Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin: The Complete Collection—Volume 1

Comic Info

Black Panther (3) #1

Reprints Black Panther (3) #1-18 and X-Men (1) #175-176 (April 2005-September 2006).  An invasion of Wakanda sets off a chain of unexpected events and thrust the small nation into the world limelight again.  An outbreak of mutations in the neighboring country of Niganda has the X-Men teaming with the Black Panther and a reunion between T’Challa and Ororo that could change both of their destinies.  The Black Panther needs an heir, and Storm could be the goddess to fulfill his dreams.

Written by Reginald Hudlin (with the X-Men crossover co-written by Peter Milligan), Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin:  The Complete Collection—Volume 1 is a Marvel Comics superhero series.  Featuring art by John Romita Jr., Trevor Hairsine, Salvador Larroca, David Yardin, Scott Eaton, and Kaare Andrews, issues in this collection were previously collected in Black Panther:  Who Is the Black Panther?, House of M:  World of M featuring Wolverine, X-Men/Black Panther:  Wild Kingdom, X-Men by Peter Milligan:  Dangerous Liaisons, Black Panther:  Bad Mutha, Black Panther:  The Bride, X-Men Weddings, and Marvel’s Black Panther Prelude among other collections.

Marvel’s movie version of Black Panther knocked it out of the park, both for the film series and a character that has been around for decades.  Aspects of this collection were part of the basis for the film (including Shuri who was introduced here), and Hudlin’s run on the series was a big turn for the character by making him a major player in the Marvel Universe.

Since this is essentially an omnibus collection, there are a lot of stories in the volume presented by multiple artists.  The opening storyline is almost like a soft reboot for the character by giving a new perspective on Wakanda (building on Christopher Priest’s run on the character) and taking it in its own direction.  It features great art by John Romita Jr. which fits the style of the story and the character.

Black Panther (3) #18

The volume then gets caught up in a few different crossover events.  House of M is touched upon briefly with the standalone issue Black Panther (3) #7 (October 2005) and the wedding storyline has to incorporate Civil War (as a bit of a truce) since the wedding is supposed to be a monumental event (plus, Civil War was limited to the United States which makes Wakanda a “safe zone”).

Between the wedding and the opening story, you get an X-Men adventure which serves to reintroduce and establish Black Panther’s relationship with Storm and you have a “let’s find a bride” storyline which takes Black Panther on a globe skipping adventure with Luke Cage to find his bride.  The tone between the first storyline and the last storyline is so different that it is a bit of a shock…I actually prefer Reginald Hudlin’s slightly humorous presentation of the Black Panther since Black Panther has largely been the solemn superhero.  It is just odd to be combined with a dark story of invading forces.

Black Panther has always taken a bit of getting into for me because of the deadpan serious nature of the character, but he is worth the investment.  The fact that T’Challa is so locked up as a character (much like a Bruce Wayne), it is hard to get personality out of him…which leads to fun bursts when it does come out.  The wedding to Storm was a big event for the series and for both characters…and Hudlin is forging on ahead as he tells the next step.  Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin:  The Complete Collection—Volume 1 is followed by Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin:  The Complete Collection—Volume 2.