Black Panther vol 2 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Panther (2016), Vol 2: A Nation Under our Feet part 2, illustrated by Chris Sprouse, Don McGregor, Rich Buckler, Brian Stelfreeze

T’Challa enlists the help of some other marvel super heroes to confront his enemies.  He’s trying to keep the rebellion down on too many fronts, and the anarchists, Tetu and Zenzi, are starting to gather more followers to them. The rogue Dora Milaje have gathered the rest of their sisters-in-arms to also usurp the king, but they haven’t figured out who would replace T'Challa yet. Meanwhile, Shuri, still in her coma, is working through stories inside the Djalia, the plane of Wakandan memory, with her “mother,” a culmination of the queens of Wakanda. Shuri doesn’t quite know the meaning of the stories she’s learning, but they will probably make sense to what’s happening in Wakanda without her.

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My favorite part of this storyline is Shuri working through the memories of her country in the Djalia.  The mysticism of Wakandan spirituality, to me, is what makes Black Panther special compared to other superhero stories.  Yes, we have gods in Thor and Loki, but Black Panther has a connection to Bast that is unlike other any other hero.  The rest of this story arc is somewhat uninteresting.  Action sequences are over within a few panels, even though there's build up over several issues.  Other than Zenzi's ability to control minds, it is unclear how she and Tetu are getting people to believe their version of truths.  There is very little shown of the two of them preaching to large crowds or anything like that, and the only people we really see around them is soldiers.  These trade paperbacks contain only 4 issues each and then have some back issues to round out the story, but this storyline could really use some more space on the page to breathe and develop these deeper conflicts and side stories.

Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1

Publisher: Marvel
Publication Date: January 24, 2017
ISBN: 9781302900540 (Paperback)
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Tags: Rating: 6/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Superheroes, Action Adventure, Marvel