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BLACK PANTHER #35
"Gorilla Warfare Book 2 of 2: Masks"
Recommended (7/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Priest
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Livesay
Colors: VLM
Letters: Sharpefont & PT
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN |
I don't have much interest in the Defenders, and their new book hasn't done anything to change my mind on that score. Their appearance in this issue, taking away space from more interesting stories, does nothing to further enamor me, and drags the quality of the issue down considerably. Of course, I can't blame it all on the Defenders, as "Gorilla Warfare" reads more like a story that needed three or four parts minimum to move, and this issue, the "conclusion" seems rushed and crowded. That said, while it's certainly one of the weaker issues of Black Panther so far, it still has a lot to recommend
it, not the least of which is the gray morality that has become a hallmark of
T'Challa from Priest's pen, some fun narration from the always-sarcastic Agent
Ross and a whimsical and funny portrayal of the Hulk.
There are a few threads running through
this issue, and I'll be honest, one of the more annoying things about this issue
for me is that I've read #36 already, and it makes this issue look bad in two
regards: One, both of the big stories in this issue end on cliffhangers that
aren't even addressed, much less resolved, in #36, and two, #36 is a much, much
better story, one of the best the book has offered. Leaving aside unfair
knowledge of the future, though, this issue still has some weaknesses, and a lot
of that comes from the sheer number of stories going on and the relatively few
number of pages it has to address them.
With all the political maneuvering between
Man-Ape, Gyrich and Panther and the flashbacks to establish Man-Ape's history,
the last thing the book really needed was several pages of Ross fighting off the
Defenders. Granted, Ross's description of the Defenders is hilarious, as he
shows off a stunning lack of knowledge about the super-heroes in the Marvel
Universe in his typically humorous form, and I'm curious how Ross wound up in
his new body and who's behind all that, but the breaks away from the story in
Wakanda felt like commercial interruptions rather than subplots, more annoying
than entertaining.
The main story, however, continues to
entertain, even if its complexity makes for a bit of crowding in this issue. I
enjoyed seeing the unflappable Gyrich easily dealt with by Panther in the last
issue, but I found it just as enjoyable to watch Gyrich handle Man-Ape with
ease, using his own verbal skills and knowledge of the rules to his advantage.
And the building tension between Queen Divine Justice and Panther is
fascinating, as Queen grows from being more than a mouthy teenager and T'Challa
seems to finally be in a situation where he's not completely in control. His
story of what happened to Queen's parents is laced with self-doubt and
self-directed anger, the ultimate failure for a control fanatic such as the
Panther.
On the whole, I'm looking forward to next issue, with the return of the regular art team and a story that will hopefully have a little more room to breathe. But while this may be weaker than other issues of Black Panther in the recent past, that's more a reflection of the high standards that I have for the book than a commentary on whether it's worth a comic fan's time or money or not. Even a weak issue of Black Panther beats most of the other
super-hero books on the stands hands-down.
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