Dr. Todd Steven Burroughs’ Marvel’s Black Panther : A Comic Book Biography, From Stan Lee to Ta-Nehisi Coates finally gives us the history of the character we’ve been waiting for. He follows Black Panther from his first appearance by Lee and Kirby through the one, two, three punch of creators Priest, Hudlin and Coates.
My first encounter with the character was from his writer starting in the late nineties, Christopher Priest. I’d been a fan of Priest’s work since he wrote for Green Lantern and the Ray and loved his take on the character. Priest jump started Black Panther after he had laid fallow for several years. He also set the stage for Reginald Hudlin to take the character to the next level. Hudlin cleared away some of the baggage that had built up over Priest’s run and gave him a fresh start while using the best ideas that he’d come up with. We now have Ta-Nehisi Coates offering his exploration of a human superhero-king firmly based in the character’s comic book history.
Burroughs explores all of these twists and turns with intelligent analysis and the light touch required when talking about people fighting crime in tights. Along the way I learned more about Don McGregor, the keeper of the Black Panther flame throughout the 70’s and 80’s and inventor of the majority of the world of Wakanda. In addition, Burroughs places Black Panther in the wider historical context of what was going on in the world as these creators were giving their different takes on the character.
Some highlights of the book are -
- Learning about what may be the first “case of Superhero-ing While Black.”
- Changing Black Panther to the Black Leopard (?!?)
- The continual de-powering and re-powering of the character
- The reasons behind various creators different approaches towards the character of Black Panther
For those just now encountering Black Panther through the blockbuster movie, Burroughs’ book is a great place to learn more about his history and what comics to search out next. For longtime fans of the character it’s a great refresher with some thoughtful analysis on the Black Panther in the wider historical context.
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Top reviews from the United States
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I’d been a fan of Priest’s work since he wrote for Green Lantern and the Ray and loved his take on the character
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
Bad gift
By Steven Ware on January 27, 2021
Buying a a gift for my kid and someway somehow the only thing about Marvel’s Black Panther that this book has is the cover.
By Steven Ware on January 27, 2021
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