I've mentioned before how I like themes to what I write despite never intentionally seeking them out.
Accidental themes is what we'll call them.
Well this week turned put to be another such occasion when all the comics I read turned out to be about revolutions.
My main read of the week was Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates Vol. 1 Collection, which collected the first twelve issues of this run. Entitled 'A Nation under your Feet', this story saw T'Challa, now returned to the throne after many attacks and invasions from the likes of Doom, Namor and the Black Order, struggle to heal Wakanda as it his country finds itself sliding ever closer to self-destruction. However, While T'Challa attempts to right the ship (while also revive his comatose sister, Shuri), he discovers opposition in the form of a revolutionary as well as two former Dora Milaje as they both attempt to wrestle control of the World's most advanced country from the Black Panther.
I remember hearing so many good things about this run back when it was first released and, as a result, I found myself both excited and daunted by having it amongst my to read comics. I mean, will I find it as good as people say or will the hype lead it to be unable to reach the level that my expectation had set?
Well, once I had read the first issue I strongly believed that it was the latter because, while the read was interesting enough, I really struggled to feel invested in the story and almost decided to let Black Panther lie for the moment and move on to something else.
Emphasis thought on the word 'almost.'
Fortunately, I'm glad that I decided against this because as the story progressed, I really felt that Black Panther improved greatly from that initial instalment and became a far more compelling title the further I got into it. As I understood upon the series release (as well as the introduction at the beginning of this book), Coates' prior bibliography revolves around the world's political landscape and I certainly got that impression as I read through it. While I've read many comics (and even novels) which display a political view or stance, I don't think I've read one as deeply rooted in the political zeitgeist as this story was. As I result, with every new issue absorbed, I found myself thinking about the nature of politics and society, with this story feeling very relevant in how many countries in the world are currently struggling and, in some cases, demanding extreme change.
I think that, for me, it's the characters which had me thinking and feeling this way. I really enjoyed the cast that appeared in this run as Coates created an incredibly rich selection of characters. Not one of the players here felt anything but fully 3D and fleshed out, with their motives and beliefs coming across as completely believable. For instance, while I knew that T'Challa was the hero of the story, the views of the Midnight Angels and Tetu were very difficult to dismiss and had this been another story, one where the Black Panther was a little more obscure, I might have found yield considering him the villain.
That said, it's this positioning of the Black Panther which was something of a double edged sword for me because, while a more ambiguous lead would have been cool, the fact is that we know that T'Challa is a hero. As a result, it did make it harder for me to side with either of the opposition leaders over their views of him as anything other than a good man. This was especially true of the Midnight Angels who, being former Dora Milaje, I'd have thought would have some insight into their King. Nonetheless, they still fought a very good fight on me in ideological terms, especially with Coates portraying T'Challa as a man prone to human failings (which is always refreshing in a world of 'Batman can beat anyone).
Of course, I haven't mentioned the art and, as usual, this is due to my limited knowledge on the subject. However, I really loved Brian Stelfleeze's art in this series. A style that didn't really catch my eye as the book began, as the read progressed, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Stelfleeze's pencils and Chris Sprouce's colours were with each additional page. To me, their work really helped sell the idea that Wakanda is a Utopia, with every panel looking clean and light. As a result, this worked really well in contrast (I think so anyway) against the story of a country crumbling under the weight of corruption and terrorism (and ultimately revolution).
As I reach the end of my thoughts on this comic series (well, the first book anyway), I guess that it's fair to say that I really enjoyed this collection. While it had a slow start and some of the dialogue/discussion seemed very philosophical and (way) over my head in places, I found myself deeply engrossed. While it could have easily ended there as a single story, that final page is both a fitting ending as well as a nice tease for what is to come.
For me though, it is the latter as I am really looking forward to book 2 now.
However, that wasn't what took up the rest of my week, as Monday through to Thursday (why does the working week offer me so little free time?) saw me get the chance to read Dan Butcher's Vanguard Vol. 4 for a review over at Pipedream Comics. As always, the review itself goes into greater detail bit, suffice to say, I still enjoyed this series and thought volume 4 was a good read.
I will admit that I found it to be quieter than the previous three volumes and, after nearly I year since I last read the series, I struggled to remember characters and had to hope for their reference during the read itself. However, I really thought that Vanguard continued to be a very engaging thriller which, in comparison to Black Panther, gave a much darker look at corruption on Government with its sinister 'V for Vendetta'-esque tone. This is something I really enjoy about the series and this volume really felt like it was building towards something really big, something that I will gladly be back to check out.
And that's been my past week. Beyond these two reads, very little else has happened, not even new Comics (although I did finally commit and bought Afterlift, Snow Angels, Lost on Planet Earth and 40 Seconds from Comixology's Comixology Originals sale).
Instead, I'm going to move onto next week. Where I need to decide if I'm going to carry on with Black Panther of re-read Blackbolt (Decisions Decisions).
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