REVIEW: Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1

The Black Panther is a vampire! That’s it, that’s the headline for Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1. This isn’t a “What If”, this is really happening in Marvel’s major summer event. What will happen as Wakanda’s defender has become one if it’s most dangerous predators?

This nightmare scenario kicks off with T’Challa, fresh off being turned into a vampire by Blade, asking the Panther Goddess Bast for help. But instead of salvation, he is cast out of the ancestorial plane and ordered to leave Wakanda forever. But even in his new monstrous state, T’Challa’s humanity is hanging on for dear life. And he begins to stalk Wakanda, not for prey, but to help. The dichotomy between man and monster, and the battle within, is the main through-line of the issue (and the entire storyline). And in this issue, it is handled masterfully by writer Cheryl Lynn Eaton. T’Challa is indeed a vampire, and can only fight the bloodlust for so long…No spoilers, but his eventually feeding is done in an imaginative and even emotional way. And despite the bleakness of it all, Eaton still manages to include some of the T’Challa/Shuri brother-sister back-and-forth we all know and love from the duo. But overall, this version of T’Challa, half regal, half completely out of control, is an awesome new take on one of Marvel’s most notoriously stoic heroes.

Artistically, this could be the best-looking Black Panther to ever grace a comic book. The standard black Black Panther suit is modernized with tactical pouches making it look more functional. It is balanced out with the addition of traditional African adornments on the suit that give it much more personality. And the cape (which comes and goes through the years) is back and looking as cool as ever. It’s a dark issue (vampires equal night after all) but it also explodes with color. A Wakanda being overrun by its own citizens turned vampires looks as terrifying as it sounds…but also a lot cooler then it probably should be. The character design, the action, and the environments come together brutally and beautifully thanks to some truly masterful work by the art team of Farid Karami and Andrew Dalhouse.

Marvel’s Blood Hunt event has an intriguing overall premise with Marvel heroes being turned into vampires and fighting their non-infected brethren. But the conflict with the most potential is the Black Panther vs. Blade. Blade’s mental grip on T’Challa is more than a means to an end, it’s personal. Where things go from here should be interesting. So far so good as, Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1 has gotten the series off to an incredible start and is the first must-read of the character runs.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Coloring – 5 Stars

Overall
5 Stars

Written by; Cheryl Lynn Eaton
Art by; Farid Karami
Colors by; Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by; Joe Sabino
Published by; Marvel Comics

Author Profile

Christopher R. Ford

Writer, author, and blogger. Published author of three children's books and also writes for the boy Creators For The Culture. Part-time sneaker head, full time nerd.