Hail to the king. Marvel’s Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special features stories by Priest, Cody Ziglar, Evan Narcisse, Murewa Ayodele, Georges Jeanty, Dexter Vines, Rachelle Rosenberg, Alitha Martinez, Andrew Dalhouse, Eder Messias, Federico Blee, Javier Pina and Cory Petit.
If you’ve ever been in love — and man, as rough as the aftermath can be, I hope you’ve been in love — then you know how much details matter. Picking the right ring. The right ice cream. Noticing when she gets her hair done (and making a wholly justified commotion about it). Knowing when to speak. Knowing when to sit in silence.
Details are the language of love.
I love a lot of things: Morehouse College, Blue Bell Ice Cream, and obviously Black Panther. I love a lot of people: most of my city, everybody Black, and a young lady who’s just gotten her hair done. Maybe. And because I love, I make sure I pay attention to the details.
It’s with this love that I read the 60th anniversary Black Panther special. It, as most anniversary comics are, is a compilation of short stories helmed under a meta story. Kasper Cole, onetime cop and Black Panther, current member of the Panther’s special ops unit, the Hatut Zeraze, is on a mission to find the currently disposed royal. His whereabouts unknown, Cole checks in with family and friends, a lover and an antagonist, all to see if any of them have seen the King.
Predictably, none has, but all give stories of his exploits: Blue Marvel (in a story by Cody Ziglar) reflects on their time in The Ultimates, when they had to use ingenuity to take care of some displaced dino-pests; Storm (Murewa Ayodele) remembers loving him after his duties required him to take on the literal and metaphysical burdens of his throne; Magneto (Priest) reflects on a time when favors were traded with double crosses and smiles.
The stories are … fine. The meta story (from Evan Narcisse) feels a bit convoluted; the Blue Marvel story, endearing, but not particularly memorable. Ayodele once again has a main character slaying a metaphysical manifestation (see: Storm, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods), though I will say the boxing-influenced visuals from Eder Messias were an absolute highlight. The Priest Magneto story felt the most fleshed out, complex and weighty — so much so that I’m maybe a little mad that story likely ends here. That’s how I hoped I would feel about all of these stories. All of the involved writers have the capacity to create Panther stories just as good; both Narcisse and Ziglar arguably already have. But here, the stories were just fine.
What *isn’t* fine, then?
Well, the meta story hinges on T’Challa’s exile from Wakanda. The only problem? T’Challa hasn’t been exiled from Wakanda for at least six months; he’s been back on the throne since Imperial, And though the means of his reinstatement were never fully fleshed out, it’s clear he’s back as the king for the foreseeable future. As far as I can tell, there’s no editor’s note, no footnote, no mention in this text of what’s been happening in-universe for over half a year.
I’m not sure how to process that lack of detail.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big a deal, right? But then again, would it matter if, instead of a PS5, your partner got you an Xbox? Would it matter if you couldn’t remember your partner’s favorite color? Their birthday? Their favorite comic character?
If you didn’t notice how great their hair looked?
Details matter. Details are an expression of love, and while I’ve been wary of those who felt like Black Panther was becoming an intentionally sidelined afterthought, the lack of care here speaks louder than any of the short stories.
Maybe I’m wrong. I’m looking at a preview copy of this work; maybe the official copy will have a note amended to it which would then make this review kinda awkward and pointless.
I’m willing to bet that it won’t, that whoever is in charge either does not know or does not care about continuity.
That the love might actually be gone.
And as one who remembers how bad the aftermath of losing love is, I’m probably more dismayed than most that the comic I love most likely isn’t loved enough.
Anyway, let me make a call to remind a young lady about how amazing her hair looks.
Love endures in real life, even if it’s missing on the page.
Buy Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
A proud New Orleanian living in the District of Columbia, Jude Jones is a professional thinker, amateur photographer, burgeoning runner and lover of Black culture, love and life. Magneto and Cyclops (and Killmonger) were right. Learn more about Jude at SaintJudeJones.com.
