Black Panther #15 Review

[divider type=”space_thin”] Writer: Ta-Nehisi Coates / Artist: Adam Gorham / Marvel After the triumphant first arc of Coates run that took us through the inner workings and downfall of the Wakanda government, this run has pledged and then doubled down on the lore of Wakanda. Namely, its gods who don’t seem to be returning calls these days. Creatures from Wakanda’s past, the very foes that have perished under Wakanda from past eras continue to pour through portals to plague the land and repelling them has proven more and more difficult. Even the enlisting of the mystic Zawavari who has existed since before the gods appeared is a high price to pay to keep the lands safe. Coates is building Wakanda even further outward, first in its borders and geography, and now with a rich polytheism and belief system not only makes Wakanda a fully realized country. It makes Wakanda another world until itself, lending the kind of depth we haven’t experienced before in its very storied history. Wakanda has always been referred to as a city on hill, but the kind of expansion being written is largely ambitious for a comic book and more akin to something we experience in fantasy novels and series. It’s dizzying and mesmerizing to see how big the picture gets, all the while making our characters feel smaller and smaller in this ever growing world.

Also, it needs to be said without spoiler, the relationship between Storm and Black Panther feels the most honest and rooted that it ever has. Including…