The series in question was the 12 issue Black Panther series by the creative teams of Reginal Hudlin, Ken Lashley, Jonathan Maberry and Will Conrad. This series, taking place (more or less) in the aftermath of the Secret Invasion and as Dark Reign was in full swing saw the technologically advanced nation of Wakanda rocked by an assassination attempt on their King T'Challa, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, without a Black Panther to protect and lead them, Queen Ororo (a.k.a. Storm) Princess Shuri and Queen Mother Ramonda must find someone to take up the mantle of Wakanda's protector while weathering political and economic upheaval as well as monsters at their door.
I remember this series coming out at the time and felt there was a lot of promise to it based on the cover (and, I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover). However, I opted against it in favour of Secret Warriors. Now though, after taking the opportunity to read it, I have come to realise how accurate that initial cover was and how enjoyable the series ended up being.
This run had immensely strong writing (although, admittedly, the Hudlin/Lashley portion felt stronger than the Maberry/Conrad half), with the characters feeling incredibly detailed. From Shuri's desire to prove herself to T'Challa's trauma, recovery and need for revenge, the characters had seemed to have some real depth to them, making them truly compelling protaganists to follow. While the story itself did feel a little convoluted (I have to wonder if this was to stretch out to a 12 issue run) and maybe a little samey (I'm sure I've read a version of the final events somewhere previously), the journeys the characters took were engrossing enough for me to forgive the more technical piece movements across the board.
I loved how Hudlin and Maberry perfectly found all of the characters voices, from T'Challa's regal but stubborn resolve to Doom's purely superior evilness, although the appearance of Namor did seem off as he didn't quite come across as the arrogant bully I've come to expect. In fact though, as I read this I did start to wonder if this run was what was use to influence the script of Wakanda Forever given some of the similiar notions and players appearing in both.
I thought the art was solid work throughout, looking very in keeping with Marvel's common 'house style' at the time. Again, much like with the writing duties, I personally found Lashley's work to be more appealing than the Conrad's just simply down to a more gentle pencil and lighter colour scheme from Paul Mounts. That said though, Conrad's style isn't exactly a minus point as his work reminded me of Mike McKone's work on Fantastic Four from just before Civil War. Therefore, it was still strong work, only a close second behind Lashley.
(I should also note that all twelve covers for this run from J. Scott Campbell and Paul Renard are gorgeous!)
This run of Black Panther felt like a bit of a game of two halves. With a strong start from Hudlin and Lashley, the series took a knock when Maberry and Conrad came on off the bench, but still managed to hold the ball for the whole team to take the win.
Simply put, this rendition of Black Panther was a really enjoyable read which is only upset at the end by the fact that it continues into Doomwar. Fortunately for me, I happen to have that run on my Comixology 'to read' list and after this run, I sure am looking forward to Doomwar, which will be my series next time I decide read off of my Comixology account.
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