Review: Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Vol. 1

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Vol. 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read through a bunch of reviews of this book that didn't think to highly of it. Admittedly, it isn't as action filled as other superhero comics, but those are a dime a dozen. I'm glad that this book ended up being something different because it takes a chance on appealing to a different audience and I think it works wonderfully.

First off, this book opens with the Black Panther returning to a broken Wakanda. It's not literally broken; instead it is broken in spirit. The people have lost faith in their leader after several incursions from outside forces. Various warlords are seeking to take control of different parts of the nation and the common people are cracking. How can this nation be brought whole again and what will the Black Panther's role be in it?

I've never read a Black Panther story before so I didn't really have any expectations on what this book would be. This gives a good history of Wakanda and the Black Panther, and I enjoyed the political aspects of it as well. There are a couple of outlaws that are working to help the people without actively acting against the country's leadership (so far). I liked the characters despite not being familiar with most of them beforehand.

The art is fantastic. There are some really gorgeous sections. I could easily see this being the favorite part of many readers. There are some sections of the book that are kind of dry. This volume aims to set the scene for the hero in many ways and prep for future events. I think it succeeds and I am looking forward to reading the next volume.

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Review: Harbinger, Volume 4: Perfect Day

Harbinger, Volume 4: Perfect Day by Joshua Dysart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a great follow-up to Harbinger Wars. After getting their butts handed to them, the Renegades get a chance to relax and be kids. Given the nature of these books, it can be easy to forget that these are young people that haven't had a chance to figure out their place in the world. A lot of the events in this story capitalize on the fact that they are struggling with finding themselves.

Here are some of the things I particularly enjoyed about this book. Kris Hathaway. Her part of the story is great. We get to see more of Pete Stanchek and Toyo Harada. These characters are perfect foils for each other. Animalia and her cartoon animal projections are quite fun. Torquehalla. Despite the excessive machismo, it actually made me appreciate Torque as a character much more. He is portrayed as a bit of a dumb brute and this book tries to show some more depth to him.

Overall I liked the art. The things that stick with me were really great, specifically the cartoon animals, Torquehalla, and some of the stuff at the end of the first chapter. I feel like this book would be better appreciated on a second reading because of how it is set up.

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