Black Panther Annual #1 Review

To tie in with the release of the Black Panther movie at cinemas, Marvel have released a new special annual issue featuring three stories featuring Black Panther.

There are three very different stories representing three major stories from the past, with legendary writers and artists returning to give a brief history catch up for Black Panther fans, but it isn’t ideal for newcomers.

I personally preferred the first story, involving agent Ross, since this shows how their relationship has been a major aspect of the series.  The second story sees the Black Panther capture a special plant from the top of a mountain, only for it to be placed in a coffin of a long lost lover, which seemed a little odd considering the importance of a “special plant” in the movie to give special powers.    And finally we have a story involving a older Black Panther talking to his granddaughter about his past, which takes place in an alternative universe.

This is is an interesting release since I’m not sure who this Annual is for, is it for newcomers to the character or something extra for long term readers.  And that is the problem with this issue, it’s all over the place.  The three stories barely have time to give a understanding of the what’s going on before they are all over.  One minute Black Panther is mourning the loss of a lover and in the next issue he is an old man in the future with mutant grandchildren and organising arranged marriages to Namor’s children.

As someone who has only recently watched the movie and has limited knowledge of the Black Panther, I consider myself the target audience for this Annual, to try to take the popularity of the Black Panther and bring new readers in, which this issue fails miserably at, especially since Annuals tend to be a one shot to grab more casual fans.

However for long time Black Panther comic book fans, this issue could give readers three interesting stories to follow up on some major stories from the past.

OVERALL:

I was really hoping for something to get my teeth into following the excellent Black Panther movie, as someone who has never paid too much attention to this character, I was interested in expanding my knowledge of the Black Panther and this issue just confused me.  For Black Panther readers, this might be a perfect release, but this wasn’t was for me.

REVIEW SCORE: 6 out of 10

You can purchase this comic now via Amazon/ComiXology

Here is a preview of this issue: