Black Panther Annual #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer(s): Christopher Priest, Don McGregor, Reggie Hudlin
Artist(s): Mike Perkins, Daniel Acuña, Ken Lashley
Colorist(s): Andy Troy & Matt Milla
Cover: Daniel Acuña
The Black Panther annual brings together some of the most influential creators to ever touch the character with three separate stories from specific timelines in T’Challa’s long comic history. Priest, McGregor, and Hudlin each have left their mark on Black Panther in a way that has influenced much of what have seen in the present day character’s lore and now very successful solo movie debut.
The first story, “Back In Black” returns Christopher Priest to the world of Black Panther but it’s Everett K. Ross who takes center stage here. In Priest’s hands, Ross is the everyman we actually want to follow even when you’ve got one of the Marvel’s best superheroes in the same story. For the fans who discovered Black Panther through Priest this does feel like his Marvel Knights run only set in present day. In a short time he fills this story with characters like Malice, Hunter, and Wakanda’s Secret Police the Hatut Zeraze and it never feels crowded. Mike Perkins and Andy Troy deliver top notch dark and moody visuals that make every panel a joy to see. From the stark white costumes worn by the Hatut Zeraze to a shark getting kicked in the face it’s panel after panel of great comic action. Perkins also gives us a version of T’Challa’s costume that is a nice balance of what we’ve seen recently and his classic pajama style suit from years ago.
Don McGregor switches up the pace with “Panther’s Heart” and is set in an alternate past where T’Challa is dealing with the death of Monica Lynne. This is a moving story where the King is doing something that most in his kingdom won’t agree with to honor the woman he loved. McGregor kicks you in the feelings with this one as we see that very human side of T’Challa as like with all of us there are some things we just can’t stop regardless of how powerful we are. Daniel Acuña moves the narrative well and catches every emotional beat needed here. Especially T’Challa’s last words in this story which sums up everything.
The final entry here is from Reggie Hudlin with “Black to the Future”. Now here we have an alternate future story where T’Challa and Storm remained married. Being one of those comic readers who was never a huge fan of this relationship it was nice that it’s not the focus of this story. Better yet we see a world where Wakanda rules all and T’Challa is asked a very important question from his granddaughter. From here Hudlin walks us through the events that have led to Wakanda’s current position in the world with Ken Lashley and Matt Milla making it look good. As exciting as this story gets at times, Hudlin makes it plain that he’s not here to just deliver some Wakandan utopia for readers to cheer about. He makes you question some of the decisions made and if it was all worth it.
Now with the exception of McGregors story you really don’t need to know decades of Black Panther backstory to enjoy this issue. And even with McGregor’s tale it’s still an impactful story because everyone can relate to it on some level. The art is wonderful and it’s a definite read for anyone looking for a decent BP story to get into.
Infinite Speech
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