Black Panther #14 Thoughts and Spoilers...

- It was good to see Queen Divine Justice again! And even better she is going by something other than that god awful name. I am actually a little stunned there wasn't an editors note explaining who that was as I do not believe she has gone by Asira before. Come on editors, help the new kids out.

They kept QDJ's sass but made it more grown up which was a nice touch.

If you want to grow the mythos, you have to use already established supporting cast to force the issue home. One of the reasons I wanted Taku to come back instead of this new guy Hodari who is essentially doing Taku's job. Use what is already there instead of inventing new characters for no reason.

Plus, Asira has a much different personality than all the super serious Wakandan supporting cast and her sass and humor is much needed.

Not really sure where her Stane and company plot is going as it looks like nanites are being used again?

- And speaking of returning supporting cast, I think the last person I ever expected to be brought back in the fold would be Zawavari. And for him to survive the incursions? This story took a very interesting turn in this regard. And now he is going to be a side kick tag-along? Fun times ahead.

- Best part of the issue was the meeting with the previous Panthers. Not only was it nice just to see more of them with their own names and such (including another woman Panther) but it was also nice to see T'challa have some base in his voice while around them. Too often he felt "beneath" all of them during previous interactions. In this issue, HE felt like the King.

- I need more Mamadou in my life. I want to see T'challa and Mamadou spar.

- The mystical spear becoming part of T'challa arsenal is a potential nice touch.

- The art was extremely uneven. It looked great in some parts, like with the meeting with the previous Panthers. And then god awful in other parts. Like it was being rushed. The art needs to even out or people are going to leave in droves.

- All in all, this issue continues the much more solid Season 2. The mystical angle, throw back characters... it reads more like the Black Panther comic I want to read. It just really needs to get more even art and hopefully Coates doesn't fall into the exposition trap of season 1. Action is always appreciated!


Should You Read It?

- Yes. Especially if you liked #13. This is two issues in a row that I liked from Coates.

Throw Back Feat: T'challa Invented Falcon's Gear

This is from Captain America: Hail Hydra #3

Know your history fam

BP Sighting? Secret Empire #2

There are not many characters in the MU that wear black and have claws...

Does T'challa have a cosmic cube shard? Namor is the top person and they are going to be in a book together soon.

Hmmmmmmm...

BP Sighting: FCBD Secret Empire

There were concerns BP was stuck in space with the rest of the Ultimates but that obviously isn't the case.

The Crew Will Be Cancelled at #6: Some Thoughts...

It was announced over the weekend that Black Panther and the Crew will end at issue #6. What was slightly shocking was the fact that they announced it so early... what wasn't shocking was that it was cancelled.

I had mentioned on more than one occasion online that the sales for #1 were so bad, both on Diamond charts and Comixiology rankings, that this would likely be cancelled at #6. World of Wakanda sold MUCH better at #1 and was still gone by #6. The book simply sold like dog shit from the get go.


A few thoughts about this...

- This book never had a chance in the direct market from the get-go due to the racially charged themes of the book and the fact the whole team was black. You will immediately lose a large chunk of comic buyers who want no part of it without a single preview coming out (yes, white readers). You will also lose a chunk of minorities who are simply sick of social issues permeating every single book focused on people of color. It is tiring. It is like slave movies at this point. Escapism is real.

So, if the direct market is your indicator for keeping a book alive... why was this book made in the first place? Your target audience isn't the typical Wednesday warrior, and those people are going to be trade buyers.

- Marvel missed two hot times to make this book. One was when BLM and the like were actually in the news. When was the last time you saw an uproar over a killer cop? Do you really think they stopped killing? No, news stations got bored and moved on. Captain America: Sam Wilson took advatage of that (and the sales were still meh... but it was Sam Wilson so not bad).

The second "hot time" for this book was in the middle of the solo run... when World of Wakanda came out. If Black Panther and the Crew was released then, the "Coates Fans" may have moved over much more rapidly, like they did with WoW.

Instead, Marvel released this book when Black Panther ain't so lit and no one cares about killer cops. Oh... and a couple months before Bendis releases his street level book.

- The "Coates Twitter Fan" as forums often joke about are gone now (from direct market anyway). Black Panther sales are now in "normal" range and the Crew book never got off the ground. These fans either moved purely to trade waiting (which is fine) or they have moved on to whatever is cool this month. The real question is, how many of them became long term comic readers because of Coates? Time will tell but judging from The Crew and the sales of BP #13... not a ton.

- Making a murder mystery book about a brand new character was an odd choice to entice readers with. Why should we care? This book just had no "hook." The entire hook is centered on "Who is Ezrya Miller?" What if that answer is, "maybe I'll wait until you tell me who he is before I buy the book?"

- Your first cover had Misty Knight right in front. Misty has no comic buying fans.

- Your first preview had Misty and Storm. Misty and Storm have no comic buying fans.

- Only one character in the roster has any history of selling solo... Black Panther. So you put his name in front of the Crew. And then barely talked about him in interviews and he was non-existent in 2 issues of the book. Who thought that was a great idea? People are not that dumb to buy a book just because you put his name first... especially not after Black Panther: World of Wakanda.



Sadly, nothing I just said has anything to do with the quality of the book. Unfortunately, the comic business is first built on hype... quality is a distant distant second when it comes to sales. It doesn't matter how good the book its if you can't get anyone to try it. Or, in reality, create a pull list at a comic shop or buy digital the day of.

BP Guest Appearance: Ms. Marvel, vol 4, #18

BP Related Spoilers...


- The story is set in Wakanda. Bruno (Kamala supporting cast) is in a Wakandan prep school.

- Bruno and Kwezi (new Wakandan character and classmate and roommate of Bruno) decide to steal raw Vibranium in order to impress a girl Kwezi likes.

- They break into a facility using a distraction and Kwezi's kymoyo beads.

- They start to steal a chunk of vibranium when it sets off an alarm. They try to escape out a window but slip and start to fall until they are saved by Black Panther.

- T'challa begins to scold the children. Come to find out, Kwezi was trying to steal the vibranium to make an apparatus to help treat Bruno's semi paralyzed side. Kwezi also calls T'challa uncle, as his mother is one of T'challa's cousins.

- T'challa is impressed with his design and tells him next time just to ask if he needs something and says maybe he won't be a disappointment after all.


Thoughts...


- Neat little "kiddy" story featuring Wakanda and a dash of BP. We actually got to see a little bit more of the "World of Wakanda." Much more than we got in actually World of Wakanda.

- I liked the Wakandan quote at the end. "The universe is so big, it has no center. We are the center. "


Anyway, here are the relevant Black Panther-centric scans.

Black Panther and the Crew #2... with one page of Black Panther.

Here you go folks. Beware of spoilers. After the jump, I spoil the Black Panthers appearance in a book with his name in it.

Are you ready? Can you handle all of this?

There is one page. One.

I refuse to do a review of this book at this point. Frankly, I don't care about Misty Knight, I don't care about Storm retcons, and I don't care about Ezrya yet. This issue and #1 should have been smashed together and ended on the spoiler instead.

And still no Luke Cage.

T'challa's one page after the jump.

April 2017 Sales Report

Black Panther #13, featuring the start of a new arc and a perfect jumping on point...

30,509

... errr I guess jumping off point.

If you throw out events and #1, Black Panther was beaten by the following: Venom, Spider-Man, X-Men Gold, X23, X-Men Blue, OML (x2), Weapon X, Spider-Man/DP, JaneThor, Hydra Cap (x2), DP/Punisher, Miles, Dr. Strange, RiRi, Avengers.

That is ROUGH. In recent history, we were competing with Deadpool and OML. I can forgive getting beat by the X-Men relaunch, but Miles? Riri? X23? Come on man! The only notable book beaten in my opinion was Daredevil... which is up to issue 19 at this point.

We are definitely headed under 30K next week, which is a disappointment. This isn't just natural decline in sales, as Dr. Strange #19 is still sitting at 33K and that book is very similar to Panthers (hated by hardcores, recent MCU appearance, first time having a solo in ages, both in Hickman's run). Strange founds its core fan base early and kept them, Coates lost a lot of people and continues to hemorrhage.


Here is the complete publication history of T'challa's solos...

Ultimates² #6, featuring lots of meandering...

17,350

Welp, we got one more trade of this. Ewing better start wrapping it up quick.


Black Panther: World of Wakanda #6, featuring the return of Kasper Cole

15,847

Well, story wise, it ended on a high note but...

Black Panther and the Crew #1, featuring no Black Panther, no Luke Cage, but plenty of Misty and Storm...

35,604

Yep, opened 20K less than WoW.

And that is what fucking happens when you think comic fans are stupid and hide a stealth Misty book by slapping on Black Panthers name. 

So let me get this straight... comic survive by pre-orders and having a massive number one issue, so you decide you will lead off showcasing an F list hero who cant hold a solo and team her up with the most overrated X-man of all time? 

Nice work Marvel. 

Enjoy 6 issues of the Crew everyone!

Black Panther Blog Update

You may have noticed my posts are mostly just scans of comics these days and some reviews.

That is because my current blog project is massively and ridiculously time consuming. I simply don't have time to do any sort of "real" post.

I am currently cataloging ALL of T'challa's appearances. You see the link at the top "All of T'challa's Appearances (raw list)."

Well, I am currently changing the Raw List into something useful. There are just a lot of comics to sift through.

Step one is categorizing T'challa's appearance in the comic. Is it a solo book? Team book? Event? Guest appearance? Or simply a non speaking background cameo?

Once that is finished, I will create a complete, comprehensive reading guide of The Black Panther. But I need all the appearances categorized first. I don't want to miss anything. A lot of the Black Panther lists floating around frankly... suck? Well, don't suck, but they don't have the detail I think is necessary. For instance, one of the most popular "reading order" sights out there doesn't even list Hickman's Fantastic Four issues.... ie the issues where T'challa became King of the Dead. How do you miss that!!???

I am working from present day backwards and right now I am in the middle of the "Hudlin Era."

So, as soon as I finish, expect more old comic reviews, brawls, special features, history of Namor, history of Doom and many more.

But, this is too important to leave undone.

BP Sighting: Thanos Annual #1

Art: Lego Royalty

BP Sighting: New Avengers, vol 4, #12