Customer Reviews

Black Panther, Vol. 1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jack Kirby had made his return to mighty Marvel in the 1970's where he took over Captain America, created Devil Dinosaur and Machine Man. And with all this he took on the Black Panther.

But what to do with a character that only had one short run on his own before. Kirby could have used it as a soap box for various issues of the time but instead he decided to run with it and have all out fun, whether it was fighting a group of treasure seekers or fighting aliens this is Jack at his best. I even liked it better than this run on Captain America of the time (which I liked a lot) but this was better. Out of touch with the rest of the Marvel Universe the Panther could run loose and wild.

Fantastic stuff.

The reprints are from Black Panther #1 to 7, so this leaves room for a volume two which see some of his relatives get into the Black Panther act (almost a Black Panther Corps. going on).

My only wonder is if they will continue onto the last issue or so of the series that did not have Kirby art, but rest assured this volume is the Jack Kirby show.

There was a time when Jack Kirby the writer must have been ON something.

Seriously...his takes on characters (or runs on titles) often started right in the middle of something. As mentioned in another review, the first issue of "Black Panther" starts right in the middle of a story...a story that even if you were well familiar with every single printed appearance of the Black Panther, you STILL would have no idea what was going on.

Kirby always did this...taking over Captain America in the mid-70's, his Jimmy Olsen wack-jobs, those admittedly bizarre Devil Dinosaur books...besides T'Challa, you didn't recognize ANYONE here. Except you instantly knew they were characters in a universe only Kirby could have created.

I must admit that growing up, I hated Kirby. I was the total Neal Adams/Gil Kane/John Byrne kinda guy, and Kirby (especially in the 70's) was "ugly". Unrealistic. These gaping toothless mouths, anatomy that defied logic...just "weird looking."

Now, decades later, knowing how he is arguably the single most important creator in the history of comics, I get him. This was a guy whose imagination was, in the strictest sense, limitless. You take a look at some of those celestial visions, alien architectures and vehicles that curve and gleam. Could YOU have come up with anything even CLOSE to that? Has anybody?

His "Black Panther" run, especially the seven issues here, felt like the lithe, mysterious character from the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the Marvel Universe was dropped into some Bizarro (to borrow from their Distinguished Competition...) World. He's surrounded by freaks, monsters, alien artifacts...you'll find yourself saying...and often..."what the...?"

In his career, this brief run on "Black Panther" is simply a small chapter in this Kirbyverse. It wouldn't be in his Hall of Fame exhibit, but it's an entertaining way to while away some time. Marvel should be applauded for bringing these non-mainstream issues back to life.

I totally disagree with the reviews that say Kirby put the panther in some bizarro world! Jack Kirby created the Black panther so he knew exactly what world he should be in!

I love the story with the panther covering the world looking for a very expensive and historical artifact. I have no problem with Kirby's writing because I love the way Kirby writes, I enjoy his one of a kind dialoge.

The actual art in this book is nothing short of breathtaking, as Kirby's art always is! He simply couldn't be touched when it comes to actual comic book art!! Truly the undisputed King and master!!

Over the past 5 years or so, Marvel has been doing an excellent job of reprinting their older material. The Masterworks and Essentials series are in full-steam (despite the aggravation of numerous format changes), and I couldn't be happier. In fact, if it were up to me, Marvel would get on the ball and reprint EVERYTHING in Essential format, but that's another story...

I have noticed lately, however, that Marvel is increasingly taking their fans for granted. This comes in the form of capitalizing on revivals of their classic properties. During Marvel's recent (and pathetic) revival of "What If?", they released a full-color trade paperback of only the first 6 issues from the original '70s series for the devastating price of twenty-five bucks! It was a showcase for material of questionable quality: the first 6 issues of "What If?" are a poor indication of the greatness to come. Now that Marvel is reviving Black Panter, they have released a trade of the first 7 issues of the '70s series for twenty bucks! Maybe if this were quality material, I could understand, but BLACK PANTHER BY JACK KIRBY is anything but.

The seven issues reprinted here are both written and illustrated by Kirby. Now let me make this clear: I love Jack Kirby. He is one of the grand masters of comics, but that doesn't mean he could do no wrong. Some of his mid-seventies output for Marvel is pretty horrendous, and his Black Panther run is an example of this. I guess it could be argued that he was just having fun, but I sure didn't have fun reading this collection. I'm actually quite surprised that Marvel would even consider it worthy of an expensive color reprint. While Kirby's crazy concepts and wild action may have worked in SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN, they fall flat when dealing with a character like the Black Panther. Supporting characters like Mr. Little and Princess Zanda only serve to irritate, and story elements such as King Solomon's Frog, the Collectors, and the Six-Million-Year Man are just weird for weirdness' sake. What's even worse is that the beginning of BLACK PANTHER BY JACK KIRBY drops us into the middle of an ongoing storyline. Hey Marvel, here's a hint - I don't appreciate paying twenty bucks for a 140 page trade paperback slapped together with no forethought. Try starting from the beginning, or better yet, pack 25 issues into an Essential Black Panther. You fooled me with this book and the What If? collection, but no more. It's Essentials from here onward. My wallet can't handle the strain.

Kirby's Black Panther gets a bad rap--I agree with those who value it as pulpy fun. I could read 100 issues of comics like these. Haughty gorgeous villainess, dubious cunning allies, crazy sci-fi/fantasy concepts...all wrapped up in a treasure hunting story. If you need the Black Panther to be in super-serious, high minded stories, this ain't for you; but if you have an appetite for breakneck "Indiana Jones meets Doc Savage" adventures, this is a good buy.

This full color Marvel Comics Trade Paperback, BLACK PANTHER VOL. 1 by Jack Kirby, collects issues 1 through 7 of his run, from 1977 and 1978 (wow, 30 years ago, already).

Most of this book involves the Black Panther grudgingly working for some world class "Collectors" of powerful items of mythology, and battling the fantastic guardians of these ancient artifacts. Towards the end of this trade paperback, they introduce a subplot of someone trying to overtake the kingdom of the Black Panther, while he is away, which will be dealt with in the Volume 2 trade paperback. Black Panther By Jack Kirby Volume 2 TPB (Black Panther)

I was surprised that each issue is only 17 pages long, instead of the more standard 22 pages that I expected. But the art is real Jack Kirby.

Some readers feel that this Black Panther series written by Jack Kirby is not very good. I can agree that the story has little long term developments, but the plot developments are acceptable, and Jack's enthusiasm for storytelling shows in every panel.

Jack Kirby writes and pencils everything in this collection. The back of the book has a bonus first draft of the Black Panther, when Stan and Jack were thinking about naming him the Coal Tiger. There are also a few pages of b/w pencil art showing what Kirby's penciling looked like. It is more defined and shaded than the hard and strong inky blacks that characterize his comics works of the past, and, indeed, something that his style is very famous and known for.

I might be getting too detailed in my observation, but I noticed that Jack's pencils look more detailed and nuanced than the very bold inking that his comics usually look like.

Jack seems to have turned in pencils that are more finished than most pencilers today might do. Today, if a penciler draws an area of the picture meant for solid black sections, they just write a few Xs in the section and today's inkers will know to fill it all in as solid black. But here you can compare Jack's pencil to the finished, colored art. There are sections that Jack shaded, but the inker would then plop solid black into the section, losing the shading. In fact, Jack Kirby's best work is notorious for having very strong, bold, solid sections of blacks.

The Jack Kirby series that I would really like to see in a color trade paperback is his 2001 A Space Odyssey series! I recall that series as being nutty philosophies about life and existence, which was really very trippy and entertaining. Until 2001 A Space Odyssey comes out in trade paperback, the Black Panther books will have to do, for now.

I love Jack Kirby. Even the wacky 70s Marvel stuff that most people hate - Eternals, 2001, Captain America. I also love the Black Panther. As written by Priest, he's one of my favorite Marvel characters. I never had read any of Kirby's 70s BP run until this collection came out. I'm wishing I still hadn't encountered this. I was ready (and expecting) a ton of weirdness and nonsensical stuff going on but I really wasn't prepared for how badly plotted and written this stuff is. To me, this is absolutely the worst Kirby-written product I've read. Knowing the potential of the character makes these awful stories even worse. The art is great 70s Krazy Kirby but it really doesn't make up for the bad stories.