Black Panther Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Panther's Rage

Black Panther Epic Collection

by Don McGregor, Stan Lee, Rich Buckler (Illustrator)

Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #52-53, material from Jungle Action (1972) #6-24.

In the 1960s, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created an unprecedented string of classic comic-book heroes. But quite possibly the most iconic of them all was the high-tech king of Wakanda, the Black Panther! When the Panther began his own solo series, Don McGregor strove to meet Lee and Kirby's high standard with "Panther's Rage" – an epic adventure so huge it ranged across the savannah, into the deepest jungles and up snow-topped mountains. Over its course, McGregor would explore and expand the life and culture of the Wakandans and their African kingdom in compelling detail. Then, he sent the Black Panther into very different but still dangerous territory — the American South — seeking justice for a murder connected to the Klan and the Soul Strangler!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2016

About the author

Donald Francis McGregor is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics, and the author of one of their first graphic novels.

Reviews

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

"For 13 bimonthly issues, over the course of nearly three years (yeah, I know. Let's just say that Marvel wasn't exactly a stickler for shipping dates, back in the seventies), aided and abetted by a number of artists, including the late, great Billy Graham, "The Panther's Rage" was everything a super-hero comic should be. This overlooked and underrated classic is arguably the most tightly-written multi-part superhero epic ever. If you can get your hands on it (and where's that trade paperback collection, Marvel?), sit down and read the whole thing. It's damn-near flawless, every issue, every scene, a functional, necessary part of the whole. Okay, now go back and read any individual issue. You'll find in seamlessly integrated words and pictures; clearly introduced characters and situations; a concise (sometimes even transparent) recap; beautifully developed character relationships; at least one cool new villain; a stunning action set piece to test our hero's skills and resolve; and a story that is always moving forward towards a definite and satisfying conclusion. That's what we should all be delivering, every single month. Don and company did it in only 17 story pages per issue. Compare this to the bloated, empty, ill-planned "story arcs" you see in many of today's comics. Four 22-page issues to tell about one issue's worth of story seems to be the norm. Ah, but now I'm just bitching." - Dwayne McDuffie on the first Black Panther comic he ever read.

While I have been reading Ta-Nehisi Coates' run on Black Panther and enjoyed Christopher J. Priest's run from 17 years ago, this collection is the first great run using the character. Don McGregor's Panther's Rage is the first graphic novel that Marvel put out and it gave the character and his landscape the universe he desperately needed. The artwork is mainly handled by the criminally unheralded Billy Graham, one of Marvel's first black comics artist and pre-Daredevil Klaus Janson. This book introduced T'Challa's greatest antagonist Eric Killmonger a.k.a. N'Jadaka. In this book and subsequently he would confound T'Calla by being just a little stronger and cunning than T'Challa, but the Black Panther manages to find a small sliver of light against the shadow of Killmonger. The gauntlet that T'Challa is put through is brutal, but with his lieutenants and Monica Lynne his fiancée, he triumphs. This collection also includes the first appearence of Black Panther in the original Fantastic Four and a follow-up arc written by McGregor where Black Panther fights the Ku Klux Klan. Oh yeah.

Panther's Rage is innovative for its time, but it is of its time. This is a graphic novel in both in both senses of the word. I found myself marveling over the illustrations of Graham and Janson, but the old-school style of having every action and thought narrated so that the prose takes-up at least half of every panel is jarring and fatiguing at times. Still it is worth it to see the Black Panther shine as a complex, deep character. I recommend this for all fans of this character, Marvel Comics, and good writing in-general. This collection also contains the original comic book issue of Fantastic Four by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby that introduced T'Challa and Wakanda.

Here is a video of highlights from a panel interview from the 2016 New York Comic Con that commemorates the 50th anniversary of Black Panther and features Don McGregor talking about the challenges and obstruction that he faced writing this epic about Marvel's first black superhero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9dRS...

[Roman Stadtler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Too many people warp the word heritage, Monica . . . they use it to mean superiority when it is only meant to give one identity." - T'Challa, the Black Panther, to Monica Lynne.

This is an impressive volume! Strong binding, great color reproduction, and a classic story, of course. The story still holds up well, and it's kind of amazing that Marvel published this in the early to mid-seventies. Marvel experimented then, tried new, more mature formats, like their B&W magazines, but a monthly super-hero comic that tackled racism, people's revolution (and it's causes; a presumably out of touch ruler, poverty, ignorance, a charismatic manipulative new leader good at taking advantage of that ignorance and desperation), even issues of family vs. professional duty.

It's a good, but strange, read, due to McGregor's sometimes odd word choices and alternatingly good, sometimes clunky writing. Lurid prose is a given in a comic called Jungle Action, of course, but there's a running gag with two inept tribesmen that never fits with the serious themes and action around them, often a slapstick exchange amidst the chaos and brutality of war, of children losing their homes and fathers, and yet you can almost hear the >wa-waah< of the latest Zany Antics of the Tribal Goofballs. Terrible.

That's a small thing, a little annoying, but still a small thing. The rest, however, is compelling! McGregor couldn't get too deeply into these issues, I imagine, in a comic-code approved book back then, but there's more complexity here than you might expect of this famous storyline. There's levels of prejudice against The Other, which in the Panther's Rage storyline, is most obviously represented by Monica Lynne (T'challa's American girlfriend) and T'Challa himself, who many of his people have lost faith in due to his time away in America. There's the martial strife of one of the Panther's royal court, due in no small part to his duties to the king. There's an older uneducated tribal woman's fear and distrust of the medicines and advanced technology of modern (upper?) Wakandan society. There's the militant member of the royal court butting heads with the more philosophical, peaceful member, both of them loyal to the king, but one questioning himself, the other doubting the king. There's the one white dude in all this, a villain, but he's not presented as having the slightest care about skin (perhaps, interestingly, because his own face hideously scarred; he's an Other himself, though this reason is never hinted at in any text or dialog), which I was slightly surprised by. I expected the obvious white racist, especially because of his name, Venomm, but this character, an uneducated, uncouth snake-lover, becomes part of ongoing philosophical conversations with Taku, the most reasonable and peaceful of the Panther's royal court, and their talks are commentary on class roles, manhood and acceptance.

There's plenty of violent, brutal action. I suppose they couldn't show the blood in a regular Code-approved book then, but the descriptions of the Panther's tearing flesh, his bleeding fingers, skull, whatever-in-that-issue, his splitting lips, torn muscles, are rife, tortuous, and it's amazing the Panther isn't killed, a few times over. Amongst all that, there's some great writing: T'Challa's conversations with Monica, Taku, and W'kabi, especially; Taku and Horatio's talks; W'kabi and Chandra's talks and arguments; Monica's efforts to reach out to the old woman, Karota, despite Karota's distrust of her and everything she represents (the outside world, modernity); moments showing W'kabi and his son, Kono's, relationship. One of my favorite scenes (p. 265) is of T'Challa and W'kabi talking of W'kabi's martial problems while they track through the jungle. They're king and his security head/military advisor, but they are friends, too, and speak as friends. W'kabi speaks of his wanting there to be simple, good guy and bad guys, reasons for his wife leaving him, how he is ashamed of the changes in his life and his person, and what the Panther says to him is so sensitive, insightful and observant, it's a little mind-blowing, occurring as it does during all the action. The next panel is a beautiful purple-shadowed death tableau of hyenas trying to get at the strange fruit that's evidence of the atrocities the Panther and W'kabi are looking for.

The art, like the writing, is often beautiful, yet sometimes disjointed, even ugly. But never less than interesting. The second story, the Panther vs. the Klan, has it's moments but isn't as good as Panther's Rage. It does have non-clichéd characters, as in the first story, such as the small town Southern sheriff, and Monica's father. Actually, he's a bit clichéd, but it's a real cliché, I've met old dudes like that, and you probably have too. Be aware, this story's ending isn't in this volume. I'm not sure if it's been collected, because Jungle Action was cancelled before the story wrapped up (the Panther continued in his own title by Jack Kirby, which was hoo-ha fun in that bombastic King Kirby way, but had nothing to do with McGregor's stories, themes or ideas), and that wrap-up finally appeared in two issues of Marvel Premiere by another writer.

This is well worth your reading time! I almost didn't give it the full five stars, because of the clunky bits, but given the time it was written, the restrictions of a monthly Marvel comic code-approved comic, the depth of themes McGregor brings up, it was and is pretty amazing. I'd read the sequels, Panther's Quest and Panther's Prey, also by McGregor, years before Rage, because it wasn't collected until recently and I could never find all the issues, and this first storyline is as strong as Quest, which was about the Panther's mother and Apartheid.

[Jesús · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Panther has always been dogged by his character’s roots in colonial fantasy. But he’s also remarkable in that, despite the racist tropes, T’Challa can’t easily be categorized or pinned down the way that many other superheroes can be. I think that’s what has made the character so interesting for so long. Even from the time of his first solo comic, he’s always somehow been much more than a collection of old racist stereotypes.

Undeniably, the character is premised on outdated colonial tropes of “savage nobility” and of the “dark” and “lost worlds” of the African continent. But at the same time, the storylines and conflicts in writer Don McGregor’s defining run place T’Challa in direct confrontation with these contradictions, and in McGregor’s version, it’s done with surprising subtlety. For example, one of the narrative arcs follows the relationship between a pacifist jailor and the cartoonish villain in his custody. Their conversations and relationship go places I couldn’t have predicted and that buck convention. This is true across the board in these first two story arcs.

Stylistically, the narration moves easily between introspection, ethical philosophy, epic, lyric, action, and adventure. The comic has an impressive stylistic range (visually and verbally) that only grows once artist Billy Graham comes on board. Yes, it’s a book bound to the ugly racial stereotypes of colonial fantasy, and it doesn’t ever directly undo or challenge those stereotypes; instead, it exaggerates them and reshapes them until they’re interestingly strange and unfamiliar. This is a classic that can still surprise.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touted as the first true graphic novel, this collection shows the 70s era Black Panther at hisbest, though it was a little disappointing that the Ku Klux Klan story didn't really have a conclusion, nor did the murder case T'Challa was investigating, but I guess that's what happens when a comic gets cancelled.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Kirby and Stan Lee gave Black Panther life. Don McGregor and artists Rich Buckler and especially Billy Graham gave the character a soul. And note that the character predates the 1960's political movement of the same name by several months.

The recent Marvel movie used a number of elements from the McGregor-penned run included in this collection. Much is different, however. After reprinting the Black Panther's first two-issue appearance in Fantastic Four in 1966, this volume reprints McGregor's entire run on Black Panther from Marvel's Jungle Action comic book. What a ride it is!

The Lee/Kirby two-parter is fascinating insofar as it gives us an African superhero who rules over a seemingly backwater African nation that's actually a hive of super-technological sophistication. Beyond that, Black Panther is fairly boilerplate -- a noble fellow with a desire for revenge against white villain Ulysses Klaw. Still, the storyline is notable not only because the Black Panther is the first modern black superhero from a major comic-book company, but because Wyatt Wingfoot, a smart non-superhero Native American, saves the day in the first of the two Lee/Kirby issues. It's sort of a racial milestone for American superheroes.

McGregor's stuff is a whole different story. The mix of super-science and tradition remains in the Black Panther's country of Wakanda. McGregor's interests are such that Black Panther gains a self-sacrificing, self-doubting character very early in the arc, with subsequent issues building on it.

This Black Panther had moved to America and joined the Avengers after his intro in FF; McGregor's work brings him back to a Wakanda that's grown turbulent in his absence. And Erik Killmonger (the villain of the movie as well) intends to wrest control of Wakanda from the Black Panther.

What follows is one of the longest sustained narratives in American superhero comic books to that point in the mid-1970's, one of the first true serialized graphic novels. Initial artist Rich Buckler does solid work. Once Billy Graham comes on board, the art really soars. And it's notable that Graham is one of the first African-American artists to work on a major publisher's superhero book.

Graham and McGregor are ambitious in their storytelling ambitions -- a variety of intriguing single and double-page compositions are just one way the art stands out. Graham is especially good at character work, faces and poses that make each character an individual. An issue inked by P. Craig Russell is especially fine as a horror story filled with grotesques.

The Black Panther's physical sufferings throughout McGregor's run, depicted and described in detail, cast him repeatedly in the role of a suffering Christ figure -- albeit a two-fisted Christ. I don't know that any mainstream superhero has had his suffering depicted in such detail. It ties into McGregor's ethos insofar as McGregor tempers the thrills of superheroics with repeated examinations of the physical and mental ramifications of Men in Tights walloping one another.

Erik Killmonger's plans ultimately occupy 13 (!) issues of Jungle Action. As Jungle Action was bimonthly, this first arc (titled Panther's Rage) went on for more than two years. Subsequently, McGregor and Graham send the Black Panther back to America to battle the KKK. Never let it be said that McGregor shied away from political and social issues. Alas, Marvel cancelled Jungle Action before the Klan storyline was over. It's still a bracing bit of storytelling.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Epic Collections have been very well designed, with good maps of the characters' adventures, and so this first Black Panther volume begins with the Panther's first appearance in Fantastic Four #52-53. Mind you, the story isn't that great; it begins with a typical superheroes-fight encounter and is filled with horrible dialogue and disbelievable plot points. But it also features the Panther's origin, with Klaw and his mercs, and that's very nicely presented.

"Panther's Rage" (BP #6-18) fills the majority of this volume. One reviewer calls it the first graphic novel, though I suspect that's a really hard to distinction to make. However, there's no doubt that it's a relatively coherent story with an overarching plot that ran for just more than two years(!). That'd be notable now, and was surely unheard of at the time.

The start of "Rage" is good but not great. The metaplot mostly consists of villains of the week, as a number of Killmonger's associates bedevil Panther over the months — some of whom return in Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2, showing the influence of volume. However that plotting improves toward the end as a trip to Serpent Valley and what comes after begin to weave a very dense story. And even the stories about fighting villains are quite unlike what you'd find in your typical super stories at the time. It's full of deep characterization, real "life", and a vivid view of Africa.

This is to say nothing of the art which is phenomenal as well. It's not the drawing, which is all good quality, but rarely exceptional. It's the layout which breaks borders, makes interesting use of panels, and creates dynamic full-page or double-page spreads. It reminds me of the early Infinity Inc. or Batwoman, and it's another thing that was totally unknown at the time. That it appeared across so many artists suggests to me that McGregor must have been sketching out page designs for them.

Overall, "Panther's Rage" is definitely groundbreaking and enthralling. Its only deficit is that it gets so dense at times that you have to set it aside to return to later.

"The Panther vs. The Klan" (BP #19-22, 24) is clearly an attempt to repeat the successful formula, but it's not nearly as good. Oh, I'm certain the decision to actually depict a villainous klan was very gutsy (and commendable) on Marvel's part, but the stories starts off with some pretty meaningless bashes against men in a variety of sheets. It only picks up toward the end when McGregor starts to investigate the history of the klan and to better delve into the mystery of Monica's sister's death. It may well have been on the same upward arc as McGregor's first story, but sadly, this story wasn't finished. (I've read that it later finished up with a different author at the end of the Black Panther v1).

I've based this rating primarily on the superb Panther's Rage arc. The Klan storyline would be about 3.5 stars and the FF intro about 2.5 stars.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writer Don McGregor and artists Rich Buckler and Billy Graham (among other fabulous pencillers and some incredibly talented inkers) define Black Panther in a way that his other appearances in titles like Fantastic Four and Avengers have not. The first arc of this solo, Panther's Rage, introduces new villains including the classic villain Killmonger. A 12-part story (13 if you count the epilogue), it takes you on an adventure throughout Wakanda in a mix of human drama and fantasy adventure- feeling more to me like Game of Thrones and Tarzan than a superhero story. The second arc feature Black Panther in America taking on "The Klan" with some stories about racism and civil rights. Both are full of jaw-dropping artwork, especially in the creative use of paneling, as well as some stunning narration from McGregor. Few other writers have McGregor's talent to create prose narration that feels like part of the artwork itself, building this cohesive narrative that suckers you in.

Word of warning, this book is very dense. Each issue is fantastic but would take me half an hour to read through as I carefully picked through the long paragraphs and almost excessive dialogue. It also ends on a sudden note with the series being cancelled and never getting a 'proper' ending. If you can look past the sudden ending, and enjoy the density, then this book is a worthy recommendation.

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with numerically based rating systems (like say a five star rating system) is that often times you can judge a work based on different criteria and come up with a different rating. Think of something controversial like say D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation. As an artifact of the film form, this is an important film as Griffith was an innovator of the film form, helping to create most of the film techniques we take for granted today, including the "feature length film." However, most rational people find the content of this film to be racist, and as such, how do you judge it? Is it five stars for being innovative, or one star for being racist?

This is the conundrum I have found when reading Black Panther Epic Collection Vol. 1: Panther's Rage by Don McGregor. One one hand, we have the extraordinary story of how the stories in this collection came to be in the first place. Minus the introduction of the Black Panther from his original appearance in Fantastic Four #52 and 53, the two story arcs in this collection were the result of Marvel editor Don McGregor (who is white) making a point that when Marvel started publishing Jungle Action in 1972 with reprints of the old Atlas comics Jungle Action stories featuring white protagonists that this was culturally outdated (I am assuming that this is in reaction to the civil rights movement.) Marvel agreed with McGregor's view and made him the writer on the book with the codicil that all of the stories had to take place in Africa. Since Marvel had an actual African superhero, Jungle Action became the defacto Black Panther title and ran until it was cancelled with issue 24. But on the other hand, however, we have a writer who may not have been the best steward for who is now likely the most famous black superhero.

I may be in the minority here. When Christopher Priest did his run on Black Panther he used many of the elements of McGregor's run, including Killmonger, who has been elevated to archenemy status thanks to the Black Panther film. In addition there are things to like about McGregor's run, including multi-page splashes, which while the norm today were in short supply in the mid-70s (probably owing to a need to run Hostess ads.) However, the "Panther's Rage" arc seems clunky and long at times and the "Panther vs. the Klan" never actually reaches a conclusion, as Jungle Action was cancelled with the final issue this collection with more obviously to come.

So how do I judge this collection as a result? McGregor's woke view of Jungle Action set the table for the African-American authors who would later have epic runs on Black Panther (Christopher Priest, Reginald Hudlin and Ta-Nehisi Coates) as well as Ryan Coogler's film. But having been exposed to those Black Panther stories (especially Priest, which made up the basis of Coogler's film) I feel like more contemporary Black Panther reads "better" than McGregor's stories. Is this because McGregor isn't African-American? Possibly. But as always, when we pay attention to what we really appreciate about a house, we don't always remember the foundation. I applaud McGregor for attempting to address American race relations with the "Panther vs. the Klan" arc, but whatever McGregor had in mind for that arc is never fully realized (at least not here--the next volume starts with stories written and drawn by Jack Kirby) and that is probably why I can't wholeheartedly endorse this collection, which is a shame.

[Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volevo leggere qualcosa su Black Panther perché volevo provare a vedere un film del MCU partendo da un'idea sul personaggio originale prima di "sporcarmi" l'immaginario con i film Marvel.
Perché diciamocelo, per me Tony Stark è Robert Downey Jr anche se so benissimo che il personaggio è un po' diverso da quello dei fumetti. Lo stesso vale per gli altri (Spider-Man ha un discorso a parte perché lì entra in gioco anche l'avergli cambiato età e di conseguenza storia).

Ora, questa raccolta di storie di Black Panther è interessante, anche e soprattutto perché non si tratta di storie autoconclusive come per Spider-Man ma si tratta di verie propri cicli narrativi che necessitano di essere letti per intero affinché si possa capire quello che succede.
Molto bella la storia di esordio, con il nostro che attira i Fantastici Quattro a Wakanda per vedere se sono una minaccia o possono essere dei validi alleati. Ovviamente è la seconda ma prima li sottopone a un combattimento quasi mortale, e fa un po' strano vedere che prima le prendono e poi si danno amabili pacche sulle spalle.
Il secondo ciclo, quello della guerra con Killmonger, è invece decisamente strano perché la guerra si svolge senza esclusione di colpi (e di caduti) e con qualsiasi mezzo. Esatto, anche dinosauri da guerra. C'è poi anche il fatto che spesso e volentieri tra un numero e l'altro non si capisce la continuità perché il racconto non segue necessariamente l'andamento temporale ma fa largo uso di flashback e anticipazioni: il che è accattivante dal punti di vista narrativo ma è decisamente confusionario.
L'ultimo ciclo infine è monco, nel senso che la storia delle indagini sulla morte della sorella di Monica Lynne in Georgia rimane insoluto mentre Black Panther si scontra con un antagonista più demoniaco degli altri.
Complessivamente le storie mi sono piaciute, però non penso che approfodirò ulteriormente questo personaggio Marvel.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panther's Rage collects a number of the Black Panther's adventures, including his first two appearances in the pages of Fantastic Four and a number of issues of Jungle Action. (Trivia: Luke Cage is the Marvel hero who broke the color barrier and got his own book first not the Black Panther.) I'd read a few of these tales before, including the Fantastic Four books, but it was nice to revisit them. And I certainly enjoyed seeing the Klan get its' ass kicked by the eponymous hero. But as Thomas Wolfe said, you can't go home again. I should have known better than to think I would be transported with wonder in the same way I was when I was a child reading these stories for the first time. (As I grow older that happens less and less honestly.) It is possible I expected too much and it may even be unfair, but rereading some of these stories I am amazed at how clunky they were. Three stars for nostalgia.

[Kyne Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is rather hard hitting and doesn’t shy away from hard racial questions. The first half focuses on Wakanda with the last portion focusing on a battle with the Klan. For a story written in the 70’s it comments on racism are still extraordinarily on point. It is a comic of its era so be ready for a lot of words and boxes explaining the action or adding emotional context. But overall, it’s a story well worth reading. It’s a great combo of comic book fantasy and real life emotion. Even if you may get disturbed by how accurate a comic’s description of racism in the 70’s still applies to racism in the 2020’s.

[Simon Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fantastic Four issues which open this collection make for an interesting historical document, but they couldn't be more different from the Panther's Rage arc which follows. Don McGregor's run combines dense, lyrical writing with interesting visual storytelling techniques and great artwork to create a thrilling story with depth and panache.

[Smitchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of 21 early Black panther comics. Starting out with the extremely camp Fantastic Four story that introduced Black Panther to the Marvel universe. The stories then get progressively better as they go along.

The first introduction of Black Panther made me cringe and laugh at the same time. Fantastic Four are just so daggy and so very dated now! They are cliched and stilted. Basically they get an invite from an mysterious stranger. This turns out to be a trap set by the Panther in order to test his skills against the "best". The Fantastic Four are caught pretty quickly and only mange to escape with the help of a random friend of Johnny's (the human torch) who just wanted to tag along for funzies. Turns out this friend is quite the athlete and saves the day. If I was one of the Fantastic Four I'd be rethinking my group's name after that disaster.
When the tables are turned and Panther is trapped he explains how he wasn't going to kill them he was just testing his skills and look at that he's pretty damn good, now let's all be friends. Everyone heads off for a beer and a tour of Panther's high-tech palace. The best thing about that comic was it was very fast paced. So the bar is set pretty low from episode one.

I didn't have high hopes for complex characters or stories after that. So I was pleasantly surprised when the the next story arc dealt with T'challa's (Panther) struggles to balance the needs of his people against the new high-tech world he has created to keep them safe; the resentments of older population against the change in traditions; his retainer's resentments of T'challa's activities (with the Avengers) that take him away from his people. Another source of resentment is Miss Monica Lynne, T'challa's American girlfriend. She is a singer he met while, presumably, in the States for Avenger business, and T'challa's retainers think she's the pits. She gets attacked and framed for murder while he is off hunting bad guys. Of course there are ridiculous villains with nonsensical motivations and fights that take up half of each comic. And the Panther manages to come back from certain death every time he has a fight but that is par for the course with this sort of comic book. My major issue with this part of the book is that T'challa is prone to long bouts of introspection / regret / self-doubt that gets a bit on the nose after the first page or two - although it may be more interesting for the teenagers this book is aimed at.

The second half of the book changes story-line with Monica Lynne and T'challa going to Monica's home town after Monica's sister is murdered. This story arc deals with racism in the USA, the Klan, and the treatment of slaves. Deep issues for a comic book. In this part we hardly ever see T'challa without his Panther suit on (even while shopping in the supermarket) which seems a bit weird - this is one comic book hero who doesn't seem to care who knows who he is - even the other characters comment on it.

The last part of the book is a collection of rough drafts, story ideas, and sketches along with information about the writers and the way the story and characters were developed.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume opens with one of the most monumental moments in Marvel memorabilia … the coming of T’Challa and the introduction of Wakanda. Fantastic Four #52-53 offer the first appearance of Jack Kirby’s latest creation: the Black Panther. Kirby’s work on the FF is just about at their peak and it’s illustrated in these opening stories. At this point in his era on the World’s Greatest Comics Magazine he was delivering new characters and concepts almost every issue. And while this is a raw first draft of what Wakanda and the Black Panther will evolve into, it’s still a thrilling ride (5/5).

Taking things in a 180 degree direction we arrive at the bulk of this volume. Jungle Action #6-18 features the groundbreaking and epic Panther’s Rage story that sets the stage of a generation of Black Panther stories. But it’s also the epitome of the hero’s journey as conceptualized by Joseph Campbell but here it is reimagined by Don McGregor. But it doesn’t stop with a remarkable narrative that takes our beloved Wakandan King on a torturous road trip all over the mythical African kingdom, the art from Rich Buckler and then Billy Graham (no, not the evangelical) is as groundbreaking as the story, both artist really pushed the limits of visual storytelling and layout design as much as they could get away with. This is a masterpiece of Marvel storytelling from the 1970s. This not only took T’Challa through a series of trials that would task Hercules, but it also developed the people of Wakanda into personal individuals and interesting as more than just loyal subject of the superhero king (5/5).

The next story arc was even more ambitious. The one was pitted The Panther vs. the Klan. Let that sink in. Here was a comic that was tackling the KKK as the racist, evil homegrown terrorists that they have always been and it wasn’t pulling any punches. Unfortunately … it never got properly finished. Nonetheless, this tale from McGregor and Graham delivers another torturous trail as T’Challa tackles one trial after another. Sadly this murder mystery that developed Monica Lynne and her familial background never got finished in the pages of Jungle Action and us fans would have to wait for several years before we would finally get some closure in the pages of Marvel Premiere. But those issues are not included here and they will have to wait for the next volume for my thoughts. So as this is unfinished, I can’t give it the full 5 out of 5 (4/5).

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was problematic for me.

On the one hand, it is a precursor to modern comic book storytelling. It is a long form adventure where every issue holds a self contained adventure that nonetheless advances a larger plot. Furthermore, it is a comic with a heroic black protagonist and many positive black supporting characters, both male & female.

On the other hand, the book is just filled with ignorance and stereotypes.

I remember when the comics contained in this collection first appeared. I was a young boy, about six years old. I remember seeing some of the covers on the racks in pharmacies. While I was intrigued at seeing a black superhero, I was also repulsed. There was something about them that seemed ... off, even to my young eyes. I could not have told you what it was back then, but I knew in some way that could not begin to vocalize it that people reading this book might associate the jungle, the mannerisms, the dress, the wildness, and savagery with any and all black people. It made me uncomfortable, even though those thoughts were so deep within me that it would be years before I could express them.

Flash forward to today.

My feelings are even more turbulent.

This book has T'Challa, the Black Panther, fighting "the Clan" (an obvious substitution for the KKK) in a wonderfully empowering moment. And yet, it also has black Africans worshiping and dressed as apes ... seemingly oblivious to the fact that so many black people have been compared to them in an attempt to disregard our humanity and sometimes to justify eugenics. It attempts to create glimpses into different Wakandan societies, but falls prey to prejudices from 1970s America.

I like this book because it kept T'Challa in the public eye.
I like that for the time, the storytelling was not only progressive, but practically genius.
I like it as a snapshot of the past and how it inspired stories to come.

But I also hate it.
I hate how it made me feel.
I hate how it *makes* me feel.

It's complicated.

If I could give this rating 2 1/2 stars and split the love & hate down the middle, I would.

[Arno Callens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Panther is an idealist. He will always have an enemy in that things are rarely ideal. T'Challa's is a constant struggle for perfection, knowing full well he will always fall short. You can't please everybody, as Erik Killmonger would tell you. He is reality incarnate, challenging his king's ambition, and casting doubt over his existence. The outcome, as Don McGregor will never let me forget, is inevitable: Panther's rage is his triumph.

Revolutionizing (Marvel) comics forever with this first-ever multiple-issue story arc, McGregor defines T'Challa for every future generation. He approaches each issue as a standalone, featuring a villain of the month, but weaves them all together in ways that not only address the titular character (not that he's called Jungle Action, but you get my point), but include themes such as politics, war, religion, and philosophical variations on all. I frequenty had to read pages twice or thrice to fully grasp where he was coming from.

On top of that McGregor humanizes each of his heroes and villains to a point where it doesn't matter you're not following Black Panther himself for half a book. W'Kabi, Taku, Venomm, and even comic relief duo Tayete and Kazibe all register as actual human beings, rather than background figures. Never mind now tired comic tropes such as huge threatening creatures are used all the time, the art is spectacular for one (mostly Billy Graham's, as he's worked the longest on this run), and the text always adds an interesting layer to what may seem standard proceedings.

Comics before or after this rarely got or get any better, turning the demands of the medium into strengths and pushing the boundaries. Panher's Rage should be hailed as a classic, no matter what the rest of McGregor's material may bring.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far from my favorite run of Black Panther, I know that without McGregor, this titular Marvel hero's mythos would be far from what Christopher Priest revolutionized in the 90s. Although Kirby and Lee created Black Panther, McGregor had a major hand developing Erik Killmonger and Wakanda from beyond their initial appearances in other Marvel publications. Despite my reverence for the history on this volume, as well as its often stellar artwork, Panther's Rage first half suffers from a combination of an Orientalist portrayal of Wakanda (e.g. Why do we have to be constantly reminded across issues that there is an African sun beating down on our heroes instead of a regular sun?) and poor writing (i.e. the physical writing tries to be flowery, but evokes little imagery; the dramatic tension itself is fine). The second half, which deals with Black Panther squaring off against the KKK, is far superior, in writing and overall execution- albeit there are a couple moments that seems somewhat stereotypical (e.g. Monica Lynne's dad, an African American male, is so obsessed playing with cards, albeit solitaire, that when the KKK shows up at his house, he refuses to leave until the game is finished). It's a shame that the series had to be discontinued before this second story arc could be completed. It's possible that my opinion of McGruder's iteration of Black Panther would be drastically different had this not been the case.

[Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collecting a bunch of issues starring the Black Panther spanning a decade and starting with 2 issues of Avengers (#52-53) of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby run and then jumping to the full Don McGregor run in Jungle Stories (#6-24) in the mid 70s.

The Lee/Kirby issues introduce the Panther but are really not essential, what is essential reading not only for fans of marvel, but fans of comics in general is the McGregor run. Not only does it include a 12 issue arc developing Wakanda and its backstory, as well as developing T'Challa's character and his relation to others such as Killmonger with a storyline that has much in common with the story from the recent film.

It is also a deeply political collection of issues, for the issues set in Wakanda for example there is a single white character, a henchman of Killmonger, Venomm, who doesn't even appear frequently for the whole arc as he spends most of it in jail. It's truly afrocentric, set in an African nation populated by black characters who are self-sufficient and self assured, racism isn't even an issue here as in Wakanda it would make no sense. In contrast to a vision of a developed African nation we get the following arc, which goes on until the end of the book where the Panther goes to the South of the US and gets involved in fighting the KKK. The whole book is great, amazing layouts and art, particularly by Billy Graham and truly revolutionary writing by McGregor, a true essential.

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a kid I remember going to the local convenience store after school and picking issues of Black Panther off the spinner rack. From what I remember these issues seemed very different from the other Marvel comics I've been reading at the time. Black Panther read like an epic long tale with very well developed characters. T'Challa, the king and ruler of the technologically advanced country of Wakanda is tested in both mind and body as he struggles to lead and hold together the people of his country and as Black Panther is battered to no end in his fight with Killmonger and his minions. I picked up this book out of pure nostalgia and my fond memories of reading Black Panther as a kid. The art work is just like I remembered it with great layouts and rendering. The story though was very hard to get through and seemed to drag forever. I found myself having to lay the book down after reading 2 to 3 issues and getting back to it after a couple of days. The first two issues in the book definitely stand out as the writing of Stan Lee and the amazing art of Jack Kirby bring you the very first introduction of Black Panther. Don McGregor's writing was fantastic for me as a kid in the 70s but as an adult in the present just doesn't hold up and Rich Buckler & Billy Graham's art is just as good as I remember it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the earliest Black Panther stories, including his first appearance in Fantastic Four. Panther's Rage is an excellent story that dives into Wakanda giving the country its own identity. Many concepts introduced in this book, including the story's main villain, Erik Killmonger, continue to be referenced today. In addition to some great stories, the art is very well done, with some creative use of perspective that helps make the story pop. Another storyline features Black Panther returning to the United States and encountering the Ku Klux Klan. The story is well done, but the book was cancelled before the story was completed, so the ending is anticlimactic. Nevertheless, some great stories worth checking out if you are interested in the character.

[Bill DeGenaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent time capsule, collecting the original 1970s run of BP, including an epic and very violent Wakanda battle ("Panther's Rage") against a roster of bad guys including Kilmonger, Venom, and King Cadaver. Then, a trip to the American south with love interest Monica Lynne to investigate family history and the KKK's terrorizing of the community, a dual storyline that's not really wrapped up. Pulpier than the current incarnation of BP by a longshot, but complex stories about similar themes. Amazing that these stories were being told in comic form forty years ago.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gold standard

[Brad Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a few years now since Black Panther became a hugely popular movie, but his roots go much further back. Marvel has put out many compilations of their most important characters, including Black Panther. I read Black Panther: Panther's Rage, which contains his first appearance as well as his the first several issues of his own book.

Black Panther, of course, was the first black superhero, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (whether or not his name came before the organization founded by black activists is still debated). He debuted in Fantastic Four #52, in July 1966, firmly in the Silver Age of comic books. Though it was a progressive idea, the writing is still a bit condescending--as the Fantastic Four ride in an aircraft given by the King of Wakanda to this quartet of heroes, The Thing can't help but make snide remarks, such as "How does some refugee from a Tarzan movie lay his hands on this kind of gizmo?"

In that issue T'Challa, the ruler of Wakanda, tries to defeat the Fantastic Four to prove his ability. So he's sort of the villain, as the Four end up defeating him, or at least not being beaten by him. In the follow-up issue, they help him defeat Ulysses Klaw, who is one of Black Panther's main adversaries.

The Black Panther then became an Avenger, leaving his homeland. He did not have his own book until 1973, the Bronze Age, with Jungle Action, which ironically had been a home for Tarzan-like adventures with white heroes. When Black Panther took it over, however, it was set in Africa with an almost entirely black set of characters. T'Challa has returned to Wakanda, and in the first dozen or so books deals with Erik Killmonger, who has an army that threatens to destroy the country.

These stories were written by Don McGregor, who was white, but one of the key artists was Billy Graham, who was black. These books were not as condescending in portraying African life. T'Challa was a flawed hero--he could be arrogant and stubborn, and often jumped into situations where he was outmatched. He brings with him to Wakanda an American girlfriend, Monica Lynne, who is treated suspiciously by the Wakandans (and in one story arc is framed for murder).

There are still the touches that enlivened the other Marvel Comics titles. The villains that pop up are colorful, with an African touch. There is Baron Macabre, King Cadaver (who has a head like a Brussels sprout), Salamander, Malice, and Lord Karnaj. The one white villain is Venomm (not to be confused with Venom, who would turn up in Spider-Man comics), who has had his face etched away by acid and commands snakes.

The climax of his story arc happens when Killmonger leads an armada of dinosaurs against the city. He is defeated, of course, but we don't see him die. As a Marvel Comics writer once told me, "no one stays dead except Uncle Ben."

A second story arc sees T'Challa back in the United States, in the Georgia home town of Lynne. In an extraordinary series of books he does battle with the Ku Klux Klan. This was in the mid-seventies, but I couldn't help but feel the reverberations of today, sadly. The Klan manages to tie him to a burning cross, and he sustains severe burns (in the tradition of heroes of myth, Black Panther is gets the shit beaten out of him regularly, but always manages to bounce back). He even gets clocked in the head by an old lady wielding a can of cat food. Perhaps he earned that, going to a supermarket in the Deep South while wearing his Black Panther outfit. In a particularly poignant issue, Lynne tells the story of an ancestor who was lynched, but she re-imagines the story with Black Panther there to save the day. If only.

McGregor was clearly a man who had literary aspirations, as some of his opening words drip with purple prose: "The setting sun drips blood onto the river of grace and wisdom, each splattering in brilliant reflection from the mirror surface of the water, escorting night-tide over the jungle growth that flourishes about the river's banks." This, just before Black Panther is attacked by a crocodile. Or, "The Black Panther stands in the crimson Wakandan dusk..,waiting! His sense are alert, probing into the shadows. He has known the ebony mural of tension...many times since his father died!" Consider some of these great issue titles: "Malice By Crimson Moonlight," "Blood Stains on Virgin Snow," "There Are Serpents Living In Paradise," "Thorns In The Flesh, Thorns In The Mind," or "A Cross Burning Darkly Blackening The Night!" If the makers of the next Black Panther film are looking for a subtitle, let them look no further. In fact, having Chadwick Boseman beat the shit out of white supremacists would be very cathartic.

The '70s, the Bronze Age, is when I first discovered superhero comics and thus I am partial to that era. Black Panther is still being published, written by esteemed black intellectual Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read a few issues and found them difficult to follow.

Comic books, at least in those days, and from Marvel, sought to put up a mirror to society, and while they were ostensibly for children they could be very adult. I found this collection to be eye-opening and quite a bit ahead of its time.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects the first two appearances of the Black Panther (from Fantastic Four #52 and 53, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) and the entirety of his run in Jungle Action, from #6 to 24. All the latter run was written by Don McGregor, with art by Rich Buckler and mostly Billy Graham. I bought every issue of that series when it was new in 1973-1976. And the stories in numbers 6 to 18 were key inspirations for the Black Panther movie a few years back.

I'm not going to tear down my cherished memories of these comic books, but reading these stories now didn't thrill me the same way they did then (unlike McGregor's writing on Killraven and Luke Cage). It's still remarkably different from the rest of the Marvel oeuvre at the time, and McGregor did create a larger context for the African nation of Wakanda than had existed before. It's also clear that he got better and better as a writer with each issue. The art is also beautiful, especially the issues drawn by Graham, who never did nearly enough work that crossed my path.

I think the story about the epic battle between the Black Panther and Erik Killmonger is just a little underdeveloped. There are probably more mysteriously evil subjects of Killmonger than there need to be. Venomm, Baron Macabre, King Cadaver, Sombre, Malice, and more. McGregor wanted to ground T'Challa's story, wanted to show just how much pain he endured in his super heroics, but he still found ways to get out of certain death situations that didn't read as smoothly as they could have.

And then there's the second serial, which ran from #19 through 24, when it was suddenly stopped by cancellation in favor of Jack Kirby producing a new and completely unrelated Black Panther book. Here, T'Challa and his girlfriend Monica Lynne are in Georgia, looking into the mystery of her sister's apparent suicide, and facing off against the Ku Klux Klan and an adjacent robed outfit. This was a huge step for mainstream comics to deal with racism that wasn't just a trick that people fell for. And it dealt with the Klan as purveyors of terror, and would probably have gone further. But then it stopped in the middle. One of the worst disruptions in comic book history.

I hadn't read any of these in almost 50 years. I'm glad the opportunity exists to get reacquainted with such important parts of my teenage years.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

For readers hungry for more Black Panther after seeing the outstanding Marvel Studios movie, "Panther's Rage" is a good place to start. In addition to collecting Don McGregor's two important long form storylines, "Panther's Rage" and "The Panther vs. The Klan," first published in the Seventies "Jungle Action" comic, it also reprints T'Challa's first appearance in Fantastic Four from 1966.

Don McGregor is the first writer to substantially explore T'Challa's land of Wakanda and unapologetically inject politics into his stories. Readers will find much of McGregor's work has informed the filmmakers of "Black Panther" and all due respect should be given to him. Unfortunately, the overall storytelling suffers on two fronts.

As with many monthly comics, the participants involved (artists, colorists, editors) vary from issue to issue so the overall story loses some cohesion - McGregor's writing is the only constant. Worse, the conclusion of "The Panther vs. The Klan" never even saw print due to the cancellation of "Jungle Action," the comic it was being published in.

Don McGregor is a solid writer, but his run on "Jungle Action" is guilty of the same fault of many comics in the Seventies: overwriting. There is no need to write a lengthy description of the Wakandan sky when you have an artist and a colorist who can show rather than tell the reader what Wakanda looks like. At its best, a comic (book, strip, graphic novel, etc.) is a perfect marriage of words and pictures and each complements the other. "Jungle Action" is so text heavy that the lettering gets in the way of the artwork. Read a chapter of "Panther's Rage" and then read a comic or graphic novel created in this century and you'll see how times and storytelling techniques have changed.

Don McGregor would go on to write other significant, mature comics such as "Killraven," his own character "Sabre," and a return to Black Panther in the Eighties. His underappreciated run on Black Panther in the Seventies was an attempt at artful storytelling at a time both publishers and readers weren't quite prepared to handle it.

[Cale Herreman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bulk of this volume is the 'Panther's Rage' storyline, published in Marvel's Jungle Action title in the mid-70s. T'Challa comes back to Wakanda, after a long sojourn in America, to find an unhappy nation. There is resentment among his closest advisors at his long absence and American girlfriend, his people are distrustful of the futuristic technology he has delivered to them, and there is an uprising brewing, led by a brutal but ingenious Wakandan who has changed his tribal name to Erik Killmonger.

From the name of the antagonist, I expected to see much in this story that was duplicated in the 2018 film Black Panther, but, aside from a fight at a waterfall, that did not prove to be the case. What is the same, though, is that it is an action-packed character study of a thoughtful, sensitive man who wants to be a good leader, but is put in a position where he has to fight to keep his position, and his country united, and worries what that fight will do to him.

Don McGregor, the scripter, has crafted characters with real depth, and the artist, Billy Graham, has created a visually compelling world, in which the Black Panther struggles, often alone, over the course of a year, against bizarre, superpowered foes (King Cadaver and his large, hypnotic eyes, being the most dangerous, in my opinion), a pack of wolves, even dinosaurs turned into weapons. The crazy comic-book action never subtracts from the level of seriousness these creators hold the characters. I find this to be a enjoyable adventure, and the most literary comic book work I've read since Watchmen, which came ten years later.

[OMNIBUS GOD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uhhhh wow. This was a really tough read man. First off we do start off pretty great with the introduction into the Black Panther. Issues 52-53 of Fantastic Four were so fun and greatly drawn by Jack The King. It introduced us to such an important character in comics and Stan and Jack didn’t make him what most other black heroes were. A poor, gangbaing, jive talking person. No they made T’challa a leader with great intelligence and power. Loved those two issues. Now what I didn’t like was the jungle action issues. Don McGregor clearly wanted to write novels for a living opposed to comic books. Maybe he did before or after but he treated this run as though it was a novel. Now I’m not opposed to actually reading in my comic books lol but the Don in my opinion just didn’t make the story flow with his writing. Like I mentioned, there was a lot of narrating that didn’t need to be had. The dialogue was fine, but there was more of Don narrating the book than there was dialogue. At least it felt like it. Don would describe a scene as if we couldn’t already see it in the artwork. Most times it even seemed like he just took what he wrote in the script for Billy to Draw and put it on the damn page too. Now for the actual plots in this Epic Collection, not too bad. We get introduced to Killermonger which is a pretty badass dude but definitely had WAY more potential. I liked the idea of him fighting his way towards him but it felt short handed at the end. Killermonger almost gave me Bane vibe. Obviously coming before Bane. And I wish they would have taken that route with him. The Klan story was alright but at that point I was just tired of reading lol so I zoomed through it. Billy Graham is the true hero in all this. His artwork is amazing. I think some of his work was ahead of it’s time and just brilliantly drawn. To me he has the best looking Black Panther and adds beautiful detail to his characters. He also knows how to draw some beautiful women. MVP goes to him may he Rest In Peace. I hope Jack The King does better than Don The Dull.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essential to getting a grip on what comics do, and how far society, the industry and this character have come, but perhaps not essential or even useful reading for current Panther fans, who will be more edified by the Hudlin and Priest runs than this. Contains the first appearance of the Black Panther, kicking FF ass kind of for no reason (Lee & Kirby - anachronistically problematic writing about First Nations & African people; colorists have made all the black people grey, too), followed by a year long story in Jungle Action featuring a very different Killmonger. Both authors grapple with afrofuturism, though both are trying, and we get a very different picture here of "the Wakandas," where the blending of tradition and tech are patchy. The last full story has the Panther in Georgia fighting Klansmen, and while you can feel some areas of satisfaction, mostly, the important speeches are put in the mouths of white people with the Panther being the agent of change. Don McGregor was enlightened in the way of a dim light in a dark room, and there's love for black people and culture, but some fetishization, too. Without him, the character would never have been popular until much, much later, if at all, but this collection still needs to be regarded with a critical eye. The additional art, unused covers, McGregor's plot drafts, and archival photos are awesome, and I was glad they were included.

[Justin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panther's Rage, the main story of this volume as well as the earliest Black Panther solo story, is pretty excellent. McGregor adds many elements to the Panther mythos early on, world building Wakanda in interesting ways. The monarch at odds with himself, deciding how much Wakanda should be opened to the world, the legacy he wants to leave behind, the place of people's voice in government, imperialism, it's all here. Killmonger is properly introduced as an unstoppable threat, pushing Black Panther to the edge constantly for multiple chapters. The prose narration is heavy yet beautiful, each page dripping with weight and statement.
The art is no slouch, either. Buckler, Graham, and others build stunning two-page spreads, lay with panel design, try what had to be some innovative and ground-breaking at the time.
Then, it kind of drops off precipitously. The unfinished (until much later in publication history) Panther vs the KKK storyline feels like it is trying to say something but it falls flat. The layouts aren't as creative. It's tough to get through. Also, the first appearance in Fantastic Four of BP was classic, but difficult to read as much classic, early Marvel work can be.
All in all, very uneven, but Panther's Rage is very worth the read.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big Silver Age fan, or hugely into 1970s Marvel comics, but this is one of the best I've read. The Stan Lee Fantastic Four issues that start the collection are some of his better work, but the Don McGregor issues from Jungle Action read like some of the better 1980s superhero epics.

I had never heard of this run until a former coworker recommended it today, and I'm glad I picked it up. There's a cool story about how Wakanda reacted when T'Challa left to be an Avenger that is considered by some to be The First Graphic Novel in comic history. And it's followed up by a story about The Black Panther vs the KKK. If you're looking for a collection to get you hyped for the movie, this could be the one you're looking for.