Quote:

Disco Steve said:
IT'S STILL GOOD!

BLACK PANTHER VOL 1: THE CLIENT
(Marvel/Marvel Knights)
by Christopher Priest (writer),

THE COVER: Black Panther in a pose of some sort.

I found this book in my school's library (I'm as shocked as you are), and read it during study hall. Damn, I wish I had read this series when it first came out. Now that I've read this first TPB, I not only must track down the following volumes, but punish myself for missing out on these when they originally came out.

Remember Quantum and Woody, the comedy-adventure book from Acclaim Comics about a two childhood friends (though why they're friends is anyone's guess) who are forced into the superhero lifestyle when they come into posession of a set of power bracelets that must touch every 24 hours or they die? Whoops... I just figured out why they're friends... circumstance, it seems. Anyway, this is done in the same Beverly Hills Cop (sorry, it's on TV downstairs at the moment) serio-comedy adventure style right down to the Frasier-esque title cards for every new scene, taking place within the realm of the Marvel universe.

Since Priest figured out how to write the Black Panther, our main character is actually a fellow whose name I forgot, but is supposed to be a goofy Chandler Bing character who looks disturbingly like Michael J. Fox, who is hired to be Black Panther's... something. Embassy liason? Probably sounds right. Anyway, "Chandler" serves as the voice of reason in a universe full of weird shit. He's the outside reader, asking questions like "Why does this guy dress up like a kitty and jump out of windows when he's the ruler of an African nation?" And he provides for pants humor. I love pants humor.

Disco's Grade: A



I discovered Black Panther back in 2001. Like you, I read the first TPB. I enjoyed it so much that I went back to the comic shop the next day to buy the second TPB, Enemy of the State (issues 6-12). Loved it! I went on a back-issue spree and got issues 32-64, or whatever the last issue was when they decided to cancel it. That last story arc, with Kasper Cole and the stolen Panther suit, started off sucking, but by the end, Preist turned it into a pretty awesome story. Anyway, yeah, this IS a pretty awesome series. Hilarious, yet intelligent, writing. I have no idea what the fuck Marvel was thinking when they canned this series. Not that it matters, in the end, but this WAS the *only* Marvel book I bought (not b/c of company prejudice... I only read Batman and The Legion, which just happen to be put out by DC). With it's cancellation, I dropped the co. altogether. Fucking cum-bubbles. I miss T'challa. The only Marvel character, IMHO, who could TRULY best Batman, or at least bring him to a stalemate.

Oh, and the Chandler Bing-Michael J. Fox-type guy was named Everett K. Ross, and he's with the Office of the Chief of Protocol, US State Department ("Ya'll be cool. Just chill. Don't start none, won't be none.") Basically he's like a diplomat/liasion, with all the immunity that comes with it. And a total bumblefuck (but a genuinely likeable bumblefuck -- and ironically one of T'Challa's closest friends.)

Sniff. Black Panther, RIP.

Non

I got soul but I'm not a soldier.