Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special
Author : Various
Artist : Various
Colourist : Various
More Than 9 Lives : 60th Anniversary Special Summary
This special celebration of the Black Panther character takes us across Wakanda, Kadesh, Outer Space and beyond—reintroducing us to some of T’Challa’s past friends, foes and everyone in between. And it wouldn’t be a full look into the events of T’Challa’s life if we didn’t get a story from Ororo.
Wakanda Forever : 60th Anniversary Review
WARNING SPOILERS!
Claw & Order
I will set the tone for my review for such a great anniversary for such a brilliant character. It was disappointing. It looked at the story of Black Panther through the eyes of Kevin Cole, who is an initiate into the Panther Cult. His mission is to locate T’Challa after Black Panther has gone galactic. For me, as the reader, that outlook did not land with me. I was thinking this would be an epic look into Black Panther, T’Challa, and Wakanda. Instead, it was a game of Where’s Waldo with one of the greatest strategists in the Marvel Universe.
On top of seeing the story of Black Panther through the eyes of Kevin Cole, the story is subverted further because we are then told tales of the past from people Cole seeks out to find T’Challa. This took the shine away for me. When I opened the Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special, I was excited to be brought into some of the biggest, coolest, and most special exploits. Instead, I was given pretty dry and bland excerpts from the past of Black Panther. The only exception was the story with Magneto. That was a great read with tremendous dialogue.
Unfortunately, to compound the bland stories from Kevin Cole and Blue Marvel, as well as a really long story from Ororo, the artwork throughout the Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special was not the greatest. It looked too basic for such a big milestone for such an important character. This was a consistent issue across the board from the various artists.
The shining lights of artwork in terms of drawing the character of Black Panther and creating exciting panels were Eder Messias, Alitha E. Martinez, and Javier Pina. They did do a character of the magnitude of Black Panther a great job. However, their contributions were not enough to save the visual experience of the book as a whole.
Silent King
The main story arc in the Anniversary Special is that T’Challa is nowhere to be found. Kevin Cole needs to locate him to make sure he is okay. Along with this, it is the anniversary of the death of T’Chaka, and T’Challa never misses that. Now his absence is given more weight and adds some peril to his sudden disappearance.
Although the issue as a whole was disappointing to read, I will focus on my favorite story out of the various tales. This is “Exiles,” which is written by Priest, with art by Javier Pina and color by Federico Blee. The story that Priest delivers is compelling because it puts T’Challa in danger immediately. He is suffering from an inoperable brain aneurysm. Magneto, of all people, has the cure for this, but of course, he needs something in return from Black Panther. This gives us an interesting team-up, to say the least.
The main reason I loved the story from Priest is the dialogue between T’Challa and Eric Magnus. It is just fabulous. It made me feel like I was genuinely reading a conversation between two immensely intelligent gentlemen, the King of Wakanda and the self-proclaimed King of the Mutants. This story above the rest had a reason in it. Black Panther needs a cure, and Magneto wants data to help him rebuild the fallen Genosha. The common denominator is that the person who holds this information is a Hatut Zaraze, also known as the Wakandan secret police. To me as a reader, Priest has given me a reason to care, a reason for the chance meeting between the two characters to make sense, and an end result to look forward to.
For a short story, Priest adds very nice, complex storytelling. Neither man can trust the other, and that comes into fruition in the end. Magneto was actually looking for a weapon against mankind, which Black Panther had already compromised. This once again shows that he is the King of schemes. Magneto, in reply, says he has healed the aneurysm of T’Challa, but he adds doubt by posing the question of if the medical data of T’Challa can be trusted. This leaves both men in doubt, but in mutual respect. As neither attacked the other, it shows they are somewhat friends.
The ending of the entirety of the Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special is flat. T’Challa does show up for the anniversary of the death of his father. In a twist of fate, Black Panther reveals himself to Kevin Cole instead of being found.
Where The Claw Meets The Page
I was not impressed by a lot of the artwork for this monumental issue. It felt rushed and came across as basic, which did not capture 60 years of the epic character of Black Panther. The opening pages of a comic book should set the tone. The artwork in this case did not resonate with me and set the wrong tone. As seen below, it looks rough and the lack of detail does not fit in with the beautiful cover art.
My favorite page of art was from the story that included the artwork from Eder Messias and Federico Blee. The way in which Black Panther is depicted is fantastic. The half-page splash showing off Black Panther versus the demons that we need to face off against was epic, and the colors are brilliant.
Then the three panels to end the page show that even against this dragon of malevolence, T’Challa will not quit. There is seriousness and desire in his eyes, and it fits perfectly with the story of that page. Rather than sealing away the malevolence, Black Panther faces it head-on and eradicates it.
Along with the art from Messias and Blee, I have to write about the brilliant panel work from Javier Pina during the Exiles story arc. Although it is mostly a conversation between Black Panther and Magneto, the panel work and complex dialogue from Priest gave me the feeling that I was a third wheel to a super high-intelligent conversation. It was exciting because it felt like both characters were trying to one-up the other using their wit.
The way Pina lays out the panels ensures that the focus remains on the intensity of their exchange, making the reader hang on every word. It is a masterclass in how to maintain momentum in a story that relies on intellectual sparring rather than physical action.
Conclusion & Rating
Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special was disappointing for me as a reader, the stories were too muddled between too many giving their versions of a story. Specials are difficult to write, but this was for 60 years of Black Panther, and its convoluted style did not give it the energy it deserved.
The fact that the story is being told from someone else’s point of view that isn’t T’Challa, didn’t sit right with me—it should’ve been our Black Panther that was looking back upon his achievement from the distant and more recent past. It felt rushed and that comes through with the artwork, and the feel of cramming too much in for the sake of getting it in. the shining light was the story by Priest and the art team of Messias and Blee, they nailed the assignment to make us care about Black Panther.