A proposal for Essential Black Panther Vol. I

[Loren]

In a discussion elsewhere, the notion of an Essential Black Panther volume came up. And even though the only Essential I currently own is the Howard the Duck one, I'd be strongly tempted by a BP collection. So I set out to figure what it should include.

The biggest problem with an Essential BP is that T'Challa debuted in "Fantastic Four" in 1966, and managed to maintain a fairly regular presence in the MU thereafter with some noteworthy stories being told, but he didn't actually get his own series until he took over "Jungle Action" in 1973. And the entirety of that series only totals about 325 pages, which leaves another ~250 pages needed to fill an Essential. So what else ought to be included?

Here's my proposal:

Fantastic Four #52-53 (the first appearance of BP)
The lead story from Fantastic Four Annual #5 (BP's second appearance)
Tales of Suspense #97-99 (third appearance, IIRC; BP & Cap team-up; 30 pages total)
Captain America #100 (concludes ToS story)
Avengers #52 (BP joins the Avengers)
Avengers #62 ("The Monarch and the Man-Ape"; reprinted in Jungle Action #5)
Avengers #87 ("The Origin of the Black Panther")
Jungle Action #6-22, 24 (note, #23 reprinted a BP crossover in Daredevil #69)
Black Panther #14-15
Marvel Premiere #51-53

That totals up to about 550 pages, just right for an Essential. Some of the one-issue crossovers, like the second Team-Up, could certainly be sacrificed for space if need be. If you're curious about the details of particular issues, consult the Grand Comics Database.

The most notable omission here, I'm sure, is the Jack Kirby BP series, which began in 1977, before the last couple of issues included above. I have a few reasons for this. First, the first half of that series was recently published as a volume unto itself, and in color. Second, Kirby's series is pretty far removed from the BP stories that came both before and after. Until Priest incorporated some of it in his series, Kirby's entire run was generally considered out of continuity altogether.

Third, and most importantly, Kirby's series runs 255 pages in length. There's no room to fit it all in this first volume, and it seems silly to split it across two volumes. If it ought to be included at all, I think it should be reserved for Volume 2, where it could start off the volume and be included in its entirety, and still leave room for another 300 pages.

I've also included only three Avengers issues, although T'Challa was present in many more. These three are very BP-centric, so I think they definitely belong. It's arguable that #54-55 should also be included, since they feature the return of Klaw, but that's still really an Avengers story.

Thoughts? Are there issues that my compilation is missing, or issues that really shouldn't belong? It could accomodate another issue, but I think any cuts would require that something be added to fill the hole left behind.

[tk421atpost]

I'd buy it.

[The Wayner]

I'd buy it.

In a heartbeat.

[Michael P]

No thanks for me. Most of the early Panther stuff was, quite frankly, atrocious.

[Loren]

No thanks for me. Most of the early Panther stuff was, quite frankly, atrocious.

Really? I've always heard that Don McGregor's "Jungle Action" material was rather good for its time. And that series constitutes over half of this hypothetical volume.

By the same token, my impression of the Kirby solo series is that it was virtually gibberish. Just another reason I wanted to keep it out of Volume 1.

[Bicycle-Repairman]

I think they should do an Essential Jungle Action featuring the Black Panther, focusing exclusively on Black Panther stories created by Don McGregor over the years. It could include the following arcs:

"Panther's Rage": From Jungle Action #6-18. Written by McGregor, with art by various.

"Panther Vs. The Klan": McGregor's run on the story from Jungle Action #19-22 and 24 (issue 23 was a reprint) was prematurely ended when the title was cancelled and replaced with Jack Kirby's Black Panther series. The story was later concluded by writer Ed Hannigan in the pages of Black Panther Vol. 1 #14-15 and Marvel Premiere #51-53.

"Panther's Quest": From Marvel Comics Presents #13-37, written by McGregor with art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer.

Those three story arcs combined would be almost 600 pages. However, I doubt if McGregor's Black Panther: Panther's Prey #1-4 from 1991 would be included in an Essential due to size restrictions and also because the art by Dwayne Turner might not reproduce well in black and white.

[Loren]

"Panther Vs. The Klan": McGregor's run on the story from Jungle Action #19-22 and 24 (issue 23 was a reprint) was prematurely ended when the title was cancelled and replaced with Jack Kirby's Black Panther series. The story was later concluded by writer Ed Hannigan in the pages of Black Panther Vol. 1 #14-15 and Marvel Premiere #51-53.

So Kirby's series wasn't all Kirby, but rather included a continuation of McGregor's story? Crackers. This requires a reconsideration of my list as well.

That's 85 pages of material that ought to be in my suggested volume. Given that constraint, I'd cut all five mere crossover issues (Daredevil, Team-Up, and Two-in-One) and add the five Hannigan issues. That makes for a lot less random volume, and probably for a better one quality-wise. I'll make the changes above.

That said, I like your list as well. Has Marvel done any Essentials that focused on particular creators?

[Kid Kyoto]

Essentials have been pretty much reprints based on issues and characters. the visionary series is the one focused on creators repinting particular runs. There also a line of hard covers the cherry picks issues from a creator's career.

[Bicycle-Repairman]

I think an Essential Black Panther should leave out his guest appearances in other characters' books. For example, Essential Silver Surfer excluded the Surfer's debut in Fantastic Four, focusing instead on his solo stories. Jack Kirby's run on the Black Panther series is already being reprinted in colour and is out of continuity with McGregor's stories, so I think they should be absent from an Essential as well. I would title the collection Essential Jungle Action featuring the Black Panther so that readers know it ties into the acclaimed Jungle Action run by McGregor, even if the story arcs were concluded in other titles.

Issues 13-15 of Black Panther Vol. 1 were not by Kirby. Issue 13 was the story "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Ed Hannigan, Jim Shooter, Jerry Bingham, and Gene Day, and issues 14-15 continued the "Panther Vs. The Klan" story from Jungle Action. There was also a 4-part Black Panther mini-series from 1988 written by Peter B. Gillis and with art by Denys Cowan and Sam de la Rosa.

[Bicycle-Repairman]

Has Marvel done any Essentials that focused on particular creators?

Essential Howard the Duck featured only the stories written by Steve Gerber.

[Loren]

Essential Howard the Duck featured only the stories written by Steve Gerber.

Ah, but Gerber created Howard, and nobody else penned a Howard story until #28 of his series, after Gerber left.

Plus, to counter the Silver Surfer example, Howard's Essential *does* include his early appearances in Man-Thing's title.

At the same time, I think an Essential BP would likely suffer the same fate as Howard, and there would only ever be a "Volume 1," without any follow-up volumes. I'm not even sure if a second volume could be filled without using either Kirby's or Priest's series. As such, if it's likely that only one volume should ever see print, it should probably reprint as much of MacGregor's material as possible.

[Hombre]

Jack Kirby's run on the Black Panther series is already being reprinted in colour and is out of continuity with McGregor's stories, so I think they should be absent from an Essential as well.

Don't hold your breath for the second Kirby arc to be reprinted any time soon, though. Also, not all of BP vol. 1 was Kirby's.

As for your point regarding continuity, having read all of BP vol. 2, my impression is that it reconciled and followed up on both Kirby's and Mc Gregor's books, which I think are both uniquely fascinating reads and should constitute the core material reprinted in the Essential.

[RolandJP]

In a discussion elsewhere, the notion of an Essential Black Panther volume came up. And even though the only Essential I currently own is the Howard the Duck one, I'd be strongly tempted by a BP collection. So I set out to figure what it should include.

The biggest problem with an Essential BP is that T'Challa debuted in "Fantastic Four" in 1966, and managed to maintain a fairly regular presence in the MU thereafter with some noteworthy stories being told, but he didn't actually get his own series until he took over "Jungle Action" in 1973. And the entirety of that series only totals about 325 pages, which leaves another ~250 pages needed to fill an Essential. So what else ought to be included?

Here's my proposal:

Fantastic Four #52-53 (the first appearance of BP)
The lead story from Fantastic Four Annual #5 (BP's second appearance)
Tales of Suspense #97-99 (third appearance, IIRC; BP & Cap team-up; 30 pages total)
Captain America #100 (concludes ToS story)
Avengers #52 (BP joins the Avengers)
Avengers #62 ("The Monarch and the Man-Ape"; reprinted in Jungle Action #5)
Avengers #87 ("The Origin of the Black Panther")
Jungle Action #6-22, 24 (note, #23 reprinted a BP crossover in Daredevil #69)
Black Panther #14-15
Marvel Premiere #51-53

That totals up to about 550 pages, just right for an Essential. Some of the one-issue crossovers, like the second Team-Up, could certainly be sacrificed for space if need be. If you're curious about the details of particular issues, consult the Grand Comics Database.

The most notable omission here, I'm sure, is the Jack Kirby BP series, which began in 1977, before the last couple of issues included above. I have a few reasons for this. First, the first half of that series was recently published as a volume unto itself, and in color. Second, Kirby's series is pretty far removed from the BP stories that came both before and after. Until Priest incorporated some of it in his series, Kirby's entire run was generally considered out of continuity altogether.

Third, and most importantly, Kirby's series runs 255 pages in length. There's no room to fit it all in this first volume, and it seems silly to split it across two volumes. If it ought to be included at all, I think it should be reserved for Volume 2, where it could start off the volume and be included in its entirety, and still leave room for another 300 pages.

I've also included only three Avengers issues, although T'Challa was present in many more. These three are very BP-centric, so I think they definitely belong. It's arguable that #54-55 should also be included, since they feature the return of Klaw, but that's still really an Avengers story.

Thoughts? Are there issues that my compilation is missing, or issues that really shouldn't belong? It could accomodate another issue, but I think any cuts would require that something be added to fill the hole left behind.

[static]

different writers be damned! i own every marvel essential ever printed! an essential should be a sequential complation of a character So keep start with his first solo adventure and take it untill it hits the required numer of issues and then pry for a number 2! start with the jungle action stuff then BP 1- whatever ...no excuses ...just tell the story that i would have in my head if i was reading marvel comics in that time period...the reader didnt exempt the kirby stuff from his mind if he was a BP fan so i belongs in its place in the essential to maintain canon