Black Panther has been cancelled

[bobc]

I'm sad. The Black Panther comic has been canceled--after it was finally getting good. Bizarrely, rumor has it that the Panther storyline is going to continue in Daredevil (?). Apparently the Panther dominated Doom War comic was out-selling The Black Panther many times over, but now that is over and BP is cancelled.

So guys--tell me the truth--is the Panther just not a viable character in most of your eyes? Did Hudlin's run make him just too unlikeable? I read online that one former Avengers writer didn't think BP could last "six months" when the series started years ago.

What is the problem?

[starfoxxx]

Sorry to hear the news, bobc. It sucks royally when there's a comic you ACTUALLY enjoy, and it gets cancelled. I was considering picking up an issue of BP ( i believe it was your recommendation), but it was right when BP was having the whole "identity crisis", and that sort of thing has been done to death, so i never jumped on. Come to think of it, i only have a very few Black Panther or/Jungle Action comics.... I believe he is a viable MU character, just never put into a context that interested me in his own books. I'd like to see BP take on the Wrecking Crew, Kraven, the Serpent Society.....fighting some heavy hitters. Another point is the covers....they just didn't grab me on the rack....and if they had (and the price was $2.99 ) i'm pretty sure i would have picked it up. If T'challa was batting the Wrecking Crew on the cover, i would probably have picked it up. I like it simple and old-school, few and far between for comics these days.

[bobc]

EXACTLY.

Marvel seems to be borderline retarded when it comes to the concept that people want a character that is FORMIDABLE. In Jungle Action, the Panther was constantly getting his A kicked, his costume was constantly tattered--he just came off weak. In recent years BP has been improved power-wise, but it is absolutely infuriating that issue after issue goes by and the Panther never even fights any bad guys!

In Doom War, T'Challa is once again incapacitated--and this time he is actually replaced by a 20 YO GIRL, who does more fighting in those issues than T'Challa ever did in the entire 40 years he's been around. I mean why is this so hard for BP writers to get?

Towards the end of Doom War, T'Challa gets his strength level boosted through mystical means, and true to form, he sees very, very little action and most of it is against generic Doombots. I think he exchanged one punch with Doom.

Where has BP's acrobatics and superhuman speed gone? His ability to see in the dark? His almost preternatural stealth? Now all he does is exchange a few punches, which is hardly exciting super hero fare.

Last but not least, as Starry said, T'Challa needs to go up against some FORMIDABLE foes and WIN. Captain America does this all the time.

[kidcage]

I agree it's sad to see a comic you enjoyed get cancelled, it seems like BP just needs someone to take his book, be a fan at heart, and write what they want to see. The idea of BP vs. Wrecking Crew is an amazing one, and I for one would snatch that up in a heart beat.

[Shiryu]

Are you sure it's cancelled permanently? Today I read Age of Heroes #4, with a story of the new Black Panther (about whom I knew absolutely nothing until Doomwar) and at the end it says "follow her adventures in Klaw of the Panther #1" coming out in autumn. Perhaps it's just a reboot with a different title?

[bobc]

I don't know, Shir. All I know is T'Challa is once again on the D-list, replaced by a girl no one ever even heard of until a year or two ago. That "Age of Heroes" book featured frikkin Squirrel Girl in the previous issue, if that gives you any indication of the respect BP gets. Oh and by the way, even the female BP gets reminded she lost to the Sub Mariner, and gets soundly thrashed by some big ugly goon with no super powers in AOH. Why in the world would anyone follow a hero like this? T'Challa is apparently replaceable like an old shoe.

I read on another forum that one fan said BP was mostly known from the Avengers, where he was always talked about with great respect, "even though he almost never did anything to deserve it." That pretty much sums it up.

Make this character FORMIDABLE.

[starfoxxx]

Yeah, a few recent purchases from my LCS quarter-bin says it all.

Ladies and gentlemen.....Black Panther VS. the Klan? WTF? Windeagle? T'challa was always fighting some Lame-o.

[bobc]

Exactly. And then there was a period when BP was riding a motorcycle, and using hand-guns! I recently saw some of those issues at my comic store and I just groaned. Marvel has been flailing around looking for an identity for character for decades. They need to get back to the basics of the character as he first appeared in the FF, but update the technology he uses. This WAS starting to happen and now the book is canceled. I think so many bad story arcs have occurred over the years that even Panther fans stopped buying and paying attention. You can't blame them.

An Avenger, The King of a technologically advanced civilization who is almost on a level with Reed Richards, fighting the Klan and Wind Eagle? Come on...

[woodside]

To me, Black Panther was never more interesting than when written by Priest back in the 2000s. Here was a character that I never found the least bit cool or intriguing, but the complexity, the politics and characterization in that series gave T'Challa so much appeal.

[Marvel Boy]

Instead of creating a new thread, I'd thought that I would jump-start this one.

Would it be safe to say that Hickman has helped restore some of the honor and power of T'Challa? He's certainly helped boost my interest in the character (for I admit that I've read little of BP beyond his Avengers appearances).

So I was wondering if any of you can highlight a good reading list for BP? I'm not sure what volume of his title this thread was referring to and I recall hearing good things about Priest's run with the character (although was that in the same volume of title or did Priest have multiple runs with the character?)

Any suggestions?