Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi CoatesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Before reading this collection (Volume 6 #1-4, as well as the original Fantastic Four comic where Black Panther is introduced- but not the one where he gives his backstory) I had no previous knowledge about Black Panther. I haven't even seen the movie yet. So I was pretty confused for the first half (#1-2) but by the end, I understood the basic plot and characters which is this: the current Black Panther and ancestor of previous Black Panthers, aka T'Challa, is the king of Wakanda. For reasons that remain unclear to me, he's been out of town for a while and his country is now being ripped apart by civil war. The Queen mother and T'Challa's stepmother Ramonda wants him to get it together and reunite the country and win the people over. There are at least two or three factions that oppose the royalty. One group is the all-female Dora Milaje, led by Aneka and Ayo who want to implement democracy. (Woo!) Another is a terrorist group "The People" that possibly also want to institute democracy? But this is unclear. And a third group seems to be a bunch of warlord opportunists.
I especially love the characters Aneka, Ayo, and a philosophy professor Changamire. The illustrations are beautiful, and I particularly like the subtle science fiction component- though I might prefer if it were less subtle.
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