Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda #1:
Thousands of years ago, a small element of Wakandans took to the skies and found themselves at the farthest reaches of the cosmos. These pilgrims established a colony that was isolated from their planet and their people. Strangers in a strange land, they sought to adapt to the unforgiving deep space environment, and the endless threats they faced from within and without. The result: a powerful, far-reaching, galactic empire with many, many peoples under its feet. No longer does Wakanda seek only to defend itself; now, its method is security through ruthless conquest. But one man will rise to stand against them. One man who has forgotten his name, and his past - but he has not forgotten the taste of FREEDOM. For liberty to arise, The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda must fall!
Ta-Nehsisi Coates astounds with this first installment of this thrill-inducing sci-fi epic, Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda!! Coates starts off succinctly and effectively by giving the reader a quick bit of the Empire's backstory in the caption boxes, and then he slams us right into the action, introducing us to our protagonist as he bravely endeavors to throw off the shackles of slavery. Our nameless hero seems very familiar to us in this very unfamiliar, futuristic, draconian Wakandan empire. Coates adeptly lures us into empathizing with the hero, and for me, that's the hook. I was intrigued by the protagonist and found that I was eager to journey with him. As the story continued to unfold, I was left confused in a good way, full of questions. Could these possibly be the characters I know and love from Wakanda? Is our amnesiac hero T'Challa? Could this be an alternate timeline or a new story set in the future? Or maybe the Wakanda detachment that spawned this empire left Earth some time ago, and this is actually happening right now (given that time passes more quickly on Earth due to gravitational time dilation)? So many questions only made me hunger for answers and search for clues that, along with Coates' tight plot and characterizations, kept me glued to each panel on each wonderfully rendered page penciled by master comics artist, Daniel Acuña.
Coates is definitely breaking new ground here. He is effectively taking a fictional African country that was never conquered nor colonized and he is turning it into a bellicose empire that ruthlessly does both these things quite well and without remorse. It is a captivating idea. My sincerest hope is that Coates thoughtfully guides us through a deep exploration of how a peace-loving, sovereign state degenerates into a warlike entity hellbent on procuring its own safety and survival through merciless conquest. In essence, it is a huge role-reversal; indeed, this is (MCU) Eric Killmonger's plan come to absolute fruition on a scale that not even he could have imagined. I have GOT to see where this goes. Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda just CLAWED its way right to the top of my monthly pull list.
RATING: 10 out o 10!
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