Black Panther, The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 by Christopher Priest

I was loaned this series by a white friend as a continuation in my study and learning about Black stories and what a better one, than the most popular black superhero: Black Panther.

This collection was very surprising to me because it’s a white guy, Everett K. Ross's POV. He’s the attaché to T’Challa and gets swept up in dangerous plots to overthrow the Wakandan King. At the end of this volume, he becomes the interim king of Wakanda. A white guy. I’m just continuously confused at the white-centered narrative in a black comic written by a black man.

My white friend told me to wait for it. There is a payoff to it all, but I don’t want to see Wakanda besmirched by a white ruler. I want Wakanda to stay black forever!

Priest does a great job of balancing the white-centered story of Everett with depictions of Black love between T’Challa, his friends, his family, and his fellow superheroes. There is also an amazing spread in “Uptown”, #17, of Black Panther, Iron Fist, Power Man (Luke Cage), and The Falcon fighting Deadly Nightshade, Stiletto, Morgan, Cottonmouth, and Cockroach, all of whom (with the exception of Stiletto) are people of color! It’s an incredibly powerful fight scene to see. Falcon and Power Man are passing everyone, just delightful.

I’m going to keep reading to get to this white guy payoff, but also, more importantly to experience Black stories and Black power. I’m so happy that Wakanda exists out there for people. -Ford