02-03-2009, 08:57 AM
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#560
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Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Crowsnest Pass
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I select in the Comics/Graphic Novel category, BLACK PANTHER VOL. 2, by Christopher Priest (Marvel, 1998):
Black Panther was my favorite super-hero growing up in the 1970s (Jungle Action by Don McGregor). T'challa is the current King of a technologically advanced African nation called Wakanda. The character was first created in the 1960s by Jack Kirby in the Fantastic Four.
Christopher Priest brought the character back in Vol. 2 in this sophisticated series, told in the style of Tarantino.
http://www.griffenaerie.com/blackpan...ord/index.html
The first story arc of Black Panther, Vol. 2 introduces the reader to many elements that will play out in this and future stories. Priest's masterful use of out-of-sequence storytelling works perfectly for Ross' narrative. Rather than a straightforward, linear story, the reader is given something much more interesting and complex.
This first story arc goes a long way in establishing the character as he's never been shown before. In the past, the Black Panther has been portrayed as your typical underpowered super hero: reactive and vulnerable. In this series, the Black Panther fulfills his potential, becoming a cunning predator, almost always one step ahead of his opponents.
"Lord of the Damned" (my arbitrary name for the arc, borrowed from the title of issue #5) is comics at their best: innovative and engaging with deep characterization and deeper storytelling. Priest's story, coupled with the beautiful painted art of Mark Texeira and Vince Evans, make this story a true Marvel masterpiece and the beginning of a landmark comic book series.
http://www.comicboards.com/blackpanther/
http://www.digital-priest.com/home-dpdc.htm
I feel the most profound statement I can make about race is to make Panther so cool he transcends the racial divide here in America. Rather than try and force the readers to identify with a black character, I accepted the fact a great many readers would not be able to overcome the race thing, and withdrew Panther from the reader entirely.
Borrowing a page from my mentor, legendary comics writer Denny O'Neil, I reinterpreted T'Challa in the mold of Denny's brilliant Ras Al Ghul, a villain from Batman's glory days. Nobody, not even Batman, ever knew, for sure, what Ras was thinking, what his true motives or true plans were. He was the world's greatest poker face, and only the legendary Darknight Detective had the power to challenge him. Ras was, like O'Neil himself, cool. And his coolness transcended race, gender, and even Ras' advanced age.
That was the energy I wanted for Panther. Rather than get into his head with an enforced intimacy that worked against his stealth, we withdrew altogether, pushing him to the shadows and, to some complaint, making him almost a guest star in his own book. Only, in any reasonable analysis of the series, Panther clearly drives the book. Even if he has only a handful of lines per issue, he is the dominating force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_(comics)
Last edited by troutman; 02-03-2009 at 09:05 AM.
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