their focus on the realities of the world and the dangers that T'Challa must face. Narratively and tonally, The Panther is judged as his enemies are, and the grayness of the morality that McGregor strives to portray brings T'Challa closer to these kinds of figures that he becomes separated from them. He makes mistakes, blurs lines and acts out in moments of anger in a way that removes him from the boy scout stakes of Superman, making him relatable and interesting as a king who struggles to earn the title. Because he's constantly wrestling with his personal demons of the past and the current demands of ruling the throne and being the protector of his land, we see how responsibility can become the chains around a man that immobilizes him.
Even the villains are different from what you expect, because for how wacky and on the nose names like Killmonger or Venomm are, McGregor writes them in such a way that gives them layers too. Each villainous threat T'Challa faces has a relatable factor to them, with a past that gives us an explanation for why they are what they are. There are no simple motivations for these villains and none are mustache twirling or larger than life presences. Instead, they have been put on these dark paths because of a history of slavery, prejudice, social isolation and loss that others have put them through, making it clear that even T'Challa himself could've fallen to their depths if he'd have given into the anger and pain of his own life challenges.
For anyone who enjoys the more adult work of Frank Miller or Alan Moore, I think what Don McGregor and his amazing artists have done in these Jungle Action comics would be very appreciated by each of you. I've been incredibly inspired as an artist and writer by reading these issues, not only for the amazing scripting of McGregor and the poetry of his work, but also because of the art of Rich Buckler, Gil Kane and Billy Graham, pencilers who have created some of the most innovative and striking panel designs I have ever encountered as a lifelong comics reader. The quality of the presentation and writing here is something truly special, and if anyone has ever wanted to jump into the fascinating world of the Black Panther, these are the comics to do it with. I'm now doubting if I could ever read any other Panther books not written by McGregor, and that's all down to the fact that he nails this character and the tone of his world and responsibilities so perfectly through his flowing, mature and lyrical style, crafting stories of consequence with powerful adult themes.
A bit hit and miss. My favourites remain the first and third installments. This doesn t reach the same level as Hellboy.
A collection of stories from 1955-56- As enjoyable now as when I first read them as a kid.
I hope you like it as much as I did!
Cheers for recommending just read several pages so far, the ship has crashed and Supes is trying to learn about the occupant.
Edited: interesting @chrisisall the Supergirl TV series has borrowed a few things from this comic, Kal has just just been blasted with a Phantom Zone projector and met up again with Mon El, it's a good read and well illustrated.
A collection of stories from 1956-61.
Nice! I've always liked the Duck comics by Barks, and in the summer of 2016 I read all the Disney comics he has worked on in chronological order. As much as I like Barks, Don Rosa has alwas been my single favourite comic book artist of all time. Are you buying Frantagraphics' Don Rosa books too?
Have you seen the animated adaptation?
I have. I watched it right after reading the book. Really enjoyed it, even though most of the book is not really in there. Decent Batman flick.
I'm glad WB are doing some of the published Batman stories, especially the Elseworlds ones. I merely wish they'd stick closer to the source material in terms of design. Mignola's style is painfully missing here.
Yes, can’t disagree there. Mignola’s style in the book elevated the story. Wonderful work.
I agree with all the above. I do wish that model of the source material was in there but it’s still a decent Movie. However, taking characters out, adding new (just for fans I guess) was not needed. The characters in the movie could easily have been taken from the book. One big miss in the GbG movie is
Great character in the book, sadly missing. But yes, it’s a shame they didn’t stick closer but there is content from the sequel, Master Of The Future.
I believe, if you don’t worry about that, it’s a good movie in its own right.
I guess the choice to move away from the source narrative wise is because the comic is actually rather short, all things considered? Which makes me assume some padding went on to make it longer? Basically the same issue there is with TKJ, where WB weren't content to just adapt the comic into a faithful 45 minute feature and had to tack on that Batgirl monstrosity to the first half to bloat the running time?
I agree with everything you say, a shame that they went so far from it but, as a movie, it’s good.
I do believe the beginning there was a statement saying “Based on characters from...”
Hard case crime - Peepland