Review: Uncle Scrooge: The Seven Cities of Gold

The last Carl Barks book I reviewed was Trail of the Unicorn, with stories that were originally published in 1949-1950. In it, Scrooge still felt like a draft of the character he would eventually become. This latest volume, The Seven Cities of Gold, has stories from five years later, where Scrooge is already fully formed.

There are a few things that jumped out at me in this volume, not the least of which is that there are a couple (just a couple, not even a large number) of stories, "The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone" being one of them, where it's just a bit anticlimactic and seem to end quite abruptly. But  that may just be in comparison to the Barks stories I'm coming from, which normally wrapped up more elegantly.

Another thing that jumped out at me is the lack of 10-pagers. A staple of the previous volumes, there's all of one 10-pager and then a couple of 4-pagers and an 8-pager. I don't know why there's this sudden format shift, but the only real explanation I could think is that all these came from the Uncle Scrooge comic, so maybe the page count was different? I'm not sure.

There's also three stories here that showcase Scrooge's luck with money — that is, money seems to find him. I'm not as strict with the portrayal of Scrooge as someone who worked and scrimped for everything he owns, and do find it humorous when it's because of luck (mostly, it's just because Barks is able to execute it well), but I do admit that I prefer the hardworking Scrooge to the one who makes a million dollars without actually doing anything to earn that profit.

Supposedly, according to some of the notes in the back matter, this stretch of stories was really hard for Barks, since it was this period where editorial was changing his stories arbitrarily and with little reason. There's a revised scene in "The Golden Fleecing" where the editors asked him to revise a set of panels that not only changed the feel of the antagonists, but also seemed to have no good reason behind it.

The stories in The Seven Cities of Gold are still fast-paced, and are still really fun rides, even if they don't wrap up as well as stories from the previous volumes. Barks' use of big panels for big moments, such as when they enter the Labyrinth of Crete or see the Sleepless Dragon, is just as effective as they were in previous volumes, with Barks really turning up the level of detail to emphasize these big moments. There's still a lot to learn here, and certainly a lot to enjoy.

The stories in Uncle Scrooge: The Seven Cities of Gold first appeared in Uncle Scrooge #7-14, from September 1954 to August 1956, and are listed below.

Long Stories

• The Seven Cities of Cibola. The most famous story in this volume has Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie looking for arrowheads, as a way for Scrooge to rediscover the excitement of entering a new business venture. This leads them to look for the lost cities of Cibola, but the Beagle Boys follow them. There's a sequence in this in which Barks implicitly trusts the audience, as he relates the story of how some explorers visited Cibola only via the explorers' documents and some pictorial carvings done by the Cibolans. The reader has to put them together, the same way Scrooge and company do. When you consider Barks' audience (kids), that's a good way for a creator to show faith in his readers. This story also has the most tangible example of Barks inspiring George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, as it has the sequence that inspired the opening of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The ending is also fun in that it provides a nice twist from the usual type of ending we're accustomed to, while at the same time being no less satisfying.
• The Mysterious Stone Ray. Scrooge's frequent swims in his money bin have coated him with gold dust, clogging all his pores and making him incredibly tired and sluggish. He takes his doctor's suggestion to take a vacation, and a message sent in a bottle makes him choose an uncharted island. But when he gets there, he not only finds the Beagle Boys, he also finds a big giant ray gun that turns people into stone! Can they figure out what's going on, prevent themselves from turning to stone, and capture the Beagle Boys?
• The Lemming With the Locket. A lemming steals a locket from Scrooge. The locket contains all the combinations to Scrooge's safes. The lemming gets on a boat. The boat lands in Norway. There are a lot of lemmings in Norway. Hilarity ensues.
• The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone. Scrooge goes after the Philosopher's Stone, which turns everything it touches into gold. A small man with a giant beard is also after the stone. Although I criticized this story for having a rushed ending, to do so is to kind of miss the point, as the real meat of the story lies in Crete, when the Ducks find themselves in the Labyrinth of the Minotaur.
• The Great Steamboat Race. In 1870, Porker Hogg and Pothole McDuck embarked on a boat race, with the winner getting a beautiful Southern mansion. However, the boats sank to the bottom of the Mississippi and the race was never finished. Now Porker's nephew, Horseshoe, challenges Pothole's nephew (guess who?) to finish the race. Scrooge accepts — but with the condition that they have to start the race from where it left off, which means that at the start of the new race, they have to raise the boats and get them running! Can Scrooge and the Ducks pull this off, even as Scrooge all of a sudden has a bad sneezing fit? This is not the first Barks story that involves a boat race, nor the first one to involve a sunken boat. Barks repeated motifs a lot because there was high enough audience turnover that things would remain fresh in readers' minds anyway.
• Riches, Riches, Everywhere! Scrooge wants to prove to Donald that he can find treasure anywhere, and via a process of random selection, decides to do so in Australia. But two shadowy guys follow them everywhere, hoping to learn the secret of McDuck's prospecting abilities, splitting Donald and Scrooge up from the kids, and leaving Donald and Scrooge with no water. It's a running gag throughout that Scrooge just digs anywhere and finds something, so it may undercut his "I worked really hard for my fortune" personality. But what the hell, it's a funny story.
• The Golden Fleecing. Scrooge wants a golden fleece so he can make a golden coat. He gets tricked by the mythical larkies (who were disguised as caricatured Arabs, an unfortunate sign of the times) and gets himself and Donald kidnapped and taken to Colchis. There, Scrooge has to judge a cooking contest, with the winning cook becoming queen of the larkies. Huey, Dewey, and Louie show up, but they not only have to get the golden fleece and evade the larkies; they also, somehow, have to get past the sleepless dragon! A really enjoyable yarn.

Short Stories (10 pages or fewer)

• The Tuckered Tiger. Scrooge offers his weight in diamonds to the owner of the animal that wins a race. Of course, this is because he owns Lubricated Lightning, the fastest horse and animal in Duckburg. At the last minute, the Maharajah of Swingingdore shows up and enters Sabertooth Third, the fastest tiger to come out of Asia. The Maharajah also offers his weight in diamonds. As the race gets closer, both animals show worrisome signs so both Scrooge and the Maharajah start getting worried. This leads to them trying to lose as much weight as possible before the race even starts.
• The Million-Dollar Pigeon. Scrooge wants to save money on postal fees, so he has a carrier pigeon, to whom he entrusts a million dollars to deliver to the bank. Unfortunately, it's time to fly south for the winter, so Scrooge's million never makes it to the bank. 
• A Campaign of Note. Scrooge refuses to engage in crowd-pleasing maneuvers to be elected Treasurer of Duckburg, so Donald and the boys try to help him out.
• Heirloom Watch. Scrooge has broken a watch that has been in the McDuck family for generations, a watch so accurate that it can even tell the exact minute of the next solar eclipse. However, he stands to inherit his Uncle Quagmire's estate, but for it he needs the watch!

The 1-pagers. I'm not going to summarize them because, well, they're a page long, but just for the sake of cataloging them, here they are:

• Temper Tampering
• Wrong Number
• Diner Dilemma
• Cash on the Brain
• Classy Taxi
• Blanket Investment
• Easy Mowing
• Ski Lift Letdown
• Cast of Thousands
• Deep Decision
• Smash Success
• Luncheon Lament
• Come As You Are
• Roundabout Handabout
• Watt an Occasion
• Doughnut Dare
• A Sweat Deal

I don't think this was up to the level of what's come out so far, but it's still so fast, so full of momentum, and so well-crafted. I'll still highly recommend it.

On the Fantastic Four Teaser Trailer

On the Fantastic Four Teaser Trailer

Travis Hedge Coke

Pop Medicine

“Why tomorrow? Why not wait?”
Roberto Agguire-Sacasa
Fantastic Four: Season One


“Well, thank me or spank me.”
Karl Kesel
Fantastic Four: 40th Wedding Anniversary Special



The upcoming Fantastic Four movie is probably going to be the best FF movie since The Ice Storm. At the very least, it won’t have Galactus-cloud, Sue getting her clothes off in public, repeatedly, for no sensible story reason, or that weird orientalist wedding ceremony that couldn’t even be flanked by a few Japanese guests.



Is it going to be greatest movie ever? Probably not. But, no FF movie so far, released or unreleased, have approached that. What this does have going for it is a good director, a very sound cast, a nice visual security, judging by what we see in the teaser, and a willingness to not get explicitly optimistic or pessimistic straight away. There’s a lot of glory and bigness in the teaser, but there’s warnings throughout, both verbally and visually communicated. The name “Cronenberg” has been tossed around already, and some “fans” got bent out of shape, but yeah, those early FF issues, and some of the best stories since, like Morrison and Lee’s 1234 or Warren and Grant’s The Ever-Lovin', Blue-Eyed End of the World, are heavily steeped in body horror. The earliest Kirby and Lee FF comics are practically infected with disdain and panic for physical abnormalities and bodily dysfunction. Ben can’t get a cab or stand in public without people screaming at him. Johnny’s accidentally setting fire to cars or the chair underneath him. Sue, whose invisibility would seem to be the most innocuous of all their powers, creeps people out. Fast-forward several decades and many, many comics, and Mark Waid establishes that Reed squeaks when he stretches, and that upsets people.

So, no, it’s not just “this new, stupid movie” treating the main characters as disfigured freaks who don’t like their situation. Within the first year of Fantastic Four comics, Ben had exploded constantly with rage and self-hatred, Johnny dropped out of his life, high school, heroing, everything, to stay in a homeless shelter, Sue was throwing herself in ten different directions to get out of her situation and her skin, and Reed was either locking himself away or loudly calling the others to him for a mission. There is anger and fear in the earliest FF comics. Those characters are traumatized and transfixed. And, they’re all cranky as hell.

But Fantastic Four is not one hundred percent horror, nor should this current movie version be. It shows no signs, so far, of being that, but evidence doesn’t really hinder fear and clearly some “fans” are afraid.

Fantastic Four is often profoundly silly. Silly is not dumb, however, and FF does not need to be dumb. To go back to Cronenberg, eXistenZ and Crash are silly movies, without ever being dumb movies. As horrible as a Kirby and Lee FF scene could be, as sad or traumatic, the next page could bring Popuppians like the Impossible Man, a pointy-headed green imp from space who likes to turn into objects to get attention. When Kirby and Lee made the FF “fight God,” the world-eating ancient giant Galactus is bare-legged with a big G on his belt buckle. FF shouldn’t be afraid to get goofball.

Goofy is, probably, how many of us find out optimism. It’s why Disney cartoons seem so bright and cheerful even if people are falling off cliffs or being kidnapped by deformed royals and their cursed servants. Mickey Mouse used to be a real jerk sometimes, but he’s silly, we roll with it. If Johnny Bravo was a real guy, he’d be seven feet of pure beef and you’d still want to kick his ass, but as a cartoon, you laugh, you want more. Deep-seated silliness lets us tolerate horror and makes it easier to be optimistic, especially in entertainment.

Silliness and horror, neither, need to be dumb. The last two Fantastic Four movies too often sank into dumb. I like them. They’re entertaining enough I’ll watch every so often, but they are very small movies for all their fx shots, and from plot mechanics to scene developments, they’re often very dumb. That orientalist wedding that ends the second FF movie; the hell is that? What in the plot, characters, or world put that together? Nothing that I can see.

Somehow, there are “fans” who think that the new FF movie looks further away from the comics, because the team might be younger (Johnny always has been, and in at least two comics continuities, they all are), Johnny’s black (and still a young guy working on cars, instead of the last movies’ model and daredevil), Doom seems like he might be petty (like he’s never in the comics) and his “real name” might not be Dr. Doom (it’s not anyway; he’s not a real Doctor, accredited by anywhere, is he?). How these “fans” deal with any adaptation, I don’t know, but it seems pretty selective anyway. No FF movie, cartoon, toy, or secondary continuity comic has one hundred percent, or even seventy-two percent adhered to the original Kirby and Lee comics. Johnny got replaced by a robot in one show and the Thing was a teenager who transformed with a ring and met the Flinstones or something. Sue’s an actress in one thing, she’s a businesswoman or a biologist in others. Actress or biologist seem a little further apart, to me, than black guy or white guy, in terms of character changes. Doom was a businessman in the last FF movies and in this one he’s a programmer, a change that distresses some people quite a bit, especially if they don’t know the difference between “hacker” and “programmer,” but it’s Doom! Yes, programming is going to be something Doom does, in any version. He makes frigging robots!

It wouldn’t be silly if he made robots but couldn’t program to save his life. It wouldn't be scary if Ben Grimm turns into a four-fingered pile of super-strong orange rock and it never bothers him. These are changes that, no matter how loud a few fair-weather “fans” whine, would make it dumb. Just dumb.

The Usagi Yojimbo Chronicles

The Usagi Yojimbo Chronicles

Back Issue Ben

Ben Smith

I discovered Usagi Yojimbo in the same way most kids of my generation did, by his guest appearance on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. I know I liked him instantly, but much like the Turtles themselves, had no idea that he was a comic book character. I'd eventually find out, but his comics aren't the type that would have appealed to me as a kid, with the lack of X-Men and all. A few years ago, I finally decided to try out the comic series, and purchased the first collection of stories. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few stories, I didn't like it that much. It happens.

Those that know me, know that my sons are both obsessed with the Ninja Turtles. Since I can't always stand to watch the same Nickelodeon series episodes over and over, I put on some of the original series, and whenever I do that, I always make sure Usagi's appearances are included. (I will get them to like Usagi or die trying!) They seemed more interested in Genghis Frog and the mutant frogs from Florida than the samurai bunny, but it did inspire me to give Usagi comics another try.

I started reading the same book that I did before, and after only two stories, decided I was in love. Why it works for me now, and not before, I can't really explain, other than I probably didn't have the same love for the "cartoony" art then as I do now. I was much more into the hyper-detailed art of a Steve McNiven at that time, and the "mature" storytelling of The Killing Joke. The idiocy of youth.

It doesn't take a whole lot of analysis to determine what makes Usagi great. First, he's a super cute bunny. Secondly, he's a badass that will fuck you up. There you have it, review over.

Usagi Yojimbo was created by Stan Sakai, and made his debut in Albedo Anthropomorphics #2, in 1984. (Fun fact: the character's name is Miyamoto Usagi, not Yojimbo. Yojimbo means "bodyguard." He's also partially based on a famous samurai.) After a few more appearances in anthology books, he quickly became popular enough to get his own comic series in 1987. The stories are largely episodic, with a few larger story lines running in the background, and references to past battles, enemies, and history.

Since this is likely to become a new obsession, I've decided to document my thoughts, as I've been known to do, story by story. Buckle up, this could end up being a long one.

CHAPTER ONE
The Goblin of Adachigahara

Usagi stops at an inn for shelter and rest, and battles a goblin with ties to a fateful battle from Usagi's past, the Battle of Adachigahara. It was in that battle that Usagi's master was killed, making Usagi a ronin (masterless samurai).

Sakai was already clearly a master at his craft, with crisp, appealing artwork and a simple story, if slightly predictable. (It could be the predictable nature of the stories that didn't appeal to me the first attempt at reading them, but not everything needs to be about surprises.)

CHAPTER TWO
Lone Rabbit and Child

Usagi crosses paths with the young lord of the Geishu Clan, Noriyuki, and his bodyguard Tomoe Ame. Noriyuki, having recently become the sole heir to the clan, is traveling to the capitol so that the Shogun can establish him as the new clan leader. However, the corrupt Lord Hikiji has hired multiple assassins to attack them, so that he can lay claim to the Geishu possessions. Lord Hikiji was on the opposing side of the Battle of Adachigahara, and so Usagi decides to offer his considerable assistance.

CHAPTER THREE
The Confession

Lord Nerai, conspirator with Hikiji against Noriyuki, was ordered to commit seppuku for his failure. Before doing so, he wrote a full confession implicating Hikiji, which Usagi must deliver to the Shogun. Armies of ninjas stand in his way, but Tomoe Ame shows up to assist. Noriyuki, Tomoe Ame, and Usagi eventually present the confession to the Shogun's trusted advisor, Lord Okii, but unfortunately he is secretly aligned with Lord Hikiji.

(As a child of the '80s, I was raised on hundreds of movies to believe the ninja was the ultimate martial arts masters. Turns out, ninjas were sneak attack artists, and mostly operated as spies, assassins, and mercenaries. Many of the qualities of honor and expert swordplay associated with ninjas in modern pop culture, are more in line with the history of the samurai. If you can't trust classic movies like American Ninja, what can you trust?)

CHAPTER FOUR
Bounty Hunter

Usagi meets a bounty hunter named Gennosuke, and assists him on collecting a bounty on two brothers. Gen pays him for this help, but in a humorous ending, leaves him with the bill for the local inn. (I'm fairly certain Gen is going to be a returning character.)

CHAPTER FIVE
Horse Thief

Usagi runs off a group of bandits attacking some guards, and takes possession of the one horse left behind. When he tries to sell it at the nearby village, it turns out to be owned by the Town Magistrate, which he finds out when he tried to sell it to him. Assumed to be a bandit, Usagi escapes with the horse. Later, Usagi is still trying to unload the horse, and finds what he assumes to be some horse traders. Instead it's the same bandits he ran off in the beginning, and they are all quickly joined by the Magistrate and the guards, who were tracking Usagi. Chaos ensues, Usagi escapes, and finally finds someone to take the horse. A very fun and entertaining story.

CHAPTER SIX
Village of Fear

Usagi encounters a savage cat beast, which has held the nearby village in its grip of fear. (It ends with a pun, which should make Duy happy.)

CHAPTER SEVEN
A Quiet Meal

Usagi stops for a quiet meal, but some gamblers are being rowdy and menacing the other patrons. When they decide to turn their bullying attention toward Usagi, he demonstrates some quick, non-lethal sword work. He spends the rest of his meal in peace. Another quick and fun story. (It's really refreshing to see that Sakai has a variety of different stories he wants to tell with the character.)

CHAPTER EIGHT
Blind Swordspig

A blind outlaw named Ino passes through a village, and causes a lot of destruction when they recognize him and attempt to collect on his bounty. When Usagi passes through the same village later, they tell him of the horrible villain that attacked them for no reason. As Usagi attempts to track Ino, he finds him trapped in a hole. Not knowing who he is, they strike up a friendship. When a couple of bounty hunters try to collect on Ino's bounty, Usagi discovers who he is, and is forced to match swords with someone he considered to be a new friend. The brutal results of the battle leave Usagi with what is sure to be a vengeful and returning foe.

CHAPTER NINE
Homecoming

Usagi finally arrives home, just in time to save a child from the Mogura Ninja. The boy winds up being the child of Usagi's former flame, Mariko, and his former rival, Kenichi. Kenichi was made the Town Magistrate after Usagi's father, the former magistrate, was killed by Lord Hikiji's men as part of the overthrow of Lord Mifune, coinciding with the Battle of Adachigahara.

The Mogura Ninja again attempt to take the child, but as a distraction while they raid the town supplies. Kenichi and Usagi put aside old rivalries and track the ninja down to their cave in the Eastern Mountain. Later, Mariko accompanies Usagi to the grave of his father. They reminisce back to when Usagi cut off a lock of her hair to keep with him forever, and she in turn kept the knife he used to cut off that hair. A heartfelt moment to close what proved to be a key look back into the history of Miyamoto Usagi.

(Did Claremont steal Mariko, or is it just a really common name?)

CHAPTER TEN
Bounty Hunter II

Gen and Usagi cross paths again, and Usagi agrees to assist him on another bounty. Only this time, turnabout is fair play in the end.

Thus ends the first book. I'm sure Sakai only continued to improve as an artist and storyteller, but I can't help but be amazed at how fully formed he seems to be at both, right from the beginning. The look and characterization of Usagi is rock solid from the very first page. I like the different types of stories he told with the character, from funny, to action-packed, to sad. There's the references to a deeper history to follow, and the lingering threat of Lord Hikiji. The burgeoning supporting cast of characters are all engaging and interesting as well.

Great characters, beautiful art, excellent storytelling. There's not a single thing not to like about Usagi Yojimbo. Which really makes me wonder what was wrong with me five to ten years ago. Anyway, it's never too late to admit you were very, very wrong. Don't make the same mistake I did. Read Usagi Yojimbo now, before it is too late!

Next week: The Legion of Super-Heroes!

Quick Reviews: Supreme Blue Rose #5 and 6, Sirens #2, Ragnarok #3

Supreme: Blue Rose #5, Sirens #2, Ragnarok #3

Reviews

by Duy

It's been a while since I've had the chance to do reviews of these three series. Work just really piled up at the end of last year, and they all just came out at the same time. In an effort to make up for my lack of reviews at the end of the year, here are quick reviews of all three titles.

Supreme: Blue Rose #5 is rather full of exposition and explanations, but since the whole thing is ending with #7, this was the time to do it. After four issues of me saying, "It's pretty! I don't get all of it!", different plot threads finally start to come together and paint a clearer picture of what's going on. What's more, stakes are heightened as our heroine Diana Dane finally faces true danger. There's still a lot we don't know, such as Darius Dax's true agenda, but it starts to really come together in issue #6, and the action really amps up too, with the various plot threads (even the Professor Night TV show) interweaving into the main storyline and explaining some oft he vague plot points. We know as much (if not more) than Diana Dane does, and Warren Ellis can be trusted at this point to pull it all together and deliver with the conclusion. All the while, Tula Lotay's art is still beautiful, a true revelation in 2014. I'll miss this series when it's gone, and I look forward to getting the collection of Vertigo's Bodies when it's out, just to see her work. I can honestly say it's been a long time since I've felt that about an artist.

The second issue of George Perez's Sirens is an improvement over the first issue. The action is still fast-paced, and our heroines (each one based on a real-life cosplayer) come face to face with their arch-nemesis Naida. Some of the fun is tongue-in-cheek, although I can't help but feel that Perez would be crucified for doing some of these things if he were anyone else ("High heels totally inappropriate for combat... perfect!"), but I guess it helps that he loves cosplayers and cosplayers love him. (The lesson here, kids, is that it genuinely pays to be a good and considerate human being.) Perez the writer still is too ambitious for his own good, doing too many scene cuts to different eras and not really being, shall we say, deft enough to do it gracefully, but this is how he's written when left to his own devices, so it's not like I didn't know what I was getting into before I bought the issue. The coloring still bugs me, since it still looks pretty garish and the gradients don't really blend. I still liked it despite the overambitiousness of Perez the writer, the visible decline of Perez the artist, and the coloring, but Perez is my favorite creator of all time and I'll always be predisposed to enjoying something he does.

From a living legend whose draftsmanship is visibly in decline (Perez went through eye surgery a while back), we go to one who seems to just be getting better. Walt Simonson's Ragnarok #3, from the start, already has two eye-catching covers.

I think that one on the left (which is what I got) is just a perfect cover, with eye-catching concept and composition, and an expert use of colors by Laura Martin. But the second one's good, too, since it shows you that something big's about to go down.

Both covers are actual scenes in the book, an old-school touch that, when done right, still works wonders in terms of, if not standing out at the racks (something less important as time goes by in the Previews age), at least amping me up for what I'm about to read. Starting immediately after the events of the previous issue, when Thor was awakened as a stone god with a missing jaw and kills all his would-be assassins, the Norse god of thunder and lightning sets forth to figure out what's been going on in his absence. It's not pretty, and he doesn't like the answer. What's more, he's still the same Thor he always was — reactive, ready to fight, and prone to anger, especially when innocents are threatened. What results is a momentum-driven, adrenaline-rising 20 pages, with Thor ready to fight anything and everything in his way.

This isn't Marvel's Thor, the Thor created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (and before the "No one created Thor" crowd comes in, you know well enough to know that I mean this particular incarnation of Thor), so it's distinct enough from Walt's legendary Thor run, but it strikes me that Ragnarok has been paced kind of like Stan and Jack's old Thor run, in the sense that it just keeps going. The end of each issue is a cliffhanger because that's where Walt stopped drawing, not so much because he planned to end each issue there. Ragnarok doesn't stop moving. Action-packed comics at its finest, from a master who's only getting better.

Black Panther, Part 4: Girls, Draculas, and Dr. Doom, Oh My

Black Panther 

Part 4: Girls, Draculas, and Dr. Doom, Oh My

Back Issue Ben

Ben Smith

With the announcement of the Black Panther movie, I decided to do an extended look at the comic book history of the character. You can read all about this in the previous parts. Let's get started.

The most recent Black Panther series, primarily by Reginald Hudlin and Ken Lashley, introduced T'Challa's younger sister Shuri as the new Black Panther. It wasn't a series I was expecting to enjoy, but it ended up being one of my favorites in the history of the character. It's not hard to figure out why, it's mostly about Dr. Doom launching a full scale economic, agricultural, and political attack on Wakanda.

The series begins with Dr. Doom almost killing T'Challa, before he can escape in his quinjet back to Wakanda. While Storm uses magical means to try and save T'Challa from death, Shuri is nominated to become the new Black Panther, and face the Panther God. At the same time, Morlun (groan) is steadily making his way toward Wakanda so he can feed on the panther totems, and has thus far proved to be unstoppable.

After Storm saves T'Challa, he distances himself from her and the rest of the royal family, obsessed with restoring his former glory and preparing for the rematch with Doom. Shuri is making the rounds globally as the new political head of Wakanda, while trying to figure out who attacked her brother, something he has kept secret from everyone. Her investigation leads her to The Broker, Walter Declun. Declun and Doom were working together, and planted false information implicating Namor, so Shuri foolishly fought Namor head-on.

Reed Richards was able to intervene in time before Namor could kill her, and explain how they had been tricked. All the while, a political group called the Desturi had overthrown the royal family back in Wakanda and taken over. The Desturi is a Swahili word for "tradition" and the group claimed to be upset with the way the royal family had not kept them isolated from the rest of the world. Thanks to the failing economy, the absence of Shuri and T'Challa, and some media manipulation, the people supported the coup. Storm had been been made the scapegoat for the failing agriculture, manipulated into attacking a citizen, and put on trial. T'Challa finally shows up to reveal that Doom is behind the Desturi, the attack on his life, and pretty much everything else.

This all led into the 6-part mini-event, Doomwar. The mini started out promisingly, with Doom making his play for the Vibranium in Wakanda, and the Panthers enlisting the help of the X-Men. Apparently, the vibrational properties of the rare metal, when combined with magical powers, would make Doom the most powerful being on Earth.

In a truly badass scene, T'Challa and Shuri have Nightcrawler teleport them inside Wakanda, where they snap the necks of the Desturi, and begin their fight to take back the nation.

Reed has a moment of clarity, when he realizes Doom isn't his own personal nemesis, but a far bigger threat to the world. (Something long time readers will know is an approach I've always wanted for Doom. For the most part Marvel has done a pretty good job of not relegating him to the Fantastic Four books. He's a much more natural enemy of characters like Black Panther, with them both being relative peers as heads of entire nations. In all my Black Panther reading, I've enjoyed the Doom interactions the most.)

In an intriguing bit, Dr. Doom is able to pass the Panther God and enter the vibranium chamber by explaining that the only future of the human race that doesn't end in extinction is with him as ruler. Doom claims to have traveled to the future many times, and it always ends in disaster. The one time it doesn't, is under his rule.

Doom takes control of the Vibranium, and the rest of the series devolves into The Panthers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men futilely fighting to stop him. It all gets a little too convoluted, especially when Deadpool shows up as T'Challa's "x-factor" for no apparent reason. T'Challa eventually ends the threat by using a magic button to destroy all the unrefined Vibranium on Earth. A massive status quo change for the Panther corner of the Marvel universe.

Which brings me to the final series in my long and winding journey through the back issues of the Black Panther. Following the events of Shadowland, Matt Murdock needed some time to himself to rediscover himself. He asks T'Challa, who needs some time for self discovery himself, to watch over Hell's Kitchen for him. Starting with Black Panther: Man Without Fear #513, by David Liss and Francesco Francavilla, T'Challa establishes a new identity and a new life in New York, taking the place of Daredevil.

T'Challa has taken over management of a diner, and moved into a nearby apartment building to be near the people. In the power vacuum created by the removal of the Kingpin, a new crime boss is on the rise, Vlad Dinu, a Romanian that goes by the name of Vlad the Impaler. As a result of super soldier experiments in Romania as a child, Vlad has super strength, and the ability to convert matter to energy.

After Panther breaks up a couple of Vlad's operations, Vlad lures him into a confrontation, and ends up killing a cop and the busboy at T'Challa's diner, Brian.

T'Challa, stripped of his powers and vibranium, uses his smarts to build himself some new weaponry, to combat Vlad's considerable energy powers. He finds a crime fighting assistant in one of his waitresses, Sofija, a Serbian with a sordid past. (I really liked Sofija, too bad she's probably destined to disappear.) Vlad's son Nicolae, wanting some super powers for himself, is going to test the new formula that he's devised, based on blood samples secretly taken from his father, on the not-quite-dead-after-all Brian.



I wasn't the biggest fan of Francavilla's art the first time I saw it, but it didn't take long for him to win me over. (Strangely enough, I think it was Afterlife With Archie that made me a disciple.) His noir style is perfect for this series, and I absolutely love it here (and everywhere else). He tweaked the Black Panther design towards urban commando, and it's a great look. (If you removed the ears and added a visor, he'd look like Snake Eyes.) It matches the tone and style of the series. (I've never been one to critique coloring, but I think his coloring might actually be better than his drawing. It all works together to create a mood and energy that I'm not smart enough to explain.)

A serial killer with mysterious ties to T'Challa, kills Vlad's wife, and Black Panther is of course mistaken for the killer. T'Challa must find the real killer, stop Vlad, and save Brian.

After that, Kraven the Hunter and Storm stop by for a two-parter, with art by Jefte Palo. It is... not as good. Francavilla returns for the Fear Itself tie-ins, with a new Hate Monger causing trouble for Black Panther in Hell's Kitchen.

Then there's an adventure in Spider-Island.

Then Shawn Martinbrough takes over on art, for a tale about the Kingpin trying to take control of the board of directors of the Wakandan bank. Lady Bullseye and Typhoid Mary are around to help. It's a good story and the art is decent, but not as good as Francavilla, which shouldn't be an insult. (It doesn't help that Francavilla was doing amazing covers for the issues.)

I've said the same about the two previous series, but this one ended up being my favorite of them all. Not a bad place to end my extended look.

Black Panther has had a long and storied comic book history, full of many interesting and engaging stories. He's rarely been one of the more prominent members of the Marvel universe, so it's easy to overlook what a great read most of his series have been. Hopefully I've helped point you in some good directions if you're interested in trying some for yourself. As usual, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Next time, something different.

Marvel’s Inhumans: Inbreeding! Fatalism! Slavery!

Marvel’s Inhumans: Inbreeding! Fatalism! Slavery!

Pop Medicine

Travis Hedge Coke

What’s the deal with the Inhumans? Most importantly, the Inhumans in Marvel’s cinema and television properties does not have to have anything much to do with how they are in the comics. What those Inhumans will be all about, I’ll have to wait like most of you for future movies and episodes, from Age of Ultron to Agents of SHIELD.

The Inhumans as they’ve appeared in, and been used in comics, that I can talk about.

Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the Inhumans are a genetically-modified subspecies of humanity, who live in a hidden city-state called Attilan that is ruled by an unbroken genetic line of royals that dates back beyond conventional human history. Often, they have a simpleminded slave class of near-identical Alpha Primitives to work their public utilities, occasionally they are all the slaves of the star-faring aliens called the Kree, who you may remember from Guardians of the Galaxy, and once in blue moon there’s a sort of “we’re all free now!” story, but that never sticks. Attilan, itself, is portable with dramatic effort, and has been relocated to the Himalayas, the luna surface, over Manhattan, in the the ruins of Atlantis, and was even shrunk into a jar for a bit. “Currently,” in Marvel Comics, there is no Attilan and the Inhumans are spread in hiding or chaos around the Earth.

While we have met Inhumans of all classes, the royal family is what is generally focused on: the king, Black Bolt, his brother, Maximus, and wife, Medusa, her sister, Crystal, and their cousins (royalty keeps it in the family), Gorgon, and the brothers, Triton and Karnak.

Why the focus on the royals? For one, they were introduced first, as they were out in New York City, looking for the wayward and amnesiac Medusa. But, also, focusing on the royals helps us forget that they are royals, that they are a ruling class in a slave-using society. I think it’s safe to say, a lot of fans like to take the approach that the Alpha Primitives are happy to slave away, despite the fact that mostly when we see them, it’s either for a “know your place” story, or to criticize slavery or oppression (as seen, especially, in the Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee Inhumans). marvel.wikia.com states, “For all the successive millennia, [they] have been working without any complaint,” without emphasizing that they’ve been surgically lobotomized and never presented with a chance of freedom, and without connecting this sentiment to the examples of rebellion that immediately follow.

The most interesting aspects of the Inhumans, for me, are the parts that many fans would prefer to leave unaddressed, including this slavery - that they deliberately hobble these slaves’ intellectual capacity and then pat themselves on the back as four thousand years of unchanged benefitting from slavery is judicious of them. The incestuousness of the Inhumans also fascinates me, and the familial infighting. Thousand and thousands of years of no out-of-family coups, alone, is gonzo stuff, though a late-addition genetic council of elders can make, at times, this unbroken line of kings seem a little lip-servicey. And, the Inhumans are politically, religiously, and socially so fatalistic!

A zillion and five years ago, the Kree came to Earth, found some cavemonkeys, and made them Inhumans for the lulz (and because they could collect them later, when they finished genetic-baking, as excellent space-slaves and space-soldiers). When they come of age (with different criteria judging the appropriate age for the individual Inhuman), each Inhuman is subjected to a chemical compound called terrigen mist, and undergoes an unpredictable mutation. Medusa can control her hair. Black Bolt can rearrange atoms with his mind, punch real hard, and his whispers level mountains. Marilla, a nanny, is just ugly. Karnak can see the cracks or soft spots in anything, be they physical, psychological, social or engineering flaws. Since “flaws,” in this sense, is almost entirely a collection of disparate elements unified on a metaphorical level, this means he basically has like twenty-seven different perceptual or tactical superpowers. So there’s no telling. Some fly. Some run. Some think. Some have twenty-seven powers instead of just one. One guy just looks a bit like a lion and generally holds a weapon in his hands, possibly to compensate for not getting atom-rearranging fire-hair.

And, with all that randomness, the Inhumans still believe everything has a reason, that there’s an implicit plan. You find me the religious leader of any massively hierarchical religious system on Earth, from the Catholic Church to the NRA, and you introduce to their life that their neighbor might randomly have spider-legs explode from his face, or that their eyes might one night melt away, and their faith in the system is going to be shaken. But, this unpredictableness, for the Inhumans, is the system. We do not, in general, question our own systems, unless we are fractured, ourselves, from that system, by experiencing outside societies. While fans may not want to dwell on the morality of a lobotomized slave class, the Inhumans, themselves, probably don’t often even register that the systemic oppression is there. Slaves and royals, for the Inhumans, like their faith in an implicit engineering and elevated status to their people, is the natural order.

When the Alpha Primitives rebel, it’s part of the plan, things will return to normal. When the Kree come back and try to destroy the Inhumans or enslave them, it’s part of the plan, things will return to normal. When King Blackbolt renounces his crown to go into hiding amongst the humans, it’s part of the plan, things will return to normal. A young girl’s skin detonates with lightning. An Inhuman begs for a second exposure to terrigen. Maximus declares himself king, it’s… It’s always part of the plan.

At some point, they do discover that while unpredictable, the mutations are not random and do somehow manage a social stabilization despite all the rigidness of Inhuman politics and the inbreeding and isolation and such. This doesn’t explain how the mutant, Quicksilver, could have lived with the Inhumans, marrying into the royal family and heading their army for awhile, but then, why the Inhumans need an army when they don’t generally interact with anyone is also a bit up in the air. Presumably, they have a standing military because one simply ought to. It’s either pro forma and for the future, or both pro forma and in case they need one down the line a few thousand years. Still, it’s an army so lackadaisically arranged, that you cannot easily tell who, of the Inhumans, is in the military, unless it’s everyone who isn't a maid or a tattoo artist. In Jenkins and Lee’s Inhumans, almost all of the youths are sent to military training. In Pacheco, Marin, and Lucas’ followup miniseries, also titled, Inhumans, and currently published as Fantastic Four: Inhumans, the entire society is weaponized by the Kree, the alien empire who way back when started the ball rolling. And, whenever the city of Attilan is attacked, pretty much every single Inhuman joins the fray. So, maybe they are all in the military, meaning Quicksilver was in charge of nearly everyone and still no one noticed he isn’t really a mutant human, but a secret Inhuman, as per a recent revelation.

Inhuman policy appears to be, simply, “Don’t think about it too hard.” Faith-based in a very sincere and dramatic fashion that, when we examine in contrast with the outside world, or even we look close at any individual Inhuman's private life, we see as a manufactured lie resting precariously and ready to tip.

To Be Continued… as we learn more about the Inhumans and their supporting characters, from Queen Medusa to the Follower, the Pursuer, Eelak, the one who looks like a tree but is not Groot, and Thanos, the madman of Titan, who is the same Thanos from Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers!

Then, To Be Continued Again… when we explore some of the biggest Inhumans stories! From Jack Kirby to Jae Lee! The Himalayas to Manhattan to the Moon and beyond! Atlantis Rising to Inhumanity!