Here’s a cover image chosen at random from my collection.
Black Panther #2 by Christopher Priest (w), Mark Texiera (a), Joe Quesada (storytelling), Alitha Martinez (background assists), Avalon Color (c), Richard Alan Starkings & Siobhan Hanna (l), and Bruce Timm (variant cover)
I hadn’t read this issue until the randomizer picked it. I had purchased this based solely on the recommendation of Peter Rios. Mr. Rios had talked before on a podcast about what a good series this was, so I filed that away until I found the first 12 issues on sale from Fearless Readers Online. So, instead of picking something new or just saying, yeah, I never read it, but here’s the cover, I not only read this issue, but I read #1 as well so that I wasn’t lost. Wow. Now I see why Mr. Rios was talking about. It’s interesting storytelling, even if a bit too influenced by Pulp Fiction (which it actually references in #1), with a lot of character and humor. T’Challa is bad ass, and just proves to me, along with recent events in New Avengers, that there needs to be another Black Panther ongoing. I’d buy it.
The art, however, is interesting, but not necessarily in a good way. The inks are overly muddy and intrusive, and at times, one of the supporting characters, who is supposed to be a full-grown, if somewhat short, man, looks as if he’s 12. Plus, I don’t get the whole Mark Texiera and Joe Quesada storyteller bit. Did Texiera provide breakdowns that Quesada finished? It’s confusing. However, my misgivings about the art are minimized by the story and characterizations by Priest. The rest of the 12 issues are certainly going to the top of my To Read pile.
Longbox Review 