I’ve read some Black Panther comics before this but I’m definitely not that familiar with the character and I’m guessing almost 100% of readers coming to this book are gonna be in the same boat. He’s a relatively obscure character who occasionally pops up in ensemble stories with bigger readerships than his own books and that’s mainly where I know him from. Following his much-touted and well-received appearance in Captain America: Civil War last year, his forthcoming solo movie, and Marvel’s tra...

This was so underwhelming.

T'Challa!I wanted to like this so much, but it was a snooze-fest that took me several days to read. The art was beautiful, lush, and vibrant...which was in stark contrast to the flaky, boring, dried out dialogue.Too much talky, not enough action. You know what?I've been sitting here for about 30 minutes, scrolling through Facebook posts (mostly checking out cat videos), looking at Instagram pictures (why do my friends take so many pictures of food?), reading other Goodreads reviews (sadly, they'...

Umm yeah it was interesting I guess!I liked this volume but then again I have tried starting it multiple times but never been able to but finally did and yeah its fun!So it starts with Wakandan people at lets say not peace and we follow T'challa as he is trying to solve the chaos but he is confronted by multiple new enemies like Zenzi who seems to influence others and Tetu, a tribal who seems to be forming some resistance against his rule and we follow his character doing some rather wild things...

Guess why I read this one?Like the rest of the world I’ve gone Black Panther crazy after seeing the new movie, but aside from thinking he was pretty cool as a kid in the late ‘70s reading Avengers comics I wasn't all that familiar with T’Challa or Wakanda. So this seemed like a good place to start.Sadly, it isn’t.Getting an acclaimed writer like Ta-Nehesi Coates to do your funny book shows yet again that comics aren’t just for kids any more, and there’s a lot of interesting stuff that draws on A...

Coates may be a celebrated nonfiction author but the only thing I'd celebrate after reading this is when he leaves the book. You would think that this being the first new Black Panther book in a while, this would be a good jumping on point for new readers. You would be wrong. You need to have read all of Black Panther's appearances across the Marvel U in the last 30+ years to know what's going on. I've been reading Marvel books since the 80's and I still didn't get some of the references. Appare...

Super expositiony, yet largely compelling.

I read the individual issues of this volume (the best-selling comic of the year?) as they came out. Why? Because I loved Between the World and Me and because he had just been awarded a MacArthur and--with the whole world now watching--chose to work on a Marvel comic series about a minor character he wanted to elevate in the Marvel universe. I haven't been very engaged thus far. It's far too talky and philosophical for the beginning of a comic book series. True, many comics do use the first few i...

If you have any interest in starting to read about the Black Panther, do not start with the first volume of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther run. In fact, even though it's still ongoing, you may want to avoid Ta-Nehisi Coates' entire (contracted) 12-issue run entirely. I don't care if Captain America: Civil War made you really eager to read something about T'Challa. I don't care if you're a big fan of Coates and his writing. Ignore the praise his run has so far garnered. I say all this because th...

After being highly impressed with Between the World and Me, the last thing I expected was Ta-Nehisi Coates to headline a Marvel comic. But Black Panther is a great fit as Coates' digs into some headier themes than I am used to in my tights & capes comics. Coates asks an excellent question: why is the most technologically advanced country in the world ruled as a monarchy? This question forces T'Challa to reconsider his position as king of Wakanada and Black Panther while he is beset on all sides

Love the character but couldn't get in to this one at all. Normally I'd write a full review but short on time so for now it's a nice looking book, but very very very long dialog boxes that really feel like the author wanted to write a book more than a comic.

This is not a superhero story - and that's a good thing. We have some of the obligatory butt kicking, but it is mostly about a divided, suffering people and their king. The nation is terrorized, lawless, in pain, people are blaming their king for not being able to protect them. He also blames himself. There is a revolution brewing, fostered by a shaman and a witch using ancient nature magic to flame people's rage. Members of the elite female guard have taken upon themselves to protect suffering

Depending on how well you know Black Panther -- and I mean not just the character, but every run on the character and every time he appears in another Marvel comic and, in fact, every time a reference has been made to any element of the character's world, forever -- A Nation Under Our Feet is either subversive and brilliant, or an unfathomable mess.I know nothing about Black Panther. I, like most left-leaning white comics nerds who like Batman, was just super-pumped to get a monthly comic drawn

I read this because it was penned by Coates. I figured I might get something *special* out of it because I'm a fan of his non-fiction and fiction... but now that I've read it?I think the art is really pretty.Okay, so, yes, there is a couple of deep themes I can point at that makes me think, "Hey! Having something to hang your hat on beyond spears is pretty cool and very Coates. Drums and memory are much more powerful than weapons! All right!" But that's about it. I kinda wanted to see Wakanda ha...

With its critical, abstract, ambitious reflections on the history and ideology of Black Panther comics, Black Panther: A Nation under Our Feet might have worked as an academic essay. As the superhero title it is, however, the book makes for a rather difficult, frustrating, slow and ultimately boring read. 1.5 stars, I’d say.

Find this and other Reviews at In Tori LexThese four issues introduce us to Wakanda in chaos, while T'challa struggles to be a leader who has to balance the use of his sword with the use of his intellect.  Right away in issue one we're introduced to hard choices, T'challa's step-mother decides to punish a fierce warrior for killing despite her having just reasons why. The comic draws parallels to the issues that plaque African countries in unrest. Trigger warning, this comic does show sexual vio...

I'll be honest, this story didn't really grab me. I felt there was too much set-up and too little payoff. Maybe the next volume will get the balance right; I'm certainly going to give it the chance.Story aside, I really liked the artwork in this one. Brian Stelfreeze is creating some really striking visuals here and Laura Martin's excellent colour art is enhancing it even further. Art me some more, folks.

The people of Wakanda are restless. They've been stirred up by a group called The People and some of them have become dangerous.T'Challa has been doubting himself and whether he can do the right thing to protect Wakanda.Meanwhile one of the Black Panther's Dora Milaje is sentenced to death for doing the right thing because of growing corruption in Wakanda. Her fellow Dora Milaje and lover will not allow her to be killed and steals experimental armor to free her.I was really excited about a new B...

This one took me forever to get through in spite of being only 4 issues, and not for the usual excuses/reasons of helping take care of a 1 year while working 2 jobs.It was so...wordy, which I guess is no big surprise when a Serious Author is the scribe, but once I gave it more time and a chance to breathe and grow on me I started digging it more and more.And who would've guessed that the most riveting scene in a Marvel superhero comic would be an argument about political philosophy between two g...

The headlines were "Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a comic book," but they should have been "Ta-Nehisi Coates writes fiction." Coates is famous for nonfiction. I assume he's working on a novel - who isn't? - so this might be seen as sortof a test run.Comic books are different from novels, though, and they're harder then they look. They're a team effort, for one thing - the artist is responsible for a lot of the storytelling. By tradition, writers don't interfere much with how the artists choose to tell...