Black Panther The Man Without Fear 516
Written by David Liss
Penciled by Jefte Palo
Review by currentcomicguy
The plot thickens in the latest installment of Black Panther. T’Challa’s feud with Vlad reaches new heights in this issue.
After Matt Murdoch’s fall from grace, Vlad Dinu asserted himself as the new crimelord of Hell’s Kitchen. T’Challa, the Black Panther and new protector of Hell’s Kitchen, is doing everything he can to stop Vlad. First, the plot appeared to be a simple battle of good versus evil. But after this issue, we learn that Hell’s Kitchen has more problems than just Vlad. Secret experiments, child abuse, mob betrayls, and social workers gone mad now share the spotlight with the Vlad/Panther feud. Oh, and the Amazingly everywhere at once Spider-Man lends a hand.
So far, I think David Liss has done a great job with the series. The task is certainly not an easy one; taking a character that hasn’t been able to sustain an ongoing series and inserting him into one of Marvel’s beloved book. The story works though. As strange as it sounds, T’Challa actually fits in Hell’s Kitchen. This issue especially featured some great dialogue, a tribute to Liss’s writing.
Jefte Palo fills in for Francesco Francavilla this month in the art department. Palo does a nice job of keeping the feel of Francavilla’s gritty and dark tone. Truthfully, the art is the best part of the series.
At the rare Marvel price of $2.99, this book is definitely worth checking out.
Thor 621
Written by Matt Fraction
Penciled by Pasqual Ferry
Review by currentcomicguy
The “World Eaters” arc comes to an end in the last issue of Thor. As the World Eaters make their final push for control of Asgard, Odin has summoned the Asgardian Blood Legion to his aid.
I don’t know how to say this other than the issue was a let down. Matt Fraction has done great work with Thor, but this is not an example of such work. Overall, I enjoyed this story arc. There has been so much build up for this conflict over the past couple of issues. I really expected something grand to happen. Instead, the final conflict wasn’t much of a fight at all. Odin and the fat guy that looks like him with red skin just seemed to scream at each other for a while. Thor, now in the form of a giant Asgardian Blood Legion, lumps around until he does something to the World Tree that traps the World Eaters in one dimension. At least I think that is what happens; I really didn’t understand all that was happening. By the end though, Odin and Thor are happy so I guess everything worked out. The only part that was exciting in the story was the end, which proved that Balder and Tyr are alive (even know we knew this from the .1 issue).