From the opening page I already knew that this was going to be one of those runs that evolve the character as we see T'Challa, bloodied, kneeling on the floor thinking of all he has sacrificed while Wakanda is in the midst of civil unrest. As T'Challa chases after who he believes to be responsible for the incident, we are taken to trail of one of the Dora Milaje (Adored Ones). There is a lot happening in this issue and I don't wanna give anything away but I am already excited to see what this Black Panther run will turn into.
I was immediately in love with the art style of Brian Stelfreeze, his art just seems to be an almost modernized version of the late great Jack Kirby. He's able to streamline the panther suit (no more tech looking long johns) and yet give it a much more menacing look while also adhering to the roots of the suit. I know I said it doesn't look super teched out, it seriously reminds me of the og costume, but when the time calls for it you can definitely see that Wakanda circuitry going to work as T'Challa channels all the stored up kinetic energy and releases it as a shockwave. That panel was a joy to see because in that moment you really got to how well the idea of the new run (a sorta reinvention of the character) is reflected in his use of taking something familiar and giving just enough of a twist to create something new.
Now I can't give all the credit to Brian as I was also equally impressed with the writing pedigree of Coates. He doesn't seem like he is out of place at all, in fact he seems quite at home writing this book as if this isn't his first go around. His vision of Wakanda is exactly as it should be, a city that has an equally deep love and respect for culture as it does techonology. Just from reading a few pages I could already tell that he knew the lore of Black Panther and knew just where to update it, namely by taking the Dora Milaje out from the shadows of Wakanda and putting them in the spotlight. I am really liking how he is dropping hints of changes to come not only with Black Panther but the society of Wakanda as a whole; gender roles are starting to fall away, a nation is rising against Wakanda, the idea of a ruling family might no longer be as popular as it was before, just so many little threads left in just the first issue.
If you cannot tell by now I recommend picking this up. If you want to see what it is that separates Black Panther from the other heroes of the Marvel Universe then you definitely need to pick up this issue. The artwork is fantastic, the writing is tight, the book is accessible to newer readers but also doesn't just leave the old fans in the dust. This book was well worth the long wait I had to endure from Marvel.
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