BLACK PANTHER COMIC BOOK - Ridley's Believe it or Not!

[Ture]

I feel you Emperorjones. I am going to give it a shot and hope to enjoy the return of a recognizable T'Challa the Black Panther. At this stage of comic booking, I want to be immersed in a Black Panther comic book that takes T'Challa, his supporting cast and Wakanda down a path of in character continuity, creatively in-depth narrative and standout super heroics.

When Hudlin became the first high profile celebrity writer for Black Panther there was some trepidation because he wasn't a comic book writer like his predecessor Priest. However Hudlin was a comic book guy who respected the medium and the character and that came through. Not to mention he had some real cool ideas and greatly contributed to the advancement of Black Panther and Wakanda. While it is well publicized that he created Shuri and united T'Challa and Ororo, it is not mentioned enough that it was Hudlin who gave us the 10,000 year unconquered Wakanda. That had an incredibly positive impact on the Black Panther's mythos.

With the possible exception of Liss, the celebrity writers to follow Hudlin (Maberry, Coates) on the Black Panther's ongoing series lacked that prerequisite insight needed for T'challa and Wakanda to flourish. This is further exacerbated by this comic book era of inclusion, representation, gender switching and race swapping. I think Marvel doesn't have confidence enough that Redjack would follow the A.G.E.N.D.A.

[Ture]

Marvel's Tribute to Ta-Nehisi Coates – Black Panther #25 [Preview]
by Jude Terror

Next week's Black Panther #25 will be the final issue of Ta-Nehisi Coates's run on the series, and Marvel is paying tribute in the most Marvel way possible: with a sh*tload of variant covers! See them all below, and yeah, somewhere in there is a preview of the issue, which hits stores on Wednesday.









BLACK PANTHER #25
MARVEL COMICS
APR201030
FEB210529 – BLACK PANTHER #25 BUSTOS STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210530 – BLACK PANTHER #25 CABAL STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210531 – BLACK PANTHER #25 CARNERO STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210532 – BLACK PANTHER #25 CASSARA STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210533 – BLACK PANTHER #25 COELLO STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210534 – BLACK PANTHER #25 GLEASON STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210535 – BLACK PANTHER #25 MOMOKO STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
FEB210528 – BLACK PANTHER #25 REBORN VAR – $5.99
FEB210536 – BLACK PANTHER #25 SILVA STORMBREAKERS VAR – $5.99
APR201032 – BLACK PANTHER #25 SPRATT VAR – $5.99
APR201031 – BLACK PANTHER #25 STELFREEZE FINAL ISSUE VAR – $5.99

(W) Ta-Nehisi Coates (A) Daniel Acu?a, Brian Stelfreeze (CA) Daniel Acuna
THE FINAL ISSUE OF TA-NEHISI COATES' LANDMARK RUN! It's the end of an era for the Black Panther as renowned writer Ta-Nehisi Coates concludes his Wakandan epic! Over four years, Coates has taken the Black Panther to hell and back and expanded Wakanda into the distant stars. Now, in his final issue, he brings T'Challa full circle, back to the home he left behind… and the crown he has never fully accepted. This is the story of a king who sought to be a hero, a hero who was reduced to a slave, a slave who advanced into legend…and the man who has struggled to hold up an empire in his bare hands. The journey will conclude, but the legend remains. Don't miss the close of a historic epoch in comic history!

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/black-panther-25-preview-marvels-tribute-to-ta-nehisi-coates/















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[Ture]

On this the eve of Coates finale...

Black Panther's Final Epic Battle is Putting The MCU To Shame
The final issue of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther will feature a cosmic war for Wakanda that may rival the battles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
BY KEVIN ERDMANN



Warning: contains a preview for Black Panther #25!

A new preview from Marvel Comics has been released, showing the first few pages of Ta-Nehisi Coates' final issue of Black Panther, and promising a major conflict that puts the MCU's greatest battles to shame. The final reckoning has come for the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, and T'Challa has assembled a massive coalition of heroes to fend off his newest enemies. With Emperor N'Jadaka and his forces having arrived to claim the Prime Wakanda as their own, the stakes have never been higher for the advanced African nation, and the true Wakanda is going to fight as hard as it can to protect its people.

Black Panther #25 will be coming from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Daniel Acuña, seeing the end of Coates' tenure with the character, which has covered the main series and multiple spin-offs since 2016. In his wake, the incredible John Ridley will take over with Black Panther #1 in August, though there's no telling what sort of Wakanda he'll be left with by the massive battle's end. King T'Challa has been battling with this corrupted intergalactic offshoot of Wakanda for quite some time, but having regained his memories and contacted his allies, Black Panther is determined to fight for the soul and legacy of his nation. As such, he's gathered superheroes and allies in unprecedented numbers.

Not only has Black Panther called upon his fellow superheroes, but he's also requested the assistance and help of the Originators, a conglomerate of indigenous species that existed in Wakanda before man took over the region and banished them. Seeking the chance for glory and honor as well as promised reparations from Wakanda after the battle is won, T'Challa just got a major source of support at the end of the previous issue, allowing the tide to be turned right as it seemed as though Killmonger's forces had the upper hand. Now, the preview reveals the continuation of the massive battle, seeing the King and Emperor face to face as the conflict enters its final act. Here's the synopsis and preview pages for Black Panther #25:





After all this time, it's hard to imagine Black Panther without Coates, but after a truly staggering run, the themes and ideas woven into T'Challa's struggle for freedom against the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda are converging in a final battle for the ages. With the sheer amount of heroes, villains, creatures, aliens forces, symbiotes, and even the Gods of Wakanda themselves standing witness over the pivotal chapter of the nation, this particular battle rivals the Battle of Wakanda seen in Avengers: Infinity War, and even the final battle against Thanos seen in Avengers: Endgame.





This final chapter promises to be an amazing last ride, as heroes like War Machine, Luke Cage, Cloak, Ironheart, Spectrum, and more give their all in the name of Wakanda. The foundations of Wakanda are about to be rocked with the end of an era when Black Panther #25 hits physical and digital retailers May 26.

https://screenrant.com/black-panther-ta-nehisi-coates-comic-preview-25/


DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!












962537

[CvilleWakandan]

Standard Coates, pretty underwhelming. None of his themes really get resolved, just a bunch of philosophy loops that really mean nothing. The outcome of the first arc is erased

Spoiler (click to reveal)

Tchalla becomes Emporer, but no explanation of why. Unless it's keep what you kill logic. And unlike some where thinking he doesn't really embrace it. He's essentially the same as from issue one.

the second swept under the rug.

Spoiler (click to reveal)

They give the originators their own planet.

 The Orishi do nothing

Spoiler (click to reveal)

Zenzi volunteers to become Bast, the new form looks cool

 
Storm does nothing but talk at the end as the biggest contribution.

I don't know how much Ridley can wipe away, but most of the stories don't need any follow ups anymore except for how the empire will continue. And will the former slaves get reparations? Lol

[Ture]

I don't know what time your comic book store opens or how you do it CvilleWakandan but thanks for the early morning report. I'll add more comprehensive commentary as soon as I've read the issue.

For now I'l  say this, I wasn't expecting anything other than the usual Coates' fare which is why I posted that article last night. It was really trying to hype this final issue and I thought that was ridiculous because other than the first issue and maybe the relaunch Coates doesn not bring hype to the game.

Speaking of Black Panther runs... I posted this less than a week ago.

With the possible exception of Liss, the celebrity writers to follow Hudlin (Maberry, Coates) on the Black Panther's ongoing series lacked that prerequisite insight needed for T'challa and Wakanda to flourish. This is further exacerbated by this comic book era of inclusion, representation, gender switching and race swapping. I think Marvel doesn't have confidence enough that Redjack would follow the A.G.E.N.D.A.

Over at CBR Redjack had this to say in reply to Ezyo1000 after the former responded to chief12d .

Posted by chief12d #6382
This is a question I think a lot of BP writers and to a lesser extent fans always need to contend with. How many skeletons is this aspirational civilization supposed to have in the closet before it’s national mythology becomes forfeit and the norms upheld within it become symptomatic of oppression and exploitation? Coates’ ideology shines through in that regard, he doesn’t believe in the “dream” of America so he could never hope to conceptualize or respect the notion of Wakanda as a beacon for the world community, particularly the black diaspora.

In grounding the fictional culture in harsh reality (settler colonialism, slavery, institutional sexism) he not only upturns the idea of Wakanda as nation above all others but of its innate capacity for change in his treatment of T’Challa. It was T’Challa that turned a blind eye to the mass rape of Wakandan women, who never wrestled with the implications of ruling a nation founded on soft genocide, and who ignored (and for a time embraced!) the enslavement of non-humans in the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.

Under Coates T’Challa is not the subversive radical he was under McGregor, Priest, and Hudlin. Even when Priest explored Wakanda’s less than ideal political elements T’Challa was shown as being in direct opposition to them, acting as a visionary reformist. He banished the Hatut Zeraze and while he maintained the institution of the Dora Milaje he made clear his lack of interest and sought to only maintain peace. Coates sees T’Challa as a moderate, meekly defending a morally bankrupt status quo within a nation only ahead of the rest of the world in its technology, not its institutions or spiritual framing.

It is sad, because there are interesting ideas to explore, but outside the technical issues of his writing, those aren’t ideas meant to be explored in a BP book. It erodes the fundamentals of what makes Wakanda such a strong concept and T’Challa a revolutionary character, which isn’t to say Wakanda should be without flaw mind you. Coogler and Priest did extraordinary jobs with the lore despite not shying away from Wakandan flaws. But when Wakanda is virtually no different than America or Britain and T’Challa is a sycophant for the status quo then is it really Black Panther?

Posted by Redjack #6383
These questions and the necessary answers are part of the spine of my BP pitch and, i suspect, why I'll never get to do it.

Posted by Ezyo1000 #6386
My question is... Why? What is SO radical about your pitch, SO controversial, that your pitch is turned down, yet Blatant racist stereotypes, contrived sexism, and all around sidelining and Character assassination of T'Challa and the BP mythos by a neophyte comic writer with no oversight and full control as well as pull for his other neophyte colleagues to further damage the franchise save two, is somehow okay?

Posted by Redjack #6394
Hm. Well, not to get TOO real about this stuff but, if you're reading my GL right now, you'll see I write the kind of stories I write. Company doesn't matter. I'm never going to be Somebody-Else Lite. Fine for a one-off but committing to a vision for multiple years (possibly) is not something these folks want to do with a guy they never heard of. And it's just possible the stuff I would do doesn't line up with what the company plans for the character or his universe. And I'm not interested in just carrying on with what was built over the last few years. So? unlikely it'll ever be an issue.

As evidenced historically, post Hudlin, many of the Black Panther writers have been deconstructing and even damaging the character, supporting cast and homeland. While the first BP film was in part a significant bounce back to form, the comic book remains in shambles.  While I cannot critique John Ridley until he delivers his BP iteration, he has his work cut out for him and if he decides to linger in the Coatesverse he will have a very brief Black Panther run. Interestingly enough if Ridley does in fact fail to deliver will that open a door for Redjack? The quoted commentary above makes me wonder.











963418

[CvilleWakandan]

Also there is no guarantee he will stay long. His primary job is movies. I don't see him taking a lot of time off to write comics.
This could be like the did with Cap, when they had Waid come in to write traditional Cap before Coates took over.

[Ezyo]

I just hope he stays long enough and actually treats T'Challa with respect and puts as much distance from Coates verse as possible. I have nothing good to say about Coates finale other than I'm glad it's over

[Ture]

While maybe not the best of times there is some argument for it being among the worst of times. From Reparations and Revolution through Cosmic Revelations and Enslavement to Termination and Liberation, the Damisa-Sarki, Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther has been through it all and we the fans and enthusiasts were forced to bare witness.

The tree house rape camps; faux feminist cry of no one man; the pseudo argument for democracy; Wakandans cast as savage colonizers; and the insecure, reluctant king who wanted to be a hero but became a slave. Less not forget to add the destruction of the Golden City.  Even the lesbianization of two Dora Milaje served only to promote the A.G.E.N.D.A instead of promoting Afrakan women and their cultural imperative in a manner that would showcase Afrakan women's warriorship and its integration in an intra-cultural, Afracentric pluralistic nation. Finally the inclusion of every "black" super hero in the MU, an heroic yet anemic shout out to the BLM.

I would be dishonest if I stated I didn't see some of the path Coates was trying to trod. His politics would have had more merit if he plied them to Niganda or some other fictitious Afrakan country and used Wakanda as a template for the realized potential and advancement of a highly advanced society of unconquered, never colonized, future oriented Afrakans. Yet for reasons all his own Coates was fixated on deconstructing the mythos of Black Panther

All this to merely end with Wakanda looking none the worst for wear and T'Challa becoming the emperor of a five galaxy spanning Wakandan galactic empire. I don't view this as Coates redeeming himself as much as his premises notwithstanding the moral indicative stemming the logical authority inherent in the defining qualities that envelop the Black Panther. For five years Coates tried to fight it only to succumb to it in his very last issue.

Here are some pictures from the long awaited final issue.


Points for T'Challa delivering the killing blow.



Always good to see Afrakan unity



I really liked how Stelfreeze depicted Baset.



Storm and Wakanda look beautiful but Stelfreeze's T'Challa has too much shadow on his face.



T'Challa's outfit is fire. Great "family" photo.

Coates tried to ply his trade to a character well beyond such limiting applications. Better luck with Superman. HEF family, see you here in August with a new number one by a new writer and creative team. Let's see what John Ridley can bring to Wakanda and most importantly the Black Panther.










965371

[Emperorjones]

Thanks for reading and reviewing because I didn't want to. Shame that Stelfreeze wasn't matched with a better writer, one who had more basic respect for T'Challa as a character and black men in general.

[Kimoyo]

Thanks for reading and reviewing because I didn't want to. Shame that Stelfreeze wasn't matched with a better writer, one who had more basic respect for T'Challa as a character and black men in general.

My feelings too brother EJ five years hence, I am beyond disappointment. Coates' take on T'Challa/BP and Wakanda feels like a betrayal. Other than a couple nice panels of Nezhno and a visually appealing, somewhat interesting re-conceptualization of Bast there is nothing in his finale that redeems what Coates has rendered for reasons perfectly articulated by Redjack's comments posted above. The lone hope for Coates' BP legacy lies with what Ridley may make of it all?

My Two Cents...

Peace,

Mont

[Emperorjones]

Thanks for reading and reviewing because I didn't want to. Shame that Stelfreeze wasn't matched with a better writer, one who had more basic respect for T'Challa as a character and black men in general.

My feelings too brother EJ five years hence, I am beyond disappointment. Coates' take on T'Challa/BP and Wakanda feels like a betrayal. Other than a couple nice panels of Nezhno and a visually appealing, somewhat interesting re-conceptualization of Bast there is nothing in his finale that redeems what Coates has rendered for reasons perfectly articulated by Redjack's comments posted above. The lone hope for Coates' BP legacy lies with what Ridley may make of it all?

My Two Cents...

Peace,

Mont

Thanks. It's sucked to not be able to get into Coates's Black Panther and I can't believe it's been five years since I've largely boycotted the book. Certainly I foolishly subscribed for the first 12 issues and bought several of the Intergalactic arc to see if his writing and take on the character had improved (all I can say is the artwork was pretty good throughout Coates's run).

While I do think Ridley is a better fiction writer than Coates from jump, I'm holding judgment back. I don't know how much of Coates's run he will adhere to, or that Marvel wants him to, or if either Ridley or Marvel have devised new ways to deconstruct T'Challa. It might not be fair, but all I have to go on is the other things Ridley has written that I've read (12 Years a Slave script, Red Tails script, Soldedad O'Roark novels, American Way graphic novels) where race is concerned to get an inkling of where he might go, and even then, I can't say that's where he will go. I was impressed with Coates's race writing for the Atlantic before he got the BP job and was pleased when I heard he got the job because of that only to become quickly and majorly disappointed. The same might happen for Ridley though I hope  it turns out different. I preordered his Batman book and I'll get a look at that before his Black Panther hits in August. Perhaps that will be a good hint at how he writes black male heroes today (I thought he did a good job with the first American Way book, but the story was more so-so for the sequel; I don't recall his New American leaving as much of an impression on me in the second book as he did in the first). I'm also going to be curious to see if Ridley's run will be planting seeds for how Black Panther's story will go in Wakanda Forever.

Is the new take on Bast the woman with the stars? Also, who is crowning T'Challa? Is that another version of T'Challa?

[Ezyo]

I have nothing good to say about the run. It's more so I'm glad it's over so people can finally move on and stop acting like Coates performed miracles in this series. It's very clear most reviewers either haven't read anything but Coates or they take a certain pleasure in seeing Black folk's in the victim role or constantly in defeated and downtrodden states.

Coates didn't contribute anything worth keeping and the concepts that will stay are going to be Brian Stelfreeze ideas such as the aesthetics and force push. Coates started T'Challa out as a reluctant king and had him go full circle and end as a reluctant emperor. Not one point in the run was T'Challa allowed to be competent on his own. He literally never defeated a single villain by himself. And he never had agency.

The worst is hopefully behind us and I hope that Ridley provides us with the Black Panther we all know and love, the one that's been existing in the greater MU, the one currently leading the Avengers

[CvilleWakandan]

Thanks for reading and reviewing because I didn't want to. Shame that Stelfreeze wasn't matched with a better writer, one who had more basic respect for T'Challa as a character and black men in general.

My feelings too brother EJ five years hence, I am beyond disappointment. Coates' take on T'Challa/BP and Wakanda feels like a betrayal. Other than a couple nice panels of Nezhno and a visually appealing, somewhat interesting re-conceptualization of Bast there is nothing in his finale that redeems what Coates has rendered for reasons perfectly articulated by Redjack's comments posted above. The lone hope for Coates' BP legacy lies with what Ridley may make of it all?

My Two Cents...

Peace,

Mont

Thanks. It's sucked to not be able to get into Coates's Black Panther and I can't believe it's been five years since I've largely boycotted the book. Certainly I foolishly subscribed for the first 12 issues and bought several of the Intergalactic arc to see if his writing and take on the character had improved (all I can say is the artwork was pretty good throughout Coates's run).

While I do think Ridley is a better fiction writer than Coates from jump, I'm holding judgment back. I don't know how much of Coates's run he will adhere to, or that Marvel wants him to, or if either Ridley or Marvel have devised new ways to deconstruct T'Challa. It might not be fair, but all I have to go on is the other things Ridley has written that I've read (12 Years a Slave script, Red Tails script, Soldedad O'Roark novels, American Way graphic novels) where race is concerned to get an inkling of where he might go, and even then, I can't say that's where he will go. I was impressed with Coates's race writing for the Atlantic before he got the BP job and was pleased when I heard he got the job because of that only to become quickly and majorly disappointed. The same might happen for Ridley though I hope  it turns out different. I preordered his Batman book and I'll get a look at that before his Black Panther hits in August. Perhaps that will be a good hint at how he writes black male heroes today (I thought he did a good job with the first American Way book, but the story was more so-so for the sequel; I don't recall his New American leaving as much of an impression on me in the second book as he did in the first). I'm also going to be curious to see if Ridley's run will be planting seeds for how Black Panther's story will go in Wakanda Forever.

Is the new take on Bast the woman with the stars? Also, who is crowning T'Challa? Is that another version of T'Challa?

That is Bast, I believe that is space M'Baku crowning  Tchalla. It's normal Tchalla.

[Ezyo]

Thanks for reading and reviewing because I didn't want to. Shame that Stelfreeze wasn't matched with a better writer, one who had more basic respect for T'Challa as a character and black men in general.

My feelings too brother EJ five years hence, I am beyond disappointment. Coates' take on T'Challa/BP and Wakanda feels like a betrayal. Other than a couple nice panels of Nezhno and a visually appealing, somewhat interesting re-conceptualization of Bast there is nothing in his finale that redeems what Coates has rendered for reasons perfectly articulated by Redjack's comments posted above. The lone hope for Coates' BP legacy lies with what Ridley may make of it all?

My Two Cents...

Peace,

Mont

Thanks. It's sucked to not be able to get into Coates's Black Panther and I can't believe it's been five years since I've largely boycotted the book. Certainly I foolishly subscribed for the first 12 issues and bought several of the Intergalactic arc to see if his writing and take on the character had improved (all I can say is the artwork was pretty good throughout Coates's run).

While I do think Ridley is a better fiction writer than Coates from jump, I'm holding judgment back. I don't know how much of Coates's run he will adhere to, or that Marvel wants him to, or if either Ridley or Marvel have devised new ways to deconstruct T'Challa. It might not be fair, but all I have to go on is the other things Ridley has written that I've read (12 Years a Slave script, Red Tails script, Soldedad O'Roark novels, American Way graphic novels) where race is concerned to get an inkling of where he might go, and even then, I can't say that's where he will go. I was impressed with Coates's race writing for the Atlantic before he got the BP job and was pleased when I heard he got the job because of that only to become quickly and majorly disappointed. The same might happen for Ridley though I hope  it turns out different. I preordered his Batman book and I'll get a look at that before his Black Panther hits in August. Perhaps that will be a good hint at how he writes black male heroes today (I thought he did a good job with the first American Way book, but the story was more so-so for the sequel; I don't recall his New American leaving as much of an impression on me in the second book as he did in the first). I'm also going to be curious to see if Ridley's run will be planting seeds for how Black Panther's story will go in Wakanda Forever.

Is the new take on Bast the woman with the stars? Also, who is crowning T'Challa? Is that another version of T'Challa?

The new version of Bast is Zenzi, a Character Coates created  with thinly defined Character traits and am even thinner defined power set, that Changes however Coates chose.

Zenzi was a poorly done villain who immediately threw away her "motivations" and sided with  hydra and strucker twins, despite being a voice for "the people" and then sided with intergalactic kilmonger without issue, only to at the final issues, have this Change of heart and planned to betray N'Jadaka and it was always her destiny to fuse with Bast. This is a non Wakandan, responsible for the death's of Wakandan life who hates Wakanda because she had an ad life and blames Wakanda for it. No Character development, no arc, her story wasn't even explained by Coates but on a 8-9 page short story.

The one crowning T'Challa is who we call nuM'Baku, he is from Coates intergalactic Wakanda. He's... There I dunno none of the main cast is treated properly and instead pet Characters and out of franchise Characters eat up panel space

[Emperorjones]

Thanks to all for explaining who these characters were. Once again, glad I bailed on this.

ComicsBeat weighs in:

http://www.comicsbeat.com/the-marvel-rundown-ta-nehisi-coatess-black-panther-run-reaches-its-conclusion/