Oooooooooo……….  🙂

WRITER: Reginald Hudlin

ARTIST:  Manuel Garcia

PLOT: King T’Challa and his new bride, Storm of the X-Men, begin a global diplomatic mission. They have to discover who their friends and enemies are, now that they are a power couple on Marvel’s world stage. So they visit the Inhumans on the Moon, Prince Namor The First of Atlantis, and Iron Man in Washington, D.C. as CIVIL WAR continues to rage throughout the Marvel Universe.

VERDICT: I’m still not feeling the characterization of any of these characters, but Hudlin’s writing is improving. The conflicts seem contrived for action’s sake, which, in comics terms, is so mid-1960s. 🙂 But Hudlin is trying to tell a story. The flashback sequence with The Invaders in 21 was well-handled. The confrontation with Shellhead would have been interesting if I hadn’t read the far superior Enemy of The State II a few years back.

Anyway, the stage is set for King T’Challa and Queen Ororo to become major players in CW. And I guess you’ve heard by now that the Royal Couple will soon join a certain well-known superhero team?

WRITER: REGINALD HUDLIN
ARTIST:  SCOT EATON

PLOT: King T’Challa and his new bride, Storm of the X-Men, begin a global diplomatic mission. They have to discover who their friends and enemies are, now that they’re a power couple on Marvel’s world stage. So they take up Doctor Doom‘s offer to come to Latveria for a summit, and fisticuffs ensue.

VERDICT: The usual complaint about Hudlin’s execution of what could have been an interesting idea. Even though I think Hudlin is trying to weave a(n accessible) political tapestry, a la the inevitable Civil War crossover, the book is still too lightweight in terms of plot, dialogue and situations. And as someone who went through the whole African medallion-Public Enemy-KRS-One-“Fight The Power” era, I think I’m just 18 years too late (read: too old :)) for all of the Black pop-cult, simple humor, and Afrocentric self-esteem Hudlin feels the need to constantly shoehorn. He’s only got 22 pages a month (not counting the re-cap splash page at the beginning of the comic), and that space could be better used for plot, etc. But I think he’s writing for today’s 20-year-olds, who have mucho entertainment options.

There’s been a lot of online discussion about Doom’s racist comments in this issue—to the point, whether it was appropriately consistent with the character. I don’t see Doom’s racial statements in this issue as a big deal. I view Doom as a bigot, not (necessarily) a racist. I think Doom was trying to goad the couple, so he (like Hudlin, *SIGH*) went with the obvious.

I still like this book for what it is. But I have to admit that I’d be much more excited about this six-part storyline if I thought it was going to end in any way other than a spectacular show of (Black) prowess by T’Challa and Ororo. *YAWN*

Although I like the book, my original criticism of Hudlin still stands. Although Hudlin’s writing as greatly improved from his first few issues, the universe he has crafted is still one that is only mildly interesting at best. Hudlin’s re-working of Panther does not improve on The House Stan and Jack Built and subsequently fortified, by various degrees over the decades, by Marvel writers Roy Thomas, Don McGregor and Christopher J. Priest—the latter my personal favorite. (Priest’s first two Black Panther stories, “Black Panther: The Client” and “Black Panther: Enemy Of The State,” can be found in trade paperback on Amazon.) Those looking for a piece of graphic literature—something that is supposed to go beyond the obvious, that creates its own interior rules for specific reasons that advance the story, that provides thoughtful uses of language with a distinct rhythm, that’s supposed to be both internal and external, that at best contains symbolism and multiple meanings—will be disappointed here.

As far as the current storyline goes, I wish I could be shown how “badass” and “cool” Storm and T’Challa are by them acting like the complex characters they are (well, were) in a layered, detailed storyline. But I guess I’ll just have to enjoy what I have and wait for the next writer to do that.

Ran to the comicstore Wednesday, as per geek ritual. (I won’t do a shameful plug for Liberty Books And Comics [formerly Closet of Comics] in College Park, Md., because that would be rude. :)) Had to pick up the last issue of the Storm miniseries and the current issue of Black Panther, No. 18. The former is written by novelist Eric Jerome Dickey and the latter by BET Entertainment President Reginald Hudlin.

Both Marvel books are helmed by writers who have loved comics their whole lives but are “new” voices invading the cloistered world of a small group of mostly 30-year-old to 50-year-old white male scribes who write for, as the public perception goes, 20-year-old to 40-year-old mostly white male geeks. If Central Casting holds true, both groups are guys who are stereotypically just two or three steps away from Comic Book Guy of “The Simpsons” fame—at least in their own minds. 🙂 (I can’t even watch “The Simpsons” because I AM CBG. :)) Both brothers are doing something relatively new for comics—presenting strong Afrocentric perspectives for mainstream (read: white) and new (read: young and “urban”) audiences.

These two books are the most prominent Black comics that have existed since, well, the previous volume of the Black Panther, written by grandmaster (comicbook) writer Christopher J. Priest, was cancelled. For those of us who miss Milestone Comics, these two books and that great “Static Shock” cartoon, currently in reruns on Cartoon Network, are the best of what’s left of that Black Power vibe.

I was, and remain, a huge fan of Priest’s very smartly written, post-modern, layered version of Black Panther. It took me a LONG time to get used to Hudlin’s pop-culture version, particularly when Hudlin chose to substantially re-create the character’s 40-year-old history, jettisoning or changing whatever he didn’t like. Those of us fanboys who liked the previous portrayals, seeing all of it as, say, different chapters of a REALLY long novel without an end, have had to get used to, well, essentially a new character with a “new” backstory. Before Hudlin came along, King T’Challa had been written by Priest, and Don McGregor before him, as if he was a character worthy of joining the African mythological canon—a distant, brooding, hard-to-understand warrior-king. Now he gives brothers a pound and smiles sometimes in between kicking the asses of ninjas and vampires. “Lord of The African Rings” morphing into “Rush Hour 2” With Superheroes. I REALLY LIKE “Rush Hour 2,” but still……

Dickey’s dialogue was often uneven, but his story of Ororo’s journey into womanhood was a feast of plot. The author attempted real (if not overly repetitive) symbolism through overly repetitive refrains. This is my first reading of any of Dickey’s work. He clearly takes his craft seriously and cares about Storm more than, say, Bryan Singer did.

Hudlin’s first nine BP issues ranged from bad to terrible, but he has really hit his stride with his last two storyarcs, “Two The Hard Way” (re-named “Black Mutha” in trade) and “Bride Of The Panther.”

This month’s issue—with Storm marrying T’Challa, solidifying a love affair that began in Dickey’s miniseries—ended the latter arc.

I like the view of one poster on the Black Panther Message Board (where I use the tag “takufan4”) about Hudlin’s Panther—that Hudlin, a filmmaker by trade, is doing an adaptation of the character, using its 40-year history only on a selected basis.

Anyway, the wedding issue was, like Hudlin’s other issues of late, (only) pretty good. The idea of having Bast—“The Panther God”—sanctify the wedding was a GREAT one, although the execution of it, like much of this series, left a little to be desired.

Any nitpicking to the side, both Dickey and Hudlin have ELEVATED regal, powerful, loving and introspective African and African-American fictional characters to their proper place in the realm of American comicbooks. For just doing that well, both brothers deserve great credit. They should both share a full page in the history of early 21st century African-American popular culture.