Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Black Panther: Four The Hard Way TPB
by Reginald Hudlin (words) and Manuel Garcia (pictures)
There is plenty to like about this collection, originally published as separate comic books in a series.
* The writers remember that T'Challa IS king, and this not only means perques but also means that political intrigue and issues of State are always in the background, if not the foreground.
* The Black Panther and Storm's entry to the Baxter Building and the Fantastic Four seems full natural, and shows us as much about Reed Richards as it does about our title character.
* Both writer and artist do a great job with an interdimensional Skrull world, as well as the Negative Zone.
* I confess I would not have expected the Black Panther to be effective in an interdimensional / interplanetary setting. The creators of this series did a great job of finding ways to use the Panther in such a way to make his actions and reactions feel quite at-home, even on a different planet.
However, there are also things that I would have preferred not to have to deal with:
* The Zombie Avengers. Sorry, but I am incredibly sick of society's current zombie craze. (To be fair, they are handled reasonably well except I have a real problem grasping the concept of their taking on and (b)eating Galactus, albeit off-camera.
* The book ended on a cliffhanger. I expect this when I buy a comic book. However, I would hope that a collection of stories would either be an anthology of separate stories OR at least have a beginning, middle, and (clear) END.
Overall, a good to very good set of reprints. I could see the shadow of excellence, however, and was quite disappointed that the book did not reach it.
NOTE: I acquired / read this book and its follow-up in the wrong order. I enjoyed "Little Green Men" more than I did this book. Do not allow my opinion of this book influence your decision to pick up the next.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded to 3 stars.
by Reginald Hudlin (words) and Manuel Garcia (pictures)
There is plenty to like about this collection, originally published as separate comic books in a series.
* The writers remember that T'Challa IS king, and this not only means perques but also means that political intrigue and issues of State are always in the background, if not the foreground.
* The Black Panther and Storm's entry to the Baxter Building and the Fantastic Four seems full natural, and shows us as much about Reed Richards as it does about our title character.
* Both writer and artist do a great job with an interdimensional Skrull world, as well as the Negative Zone.
* I confess I would not have expected the Black Panther to be effective in an interdimensional / interplanetary setting. The creators of this series did a great job of finding ways to use the Panther in such a way to make his actions and reactions feel quite at-home, even on a different planet.
However, there are also things that I would have preferred not to have to deal with:
* The Zombie Avengers. Sorry, but I am incredibly sick of society's current zombie craze. (To be fair, they are handled reasonably well except I have a real problem grasping the concept of their taking on and (b)eating Galactus, albeit off-camera.
* The book ended on a cliffhanger. I expect this when I buy a comic book. However, I would hope that a collection of stories would either be an anthology of separate stories OR at least have a beginning, middle, and (clear) END.
Overall, a good to very good set of reprints. I could see the shadow of excellence, however, and was quite disappointed that the book did not reach it.
NOTE: I acquired / read this book and its follow-up in the wrong order. I enjoyed "Little Green Men" more than I did this book. Do not allow my opinion of this book influence your decision to pick up the next.
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded to 3 stars.
