Black Panther: The Complete Collection Volume 1

I bought this at Boocup in the Kerry Center mall in Shanghai, China, last September.

Title: Black Panther: The Complete Collection
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2015
Writer: Christopher Priest
Penciler: Mark Texeira, Vince Evans, Joe Jusko, Mike Manley, Mark Bright, Sal Velluto, Joe Quesada, Amanda Conner,
Inker: Alitha Martinez, Jimmy Palmiotti, Mark Texeira, Vince Evans, Joe Jusko, Mike Manley, Nelson DeCastro, Bob Almond
Colorist: Brian Haberlin, Avalon Studios, Elizabeth Lewis, Chris Sotomayor, Brad Vancata, Drew Yackey, Matt Yackey
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Comicraft Inc.'s Siobhan Hanna, Wes Abbott, Jason Levine, Liz Agraphiotis, Sharpefond, Paul Tutrone
Editor: Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti, Ruben Diaz, Tom Brevoort, Kelly Lamy, Frank Dunkerley, Greg Schigiel
Front Cover: Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti
Back Cover: Joe Jusko, Elizabeth Lewis

This trade paperback collects the Black Panther Marvel Knights run that started in 1998, covering the first seventeen issues of that series. It's all narrated through the eyes of hapless federal agent Everett K. Ross, who is in way over his head in just about every moment of every issue as he tries to do his job as T'Challa's US State Department liaison. Unfortunately for Ross, the King of Wakanda has lost his throne to an international conspiracy, and he is trying to solve a murder case in New York before he can return to Wakanda to set things there right.

The result is a wild and sometimes disjointed ride that involves a plethora of guest stars from Captain America to Luke Cage and Iron Fist to Hulk to Mephisto (!) to Hydro-Man to (no I am not making this up) Brother Voodoo.

The humor is snarky and fun, and the pacing is frenetic. There is a lot of political humor, some of it a bit dated at this point, but most of it still biting. The action scenes don't always measure up to the cleverness of it all, as a lot of the fight scenes get cut short for the sake of more cleverness.

MCU fans will enjoy seeing many of the characters who ended up as part of the Black Panther film, not to mention favorites from the Avengers films as well as the Netflix Defenders.

Several important elements are not resolved by the end of this volume and the cutoff point of 17 issues felt arbitrary.

Still, there is a lot to enjoy here, and as someone who had not read much Black Panther, this was a treat.

Rating: 7/10

Ghost Rider #15

I still have some of the hastily-grabbed stack of comics that I took with me when we moved overseas. Here is one of them.

Title: Ghost Rider
Issue: 15
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: July, 1991
Writer:Howard Mackie
Penciler: Mark Texeira
Inker: Mark Texeira
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Letterer: Janice Chiangs
Editor: Bobbie Chase, Chris Cooper

Glow-in-the-dark cover! Glow-in-the-dark cover is more 90s than you could ever hope to be!




In case you're curious, it does still glow a little bit after 24 years. Look!

Got a scorecard handy? So, Ghost Rider is not Johnny Blaze. He's some guy named Dan Ketch. Well, I guess technically, it's the same ghost rider, but it's Dan Ketch transforming into him. Oh, and Johnny Blaze is trying to track down Ghost Rider and kill him with a gun that shoots hellfire. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider/Ketch are trying to track down a vampire named Blackout, who is trying to track down, well, more victims I guess. Then there is also a team of female mercenaries who are flying around in a helicopter trying to get their hands on Ghost Rider's motorcycle. This all happens with a supporting cast of vampire victims, New York City cops, and (racist stereotype) crack-smoking gang members.

The story is an over-wordy mess for about the first third or so, but I have to admit that writer Howard Mackie does a decent job of maneuvering all of the above-listed moving parts into a reasonable climax and resolution. It still ends up being too wordy, but the story does a nice job of keeping everyone relevant right through to the end while serving up a heaping portion of melodrama.

In the final panel, the cops are asking the remaining characters, "What happened here?". The answer is "You got a few days?" That actually sums up this story pretty nicely.

Rating: 4.5/10