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3.0 out of 5 starsJRJR Does Black Panther
ByJ. Fieldson September 30, 2011
I got this because I'm a Black Panther fan, and also because I'm a big John Romita Jr. fan. Klaus Jansen inks JRJR like no one else can, and for my money, no one else should ink his pencils. The artwork here is very good - but lacking something for me. I was trying to figure out why, and I think the book is too dark. Not in storyline, but just in coloring. The older versions if Black Panther have his suit almost a blue color, with lots of heavy darks and line work. This gives him a depth and shows off the artistic touches much better than trying to keep him all dark with grays/blacks. JRJR's linework needs to be seen, otherwise his style becomes too blocky and sparse, like cardboard cutouts. The rest of the book is gorgeous, but when it comes to the main character, that's who I wanted to see tricked out in JRJR's style.
The plot was the best in the history of Black Panther yet. It was nice to have him in his country of origin, instead of finding reasons to bring him to big cities via silly plot twists. I found the tech a little overdone and unexplained, and also the villian was boring and not only named after Inspector Gadget's arch enemy, he had the same gimmicky hand.
A solid book for a character that needed it by a good team.
Look for the animated series on Netflix or DVD - because it's cooler than the book, and I think JRJR's pics came out better in that format. Plus, Captain America's scene figures in much more in the animated series than his too brief treatment here.
