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Over the past year or two, they've transformed Wakanda into a democracy. A modern take on an old comic book mythos is okay. I don't mind this. I've been reading comics for a while and something is going to happen where this is going to revert back. It's just the nature of the beast, so I don't sweat changes like this.
Where I have a problem is with the writing. I get that Marvel wants synergy between the comics and the movies. Black Panther was a C List character at best about fifteen years ago. Now he's become more prominent and is among the A-Listers. To try and build on the momentum of the movies (and let's be real here, Chadwick Boseman's portrayal), they keep trying to put non comic book talent on the books. Someone that is known in the mainstream and done influential work in black literature or television. I can only speculate that is why they had Ta'Nehisi Coates on here for a few years.
My first problem is getting non-comic book writers writing comic books. Marvel is trying to bring in a new audience by bringing in someone with a built in audience. The cynic in me will tell you that those same fans are not comic book readers and most likely are not going to follow them around. Writing comics is flexing different muscles than writing a novel and for new writers, it shows. These books tend to be overwritten, with a million speech bubbles.
I said all that to set up my next couple of points. They picked John Ridley, an academy award winning writer. That last part is important. What did he win for? 12 Years a Slave. He's also been a writer of a few episodes of Martin, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and some other stuff you may have seen. My problem is that Marvel sees this and think this is the black writer we need on Black Panther. I applaud their effort to get black writers on this book over the past few years, but I don't think they've gone deeper than that.
My problem is everything about this run feels way off. I attribute part of it to Ridley being an American trying to write an African character. The voice doesn't feel right. T'Challa sounds too American, when he should in the very least sound like a king. Too many American idioms makes it's way into his speech. You could argue that maybe being around so many Americans has changed him, but that feels like nonsense. Ridley also writes the most asshole-ish version of Captain America I have ever seen. Cap is always condescending to T'Challa, chastising him for not focusing on his role in the Avengers when he knows damn well this brother was running an entire nation. A job he started to fail at because he was serving the Avengers. And now his country wants to be a democracy. Steve Rogers cares nothing about that and that is completely inauthentic to who he is supposed to be. Even worse, T'Challa just takes it.
Black Panther shows up in the Avengers books and does his super hero stuff there. I do not think his solo title should be a watered down version of that. Instead, they pair him up with some second tier Avengers to pal around in this book, when really we should be focused on Wakanda and Black Panther's role in it. The problem is, even the super hero stuff isn't good either. So this book is failing on multiple fronts. It doesn't know what it wants to be.
The most recent storyline that concluded involved T'Challa having a network of spies that was revealed to his country and that caused tension. This feels like an also ran story and also doesn't feel right. Trying to be a watered down spy thriller is not what this book should be.
I've spent a lot of time complaining about what this book is, but haven't said how I would personally fix it. Clearly, I'm very opinionated and I do have my own answers. First of all, there is plenty of talented African writers out there. I've read some work at Marvel, Image, DC and other independent companies. This book needs to be handed over to one of them. Black Panther's voice would be well served to be guided by someone that is actually African. This way the portrayals would feel more authentic. There are nuances that Americans will miss or think they know that causes this problem. Marvel is so focused on getting a big name to move books, that they are missing an opportunity to make a start out of someone that is relatively unknown. I doubt Ridley's name is really moving units. In fact, I would argue that the way comics are today, writers will not move that many more units.
Another fix, base the book in Wakanda. We don't need to see T'Challa globetrotting. His country is in peril and he seems inclined to do nothing about it. He says he's for Wakanda and then leaves them at the drop of a hat. Making him face his consequences and trying to earn back his peoples' trust is what they should be doing. A new writer could try to build a new rogue's gallery for him. Writers tend to put their political views into their work, I would love to see that put into effect here.
I mentioned an African writer, that goes double for the art. I think this book could use a new look and a new style to it. Lately it's been traditional comic book art, but I think this title needs to go in a different direction.
If I were an editor at Marvel, this is where I would put my focus to breathe some new life into this book. I hate that I feel this way about the book, but it is just not good. Something needs to be done.
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