Comics!

In lieu of anything else to talk about, my three recommendations for this week:

• Black Panther #50
  The best monthly superhero comic that nobody reads. Nobody ever thought it would ever make it to #50. Nobody seriously expects it to last until #60. It's about one of those nutty characters that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created in the 1960s; King T'Challa is The Black Panther, king of a wealthy and technologically advanced African nation. For thirty years, Black Panther wavered from being a goofy adventurer, to the token honourable Black Guy on The Avengers. Five years ago, Christopher Priest (Marvel's first black editor, and the person who hired Peter David) started writing the Panther's first solo title for over a decade. Priest has long suffered from what is affectionately known as 'The Curse', where he would write five or so issues of a title before it was cancelled beneath him. We weren't expecting it to last, but normally Priest manages to get a few good stories told before the title disappears.

  I don't think anybody expected Panther to be the best work of Priest's career. From the dubious origins of T'Challa, Priest crafted a deeply funny and complex book, soaked in the politics of Black America, African tribes, and superheroes. It was The West Wing, but with explosions. It had multi-layered plotlines, sharp and witty dialogue, fabulous art by the likes of Sal Velluto and Mark Texakira, and the Devil's Pants.

  And nobody bought it.

  Priest has tried just about everything to improve the sales of the title, reducing the cast to a more manageable level, having guest-stars such as Wolverine make an appearance, and streamlining his complex plots. Nothing has worked. Black Panther #50 is the final attempt. Priest's own take on the revamp is 'less West Wing, more Law & Order'. King T'Challa is missing, presumed dead, but someone in the Black Panther costume has been spotted around New York, using extreme measures to stop criminals. New artist Dan Fraga's art is quite impressive, and the 'widescreen' panel layout used throughout the issue gives it a very cinematic feel. It's not Black Panther as you knew it. But it's still infused with Priest's excellent dialogue and plotting. You should buy it, or at least have a look at the first trade paperback, Black Panther: The Client, featuring the Devil's Pants.



• Stormwatch: Team Achilles #4
  Yes, Richard, there's a new Stormwatch title. This is a little different; the new Stormwatch is a UN military unit, whose mission is to seek out and kill superhero threats. This issue kicks off a new storyline, where the team discovers that their current targets are located in Chechnya. Which just happens to be under the protection of The Authority (a hyper-violent version of the Justice League, who don't have any qualms with interfering with the way the world works). Micah Wright, a newcomer to the comics scene, is writing an interesting story here, but the art drags it down quite a bit; Whilce Portacio's storytelling seems stilted and rough, but if you can get past that, it's quite enjoyable.
• Transformers - The War Within
  Shut up. I've so far avoided all the new Transformer comics, as a sample reading of G1 #2 turned out to be very disappointing. However, there was no way I was going to miss this series, as Simon Furman is doing the writing. Furman was the writer on the Transformers: UK comics, and was responsible for some fantastic stories, involving extremely high body counts and copious amounts of mighty robotic angst. Titan Comics is currently reprinting some of his best work. I advise you to check out the Target: 2006 trade paperback, his first 'epic', featuring gorgeous artwork from Geoff Senior and Ron Smith. Anyway, this new mini-series is set in the beginning of the Autobot-Decepticon War, and is the tale of how Optimus Prime became the leader of the Autobots. And it's got Grimlock shooting things and being Grimlock in it. I can't really justify the purchase on grounds other than it had big giant robots blowing things up and lots of Optimus Angst. Just like when I used to walk in the driving rain to get my copy of Transformers UK.