Monthly (Comic) Book Club - December - Black Panther: Nation Under Our Feet18851
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| Monthly (Comic) Book Club - December - Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Lets get things back on track!  Black Panther (2016) #1-12 Week 1 (12/5-12/11): Black Panther #1-3 Week 2 (12/12-12/18): Black Panther #4-6 Week 3 (12/19/-12/25): Black Panther #7-9 Week 4 (12/26-1/1): Black Panther #10-12 Discussion topic ideas: * Thoughts on the story or artwork * Details in the story, artwork, or presentation * References to outside events or other works of fiction * Making of/Behind the Scenes details * Editions you will be reading from * Items in your collection pertaining to this week’s selection |
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| My overall impression of Coates comic works is artistically awesome but the pacing is slow written more so like a novel then a comic books , since he is an award winning novelist and he has a lot of ideas and concepts he wanted to change/add. | ||
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| That’s an interesting observation. I’d known about Coates more as a journalist when I heard he’d be writing Black Panther. We’d previously read Identity Crisis which was written by Brad Meltzer who is also primarily a novelist. I thought his writing was pretty strong throughout despite some more than controversial choices. Overall, I don’t mind a slower, novel-like pace as long as the characterization and pay-off is fitting. I sometimes think the original Crisis on Infinite Earths has that novel-like pacing to great success. The story ebbs and flows building up to small peaks before giving the characters sufficient time to breathe and react to the events we’d just seen before building up again to a satisfying climax. A lot of times we have faster paced stories that basically amount to battle after battle with little development to make them at all significant. On the other hand we’ve also seen some rather loquacious writers that confuse page after page of dialogue for characterization and development so we’ll have to see how Coates fares. |
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| Coates did both; his second book was published about a year before his first Black Panther run. I read at least the first issue at the time but don't remember if I got any past that. I remember it as being more concerned with running Wakanda than superhero-type stuff, so that might have felt slow. But I'll jog my memory when I get to dig into the reading. | ||
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| Coates depiction of tchallah is unique. It’s more realistic but not what I was looking for in a comic book hero, but I get what he is trying to do. | ||
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| So I’ll say that a lot of issue #1 flew way over my head. Despite being issue 1, we are in the middle of a whole lot of turbulence in the kingdom of Wakanda and there isn’t much in the way of onboarding for a new reader. The hardcover edition gives a few brief paragraphs giving you a very rough idea of what’s going on. There seems to be a group stoking dissent and inciting rebellion against the Wakandan state and against T’Challa specifically. They tried to recruit Ayo and Aneka, who in this issue have been sentenced to death (for some role in the rebellion??). The rebellion has turned to a weaponeer to turn up the intensity of the rebellion leading to T’Challa’s mother being injured. In the midst of all this, Shuri is in some sort of coma while T’Challa seems to have recently been through some personal ordeal possibly regarding his royal legitimacy or ability. T’Challa himself only appears briefly in the issue but the story seems to be setting up the burdens of kingship as a major theme. The setup is intriguing and I can’t wait to see where things go but at the same time we are being dropped into a complex web of personal and political struggles and some more assistance easing a new reader into all this would’ve been greatly appreciated. |
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| Issue #2 makes it clear that Wakanda is in the middle of some societal strife. There are bandit camps abducting and abusing women and whole communities of people struggling to scrape by. T’Challa meditates on his responsibilities as king. In his insecurity, he seems to approach the growing rebellion as an attack by the psychic woman that can be solved by defeating one person, not as a greater societal problem to be addressed. I like the slow start so far, I just, again, wish I had a better understanding about the rebellion in Wakanda. It seems that Killmonger was somehow involved and the angle of the story suggests it is a group with legitimate grievances with the state and with it’s king in particular. With rebellions, fiction often takes a very clear stance on which side is “good” or “right.” Like in Star Wars, the Rebels are very much the good guys. Hell Star Wars begins with a massive, oppressive symbol of the Empire chasing down a smaller Rebel ship. But here it is all very much in the grays. The book is called “Black Panther” so you expect him to be the hero but the book begins with the superhumanly strong and technologically powered symbol of the Wakandan Royal family fighting off smaller, weaker, mine workers. In pursuing the psychic woman that is fomenting rebellion, T’Challa attacks a group of his subjects just trying to get by while the Midnight Angels, who the Queen Mother upheld death sentences for, are liberating victims from bandit camps and seemingly ready to do more. Again, I’m really liking it so far, I just think I’d appreciate it more if it felt like I was starting from the beginning and not halfway into it. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by dielinfinite the thing is there is no real lead IMHO into this, Coates was just reaching for drama so he can execute what he is trying to do by the end of the the story. |
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| #1 does drop you right into the middle of a crisis. The opening pages, especially the "what's been happening" text page, fill you in a bit but I found it helpful to read Shuri's wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuri_(character) . In Black Panther's last self-titled series, he was beaten by Doom and a group of villains and Shuri took the throne and BP mantle. T'Challa recovers but is powerless, so Shuri leads Wakanda while Doom tries to overthrow the nation as well as waging a war on Atlantis. She's killed in an attack by Thanos. T'Challa had recovered by this point (including spending time as Daredevil) and takes over again. So we find Wakanda divided. People are upset with T'Challa and the government, and being egged on by someone with some kind of emotion or mind control powers. Members of the Dora Milaje are going against orders to act as their own justice. T'Challa is trying to figure out how to proceed, and we see at the end that he's also trying to bring Shuri back to life. I think part of why I didn't get far in this series when it came out is that I'm not big into political, war-of-thrones stories. That was also a lot of what Black Panther 2 (the movie) was about, in my opinion. The first movie was also a battle for the throne, but basically a one-on-one with T'Challa and Killmonger. The second movie was more about who should run nations and how they should be run. It did briefly have the Midnight Angel armor and some other elements we see here. I wonder if there will be more parallels, or if this will be a pretty different series since the battle with Atlantis already happened for these books. |
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| #2 picks up on the theme of what should a country do with its troublemakers. T'Challa is ready to find and kill Zenzi for stoking the fight that led to the death of his people, even though Ramonda has warned him of that path and the council is against him going alone. The Midnight Angels are going around killing bad guys because they think Wakanda is not protecting its people properly. Thus we have an philosophical interlude on the rights of people versus those who have wronged them, including those in power. And Zenzi's power to reveal and/or amplify people's inner feelings brings up T'Challa's feelings of shame and failure. T'Challa thinks that he is helping his people by attacking those trying to rebel, but the people in the rebellion don't want his help. And, almost as an aside, we see that Shuri is not dead but in some kind of suspended animation while she's in the Wakandan place of memory. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by dielinfinite I think these are all great points. I wonder if there will be an attempt to wrap things up in a tidy package by the end or if the ambivalence will remain. |
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| #3 has people trying to come to grips with their limitations. T'Challa is trying to find his path while feeling the 'fog' of his failures. The Midnight Angels learn that there is a difference between punishing villains and protecting innocents. The interludes with Tetu in the desert and Shuri in the memory place suggest that the answer is to look to the past. Modern Wakanda (and presumably everyone) is focused on gadgets and power and taking, and has lost sight of the old ways. T'Challa continues to underestimate his opponents. He thought he couldn't be mind-controlled, but didn't know what Zenzi's power was, exactly. This time he attacks Zenzi first and then has the War Dogs help him (with the threat of controlling them off the board), but doesn't know that Tetu has powers of his own. Each time he's attacked by his past failures. Tetu suggests that the power of the people will take over again, returning to a time before kings and governments. At the end of the first week, I'll also mention the art. I think Stelfreeze is doing good work. Everything is clear, the diversity in environments is impressive, and there's a good balance between detail and shadow. Even if the backstory has been unclear, I think it's been a good read so far and the art is contributing. |
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| I think another theme of issue 3 is the power of the earth, the land on which we live. Both literal, the ever-present ground on which we grow food and make war as shown by the narration that opens and closes the issue, but also as this canvas on which we’ve written our histories, as seen in Shiri’s dream plane. Heck, even Tetu’s power, controlling the vines grown from the earth defeat the king of Wakanda and his guard with ease. Coates does very well weaving weighty subjects and metaphor into his work and on that level it does feel more like a novelist’s approach. I think the theming also soaks i to the action scenes. I would say the action isn’t amazing but at the same time having a big flashy fight scene is somewhat contrary to the themes of the book. |
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| Issue 4 talks a lot about government and its role foe the people. It should be there to protect the people yes, but it should also inspire people so that they have hope for the future. However, it seems that governments cannot exist with an honest communication with those same people. The Midnight Angels’ movement continues to grow. They are organizing themselves in a society of themselves and for themselves in contrast to Wakanda’s historical monarchy. The Angels meet with Tetu but are unsure about firmly establishing an alliance. Tetu shows the extent to which he wishes to abolish what he sees as a symbol of tyranny by meeting with an arms dealer. Soon, at a public function attended by T’Challa and the Queen Mother, a bomb goes off. A clear act of terrorism that injures T’Challa’s mother. Understandably enraged, T’Challa orders the gloves off in dealing with these threats to his kingdom. Possibly becoming the tyranny they already see him as |
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| #4 had some disappointment in terms of hearing that M'Baku is dead. I'm sure the MCU version is different but I enjoyed his character in the movies. More to the point of the story, I wonder what Mandla and the Jabari were doing that the Midnight Angels responded so strongly. I thought the conversation between Changamire and Ramonda was interesting. They were obviously making pointed statements, but none of the text has bold or exclamation marks. I wonder what the tone would be like if people were acting that scene out. The issue ends in tragedy, as T'Challa was making an effort to reach out to his people and there is some kind of attack. Ramonda is injured and T'Challa is pissed. It seemed like there was a lesson being learned about the people, but T'Challa doesn't seem in a mood to let anything get in his way. |
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| #5 has Manifold show up. It's a bit funny to see him listed as 'former Avenger' because I only know him from recently as 'current X-Man'. T'Challa is knowingly turning to some of the 'dark arts' of government to keep Wakanda together. He calls it disgraceful himself, yet still does it. His inner monologue during the meeting with the other countries' defense people is interesting. He tries to draw a difference between himself and them, and Wakanda and their countries, while they tell him there is no difference. One imagines that if Tetu were there, or Changamire, they would probably side with the other people. While T'Challa has the sense to dismiss their suggestions (probably out of hand?), the decision still haunts him. One of the people also consults with Tetu and The People, and a recording of his advice to T'Challa goes out across Wakanda. T'Challa was able to rebuild trust with one suicide bomber, but this will further break trust with the nation. |
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| #6 has another lesson on a nation fighting its people, with the War Dogs failing to attack the former Dora Milaje in Jabari. Their inner feelings about attacking the revered guards is their downfall. On topic, T'Challa is still using questionable methods to try and reach positive outcomes. In this case, using some Doctor Doom tech to try to trap Stane (and another X-Men connection with Fenris showing up). In the meantime, Shuri is hearing different messages in the afterlife (ish). She's getting lesson on lesson about how people are the bedrock of a nation, and force can only hold people down for so long. |
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| Issue 5 feels like the kingdom is balancing on the edge of a sword and it can fall either way. T’Challa is on the attack but he also shows a bit of desperation in even summoning the people he did. It is also in this issue where we hear the title of the story, “A Nation Under Our Feet,” spoken in context. And that Context is fairly ominous. They make it out as if subjugating one’s own people is the natural order of things and it’s rather discomforting to hear T’Challa ask to hear more. Immediately after the meeting we return to Shuri on the dream plane where her mother tells her the story of a Wakandan chieftain. Here we hear the title again in a slightly different context. Instead of holding a nation beneath them the idea is that they are inseparable from the nation between them. The story continues with the chieftain basically giving up his status and becoming one with his people and as a people, as a nation, they defended the land from outside invaders. We return to T’Challa interrogating one of the suicide bombers he’d captured. The mood is tense as you’re unsure how much T’Challa had accepted from the security chiefs he’d spoken to. It very much feels like T’Challa is going to torture the man for information. Instead T’Challa is able to connect with the man and their shared sense of honor. I’ll admit it was a relief to see T’Challa not take that path and the security broker confirm as much in the following scene. However, it may have all been for naught as the conversation is leaked to the nation, perhaps edited, to make it seem that T’Challa had taken that turn |
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| Let's knock out some issues before the holiday! #7 is mostly an action issue as the Crew shows up to help T'Challa escape Stane. But there's still some time for theory and characterization. The Fenris twins use a black slur, which is on point for them, and Misty gets to express plenty of sass. T'Challa shows how dangerous an opponent he is, taking Stane down even with his arms tied behind his back. Changamire seems to be joining Tetu and Zenzi, although his monologue sounds wary. And in the end, he can't join them. His life has been dedicated to how people should behave morally and ethically, and he can't get behind a violent coup even if the government is not acting the way he thinks it should. And in the memory plane, Shuri is remembering old stories that teach of the power inside people. |
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| Side note for #7 - I wonder how the Vanisher got involved. Maybe just mercenary work? Fenris also hire themselves out when the occasion arises, but working against black people also seems to be its own reward. Stane using his full name (Telford) is a reminder of how cheesy comic characters are/were. Vanisher, whose power is teleportation, is Telford Porter. | ||
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| #8 is focused on trying to recover Shuri. T'Challa's reasoning, about how he previously put the country above family and now he feels that he was wrong, reminds me of Black Panther 2. Shuri is kidnapped (more or less) and Ramonda's first act as queen (more or less) is to send a spy to recover her at any cost. The cost turns out to be war with Namor. There are repercussions when a country's ruler acts selfishly. In the end, T'Challa is successful and Shuri revives. Having learned (or remembered) what she did, can she bring Wakanda back together? | ||
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| #9 Shuri's ancestral memory brings a potential solution to T'Challa's problem of a fractured Wakanda. In the meantime, the Midnight Angels are having their own debate about how groups should be governed. They need help to achieve their goals, but will they take help from someone who is no different than their enemy? They decide no, or at least not to kill the War Dogs that attacked them. Aneka is torn by the decision, and Shuri goes to her to talk. | ||
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| Time to knock out the series before a holiday weekend with my dad. #10 picks up with Shuri talking to Aneka. Ayo launches an ill-advised attack that lets Shuri show off some of her new powers, but it's mostly a conversation. Shuri tells them to stop working with Tetu and wait for Wakanda to pass judgment, or else Wakanda will leave their capital just to wipe them out instead. It seems an odd choice, a combination of appeal to conscience and a threat, but I guess it makes sense if Shuri is right that Wakanda can't withstand an attack from both armies. Something has to give, and it seems more likely to be former Dora Milaje than Tetu's group. T'Challa works on another front, which is trying to convince Changamire to help them. Changamire doesn't want to, but T'Challa says that he is the less of two evils and knows that change must come. It seems to work, along with an apology for even considering turning on the people earlier. And with that, war is at hand in the capital. |
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| #11 has the battle. Changamire's words are able to sway some of Tetu's army but not all. It's a fairly quick read, compared to the rest, because there's much less conversation. Tetu's army is defeated by T'Challa and the ghosts of past kings and family. So how does Wakanda recover? In #12 the first conversation is with Aneka and the Midnight Angels. Though they though they were acting justly, they acted against the country. If T'Challa, acting as Wakanda, let them go unpunished, what would happen next? Thanks to an evening with Changamire, Aneka is convinced that she can coexist with T'Challa. T'Challa plans to institute more of a democracy in Wakanda although he will perhaps remain king. |
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