A review by iffer
Black Panther #1 by Brian Stelfreeze, Laura Martin, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4.0
Considering all the hype, I think it's a very good sign that I can say that I wasn't disappointed. Coates and Stelfreeze hit the ground running, not in terms of action-packed scenes, but in terms of complexity. This issue 1 reveals a very promising foundation for the development of multiple complex characters (family relationships, loss, personal responsibility) and socio-economic and socio-political themes.
Though the script was good (although I think that the visual flow of the script/lettering could've been a little more smooth), I think that Ta-Nehisi Coates definitely has room to grow in terms of writing comic books, since it's such a different medium, but the fact that is aware of this, loved comic books as a kid, and earnestly wants to work to do a good job is promising.
I can see Coates's influence throughout the issue, but I honestly feel like Stelfreeze does what might be a vastly under-appreciated and fantastic job with the visual storytelling, the "heavy lifting," so to speak. Coates and Stelfreeze's Wakanda, the diverse ecosystems and people, the patchwork *country* of Wakanda seems like the main character of this book more so than Th'Challa, and Stelfreeze shapes readers' conception of that complex country through his artwork.
I also feel compelled to mention that I loved seeing black bodies and black faces and black skin in their diversity and varying, believable facial expressions. Stelfreeze's manages a bulkier Black Panther than I feel like I'm used to seeing, but this physical power isn't an over-muscled stereotype of a black male; somehow power coiled and waiting to spring is communicated in every shot of Th'Challa.
Though the script was good (although I think that the visual flow of the script/lettering could've been a little more smooth), I think that Ta-Nehisi Coates definitely has room to grow in terms of writing comic books, since it's such a different medium, but the fact that is aware of this, loved comic books as a kid, and earnestly wants to work to do a good job is promising.
I can see Coates's influence throughout the issue, but I honestly feel like Stelfreeze does what might be a vastly under-appreciated and fantastic job with the visual storytelling, the "heavy lifting," so to speak. Coates and Stelfreeze's Wakanda, the diverse ecosystems and people, the patchwork *country* of Wakanda seems like the main character of this book more so than Th'Challa, and Stelfreeze shapes readers' conception of that complex country through his artwork.
I also feel compelled to mention that I loved seeing black bodies and black faces and black skin in their diversity and varying, believable facial expressions. Stelfreeze's manages a bulkier Black Panther than I feel like I'm used to seeing, but this physical power isn't an over-muscled stereotype of a black male; somehow power coiled and waiting to spring is communicated in every shot of Th'Challa.