There was a time when Black Panther was my favorite character. But I can't tell you exactly how he became my favorite character. Unlike the way John Byrne's Fantastic Four and Walt Simonson's Thor led me directly to the Lee/Kirby runs, my path to Black Panther was less direct and decidedly non-linear. However it was I got there, I got there. On the Old Board I led an "Early Black Panther" discussion which traced every BP appearance in chronological order but it stopped at "Panther's Rage." It had been my intention, at the time, to do "Panther's Rage" (1973), "Panther's Quest" (1989) and "Panther's Prey" (1991) as separate discussions, but I took a break after when I got to Jungle Action and never came back to it.
Skip ahead to 2024. Even 1991 seems "early" now. Lately I have been working toward fulfilling a resolution to actually read some of those collected editions I've been buying (you may have noticed if you've been reading my recent posts ans threads), because (say it with me now), "buying new comics and not reading them is stupid." Back in the '80s (and even in my previous "Early Black Panther" discussion), I had to make my way through the originals. But now, because we live in the "Golden Age of Reprints," I am able to cover an entire decade (1966 through 1976) between the two covers of a single omnibus. (Man, comic book collectors have it easy these days!) I hate to repeat myself (even if that old discussion is no longer available), but I bought the Black Panther: The Early Years omnibus back in 2022 and I have yet to read it.
I don't plan to post every day, maybe every couple of days, but we'll see. Rather than cover every single appearance of the Black Panther as I did last time, I plan to follow the format of the omnibus and hit just the key appearances. If my resolve holds, I plan to take this discussion beyond the omnibus all the way up to "Panther's Prey."
Replies
DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #4:
The resolution to the Ku Klux Klan storyline will have to remain a mystery for now. The Black Panther has travelled from Georgia to New York City to negotiate with industrialist Robert Mallory who needs Vibranium for his Underwater Tidal Power Station which is designed to convert deep ocean currents into usable energy. The Maggia, however, kidnaps his son and holds him for ransom for the plans, which they then intend to sell for $50 million. The Black Panther trails the kidnappers, but is captured by one of mob boss Ruffio Costa's men. Costa intends to ransom the Panther to the Avengers for an addtional $5 million, and, knowing Daredevil's secret identity, the Panther tells Costa that the ransom can be arranged through Matt Mutdock.
Through Foggy Nelson, Daredevil borrows some bogus, marked bills from the D.A.'s office which they keep on hand for dealing with murderers, and sets off to make the exhange at washing Square Park. On his way, he tussles with the Sub-Mariner, who is seeking to stop Mallory from building the underwater power station due to the risk involved. Daredevil manages to give Namor the slip, and by this time the Black Panther has managed to escape from Costa's clutches and moves the boy to a safe location. By the time Daredevil is to drop off the money, the Black Panther joins him and they defeat Costa's men, then the Panther leads him back to Costa's headquarters. On the way, they tussle with the Sub-Mariner again, but Daredevil convinces him to let Matt Murdock shut the operation down through legal channels. The Black Panther says that won't be necessary because he has heard enough about the risks that he has changed his mind about supplying the Vibranium, which the power plant cannot run without.
Costa's headquarters is located in the former Barrington Research Center of Columbine University, which was sold (to the Maggia, as it happens) after student protests against weapons research shut it down. In typical comic book fashion, Costa is knocked into an old atomic reactor and is transformed into the Mind-Master. (This story is plotted by Marv Wolfman and scripted by Chris claremont, BTW.) Mind-Master takes control of the Black Panther, and they fight for seven pages before he is finally defeated. And that pretty much wraps it up.
TOMORROW: Jack Kirby's Black Panther
JACK KIRBY'S BLACK PANTHER
Today is the day I begin to rectify a mistake I made eight years ago. Back in 2016, I encouraged Bob to start a discussion of Jack Kirby's Black Panther, promsing that I would read along with the series as well as follow the discussion. Then something hit (I don't recall what) and I found myself unable to read along with the series (although I did follow the discussion). Now, with Bob's permission, I plan to use his thoughts as a springboard for this discussion. I am going to try not to repeat my comments from eight years ago, but to read the original discussion (and all of the original responses), click the following link: "Kirby Black Panther: Immediate Impressions." Bob's comments will appear in BOLD.
Black Panther #1 (January 1977) "King Solomon's Frog!"
1)Kirby/Royer art. It's Kirby. No one ever did "stuff that could never possibly exist" like the King did. That is why, I think, no later artists that drew Kirby characters or concepts ever quite captured their essences.
2)""King Solomon's Frog"? Kirby, you crackhead, what have you done now? The things that man came up with! What a boundless imagination! He shot out ideas that lesser men would have built whole storylines out of.
3)Mr.Little: He's a short guy, and he's called "Mister Little", yuk-yuk-yuk-yuk-yuk. I once heard Mark Twain described as having a tin ear for prose - that is, he would produce stuff that was brilliant and stuff that was awful, and not seem to notice the difference. I sometimes think that Kirby had a touch of that as well.
4)For a first issue, this sure feels like something that was a continuation of an existing story. Was it? There's no explanation of how Little met the Panther or how he acquired the time frog. they're already on the go as the story starts.
5)I wonder where Zanda is princess of?
6)"Hatch 22"! Kirby sure loved his weird, cryptic designations. I wonder if he had a hand in naming Kellogg's Product 19?
Cliffhanger: A weirdo form the future appears!
I will be reading the first three issues of this series from the Kirby Returns! Marvel "MONSTER" Editon which, if you haven't seen one, is the size of an IDW "Artist's Edition" but in color and on slick paper. A "MONSTER Edition" is to a regular comic book as IMAX is to a regular movie.
RALPH MACCHIO: "As with Kirby's concurrent work on Captain America, there was some early uneasiness on the part of some fans who found Jack's writing style such a departure from that of previous Panther scribe Don McGregor. Nevertheless, the sheer momentum of Jack's visuals propelled you along at an absolutely breakneck pace. This was just a different take on T'Challa and his Wakandan world. It was obvious Kirby had no intention of looking backward or attempting to gently nudge the reader into his version of the Black Panther."
CHRISTOPHER PRIEST: "The tonal shift is especially true of Don McGregor and Rich Buckler's brilliant 'Panther's Rage' serialized novel from Jungle Action #6-18. Emerging from McGregor's brilliantly detailed and reverently serious work in Jungle Action, Kirby's Black Panther was quite the jolt to the system: as rapid a departure from one expression to the next as could likely occur while still being, essentially, the same character."
JACK KIRBY: "With one new issue fresh off the drawing board and another almost on its way as of this writing, I can only say that you're due to see the Panther the way he was originally intended to be... So, the Black Panther you will see emerging from these pages is one that will take you to all the exciting, fantastic places your imagination can conjure. And why not?!? That's entertainment, isn't it folks? You bet!"
I am going to try not to repeat myself from the previous discussion, with the folowing exception.
Word (well, Mark Evanier) has it that when Kirby left Marvel for DC in 1970 or so he took some pains in order not to displace any of the regular creative teams.
I assume that he did not want to create unnecessary conflict with other creators. By that light, it stands to reason that this period when he returned to Marvel might have some of that motivation as well. But he also seems to want to have a bit of creative room of his own.
Going by cover dates, by this point he had been well past the halfway point of his 1970s Captain America run and around #7 of the original 19-issue run of Eternals. Machine Man will come in a year's time (during #7 of this Black Panther series, since this is a bimonthly).
The most remarkable trait of this run, IMO, is how decisively it refuses to acknowledge any of the Jungle Action issues. It is, in fact, quite isolated from any other stories past or present, down to having no guest stars and inheriting no supporting cast nor plot. It will however have a surprising legacy.
All the same, it probably made some sense to use Black Panther as the vehicle for Kirby's story. Tchalla, particularly at this point in time, plays to Kirby's strengths.- he is a very visual and dynamic character, larger than life, and prone to interact with environments and characters with equally unique visuals. There is also room for Kirby to take advantage of Wakanda and express his taste for the exotic through it.
BLACK PANTHER #2:
Black Panther #2 (March 1977) "The Six-Million Year Man"
1)We get a really trippy vision of the future that our visitor comes from, stuff only Kirby could come up with.
2)Mr. Little is still alive, and he, the Panther and Zanda team up to find a way to send this guy back where he came from. They have to find a second time frog to do this. How they know all this is anybody's guess.
3)This is amusing stuff, but not a lot of character development so far. This could be any hero, really, nothing especially distinguishes it as a "Black Panther" story as such.
After reading Don McGregor's Black Panther in Jungle Action, I was ready to move on to something completely different. As it happens, due to the "tonal shift" mentioned by Christopher Priest in the quote I pulled yesterday, Kirby's Panther was "as rapid a departure from one expression to the next as could likely occur while still being, essentially, the same character." This is, I think, only my third time reading this series. I read it first, as backissues about ten years after it was first published, when I was in college, and I read it for a second time in 2004. This morning I was so eager to read issue #2 that I read it before reading my newspaper, which is something I never do. At this point in his career, Kirby's trademark is to begin each comic with a splash page, followed by a double-page splash on pages 2-3.
There's no explanation of how Little met the Panther or how he acquired the time frog.
On page six of issue #1, the Panther says, "If your letter hadn't mentioned [my grandfather's] name, I'd never have joined you in this wild caper!" That's all the explanation we're going to get.
They have to find a second time frog to do this. How they know all this is anybody's guess.
Well, his grandfather did own it at one time...
"Hatch 22"! Kirby sure loved his weird, cryptic designations.
There was also "File 116" in his concurrent run of Captain America. "Hatch 22" sounds like "Catch 22," and the "Six-Million Year Man" sounds like the "Six Million Dollar Man" (not to mention "Ten-For" from Machine Man).
This could be any hero, really, nothing especially distinguishes it as a "Black Panther" story as such.
As Luis pointed out yesterday, "It is, in fact, quite isolated from any other stories past or present, down to having no guest stars and inheriting no supporting cast nor plot." This was a hallmark of Kirby's 1970s Marvel work. In The Eternals in particular, a debate raged in the letters pages about whether it took place in the Marvel Universe or not. Editorial was pushing for him to tie it too the MU, which led to a student wearing a "Thing" mask and, more noteably, the "robotic Hulk" (neither of which was definiative "proof" I might add). It was left to Roy Thomas to bring the Eternals into the Marvel Universe proper in the pages of Thor.
The most remarkable trait of this run, IMO, is how decisively it refuses to acknowledge any of the Jungle Action issues.
There is no way Kirby even read those issues. The same thing is true (to a lesser extent) in his Captain America, and that's the reason why he was so reluctant to bring The Eternals into the MU proper.
"King Solomon's Frog"? Kirby, you crackhead, what have you done now?
That could/should be a pull-quote on the tpb trade dress. A time-traveling frog... What a mind!
BLACK PANTHER #3:
Black Panther #3 (May 1977) "Race Against Time"
1)T'Challa and pals race against time to find the other time frog before the future man completely regains his senses. Gee, when you say it that way it sounds silly.
2)I'm a little sketchy as to why King Solomon's tomb would be in Africa. Or how he had a robot bodyguard.
3)Overall, still enjoyable stuff.
Richard Willis addressed point #2 in 2016: "From what I have been able to find, King Solomon was thought to be buried in or near Jerusalem, but his tomb is lost. His treasures were thought to be buried in Africa, not him. Information about his robot bodyguard is apparently lost in the mists of time." I'm not certain where Kirby intended King Solomon's tomb to be, as the Panther, Mr. Little and Zanda took an "orbital multi-plane" to get there. And, just to be pedantic, the guardian of the tomb is described as an "Ogar--a mechanism designed to guard the tomb." I haven't seen Luke Blanchard around these parts for a month or so. I hope he doesn't mind me pulling a quote of his from the previous discussion.
LUKE BLANCHARD: "My theory is when New Gods and Forever People were cancelled Kirby switched to telling stories with simple characterisation that relied on action and splashy images in a bid to appeal to younger readers. But... the stories' lack of characterisation, soap-opera and sophisticated plotting, and the increased reliance of his art on schtick, chased away the older ones... The other thing is this. Superhero comics are inherently campy and silly. In the 60s Marvel developed an approach that played this down, so older readers could continue to enjoy them. ("This isn't kids' stuff about a guy who can cling to walls! It's a serious exploration of young adult life and real-world problems.") In the 70s the campy element in Kirby's work came to the fore. Adults our age forgive the campiness for the imagination and wildness, or even enjoy it: but teens want to take their superhero comics seriously."
...and pre-teens as well. Back in the '70s when these comics were coming out, I knew Jack Kirby simply as "that guy" whose work I recognized from the covers of Kamandi, The Demon and Mister Miracle. They looked like "kid comics" to me, and I would not have deigned to read them when I was ten. I did not, at the time, recognize "Jack Kirby" as the same artist who drew Fantastic Four and Thor in the '60s or as the artist who drew those monster stories I was so fond of. I was wholly unaware of his "Fourth World" work at the time. When he returned to Marvel in the mid-'70s I didn't read any of his stuff (although a friend of mine had a copy of Machine Man #2, which was pretty much what I expected it to be: "kid stuff"). I acquired Kirby's Captain America run as backissues in the early '80s, but I can't say I thought much of it. It wasn't until my first "Kirby Phase" the mid-'80s when I first read his '70s output at both DC and Marvel, but even then I was motivated more by curiousity than actually enjoying the stories. I particularly remember a scene from Black Panther #2 as being particularly "stupid": "We do push-ups here. It's a sign of friendship! --and servility!"
So I did not like Jack Kirby's work when I was ten, and I still didn't care for it all that much when I was 20. But at some point I reached the stage Luke described when I was able to "forgive the campiness for the imagination and wildness." I'm still not sure about that "push-ups" scene, though.
BLACK PANTHER #4:
Black Panther #4 (July 1977) "Friend or Foes"
Our heroes escape the tomb, only to fall in with the Collectors, a typical collection of Kirby grotesques. Not a lot of subtlety, here. Count Zorba is a stereotypical European aristocrat, Colonel Pigman is a typical British aristocrat, and Silas Mourner (Yuk-yuk-yuk-yuk-yuk!) is an old guy who is drawn to look like a Muppet. "Weird, wild stuff."
In issue #2 Kirby referred to comic book collectors as "pussy cats" in comparison to these collectors, but I can't help but think that he is commenting on comic book collectors as well, at least on some level. I also can't help but notice the similarities between Kirby's "collectors" and later characters such as Indiana Jones and René Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark and between King Solomon's tomb and the lost Ark of the Covenant (not that Steven Spielberg was in any way influenced by Jack Kirby's Black Panther, but rather that they both were tributing the same or similar sources).
I wonder where Zanda is princess of?
Issue #4 reveals that she is the ruler of Narobia, "a land rich in diamond mines and other commercial ventures!" Abner Little must consider himself to be an amatuer astonomer in addition to being a collector. In issue #4 alone he uses the phrases "galloping galaxies," "stars and comets," "solar storms and flares" and "flashing novas," all words no actual person has ever used as interjections. I know I said I wasn't going to quote myself from the previous discussion, but I'd like to move this entire exchange on Kirby's "tin ear" over here.
JEFF OF EARTH-J: "Kirby’s dialogue is often criticized by those who point out, correctly, that 'Real people don’t talk like that.' I don’t know who said it first (it wasn’t me), but someone once countered, in reference to William Shakespeare, that 'Real People don’t talk like that, either.' I once read a three-issue Captain Victory reprint series re-dialogued by Kirby’s grandson. Boring! Kirby’s concepts are a bit 'out there'; it’s only fitting that his dialogue should be a bit 'out there,' too."
DAVE ELYEA: "I like to think of Kirby's dialog as a kind of 'word jazz' that makes perfect sense in the context of his stories--like they say, 'Don't ask, just buy it!'"
RICHARD WILLIS: "I find that many of the TV shows helmed by Shonda Rhimes and Aaron Sorkin have long perfect speeches that are wonderful to hear but aren't likely to come out of the mouths of real people, at least not as perfectly."
BLACK PANTHER #5:
Black Panther #5 (September 1977) "Quest for the Sacred Water-Skin!"
The Collectors threaten to nuke Wakanda if the Panther doesn't find the the water of eternal youth for them. Under duress, he and Mr. Little go in search of it. They're attacked by a yeti at the behest of a samurai, because why not?
More random weirdness from Kirby, entertaining enough as long as you don't try to make sense out of any of it.
"They're attacked by a yeti at the behest of a samurai, because why not?"
Why not, indeed.
This is, I think, the third time I have read Jack Kirby's Black Panther all the way through, start to finish. The first time was in the mid-'80s when I was in college. The second time was circa 2004/2005. Jack Kirby died in 1994, and in honor of the tenth anniversary of his death, I decided to read and post about one Jack Kirby comic per day for a year. It ended up being two years, but those of you who were around then may remember my series of "Jack Kirby's " threads. I re-read all of Kirby's 1970s output at that time and then some.
Robertson Davies once said, "A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight."
Here are a few quotes from author Richard Bach:
I have lived by those sentiments my entire life, not just for "words without pictures," but for comic books as well. Plus, in my case, I generally don't remember a darn thing from the last time I read it.
BLACK PANTHER #6:
Black Panther #6 (November 1977) "A Cup of Youth"
The Panther and Mr. Little defeat the samurai, he takes them to his leader. Meanwhile, back in Wakanda, T'Challa's half-brother launches a coup. T'Challa gets in a fight, and Mr. Little sneaks off to steal some immortality water. And then it all goes south?
Say, T'Challa's an absolute monarch, isn't he? Isn't it kind of irresponsible for him to go off having adventures while he's got a country to run? No wonder coups are going on behind his back.
For issue #6, Jack Kirby provides an editorial essay titled "The Roots of T'Challa."
JACK KIRBY: "The Black Panther, fearless in battle and rich in heritage, is basically a creature of action entertainmant. And yet, woven into his background are the threads of a fantastic saga--a vast, untapped motherlode of fantasy that rivals any of the classic tales of yesteryear.
"Unlike other jungle peoples, T'Challa's Wakandans posess a most unique resource--a huge moun of vibranium, a zealously guarded metal found only in the Panther's African nation. Behind this mystery-enshrouded metal lies a story of men and times that, if slowly and carefullt revealed, can provide added detail t the exciting tapestry of the Panther's adventures.
"Where did the vibranium originate? Who entrusted the Wakandans with its keeping? And last but not least, how did the line of rulers which fathered T'Challa rise to power? These questions are bound to produce atmosphere and characters hitherto undreamed of in the Panther saga. The trail could well begin out in the cosmos and stretch across time itself to cross the paths which T'Challa trods. Along the trail we could well encounter faces from out of the past, or witness epic battles fought by the Wakandans in the shadows of majestic palaces. There are secrets of the Panther cult that have yet to be unearthed. The possibilities boggle the mind.
"And those possibilities are something to save for the moments when all the gangsters, gods and supervillains are temporarily out of steam and pusing to get their heads together for the next round of chicanery. They are possibilities--wild-eyed concepts and ideas, if you will--for the writer and the reader to flesh out together, communicating with each other from across the printed page and meeting here in the midst of nthe most Mervelous of Universes.
"I, for my part, have already begun a bit of the job. And, as you may have already noticed, my character is neither a Kunta Kinte nor a Chicken George, but he can open wide the door to a most interesting area of T'Challa's life.
"When the mail gets here, I shall shuffle through your collective brickbats with great curiousity, to see if there have been any similar thoughts among the ranks of Marveldom Assembled. If there are none now, I'm certain that there will be some later on. At any rate, this is the place to sound off... And in the meantime, hang in there!"
BLACK PANTHER #7:
Black Panther #7 (January 1978) "Drums!"
The Panther and Mr. Little leave the samurai city. T'Challa tells the history of the Panther Cult. When was Vibranium introduced, anyhow? Jakarra has exposed himself to Vibranium and he has mutated. N'gassi summons help. T'Challa and Mr. Little return to the Collectors. T'Challa escapes after a scuffle and heads home. Back in Wakanda, one of the "ruling panthers" (whoever they are) has arrived!
Interesting stuff, but this story is feeling kind of drawn-out.
Luke answered Bob's question int he previous discussion...
LUKE BLANCHARD: "Vibranium was introduced in Fantastic Four #53 (which also introduced Klaw and his history with T'Challa, but he wasn't seen in his solidified sound form until #56). Supermegamonkey says the name was later applied to the vibrating ore introduced in Daredevil #13-#14, "resulting in Savage Land and Wakandan varieties". In the Daredevil story vibrating ore destroys metals with its vibrations. In Fantastic Four #53 vibranium absorbs them."
BLACK PANTHER #8:
Black Panther #8 (March 1978) "Panthers or Pussycats?"
OK stuff.
LUKE BLANCHARD: "If you missed it, Mr Little's first name is Abner, so his name is Li'l Abner reversed."
THE BARON: "Yeah, it took me a while to pick up on that."
LUKE BLANCHARD: "I think it took me about twenty years."
Forty for me.
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