Panther's Pride and Hunter's Honor
T'Challa begrudgingly accepts his Queen's aid to take on Kraven. Will the mistress of the winds aid be enough for the world's most dangerous man to topple the world's greatest hunter?
The Good
Great Jumping on point for this series!!
Simone Bianche's been doing a lovely job on the series' covers. I can't wait for him to do another two parter. I love the way he draws Storm and am especially pleased that he drew her in her Astonishing X-Men costume from his time with Warren Ellis on the title.
T'Challa is, of course, more than a bit miffed about Storm interjecting herself into his goings on. Despite his displeasure there is a genuinely sweet moment between the two which occurs shortly after the start of the issue. And Liss does manage to craft some nice banter between the two.
T'Challa's reaction to Kraven's attack on Storm was very convincing and a moment which any male reader married or in a committed relationship will connect with.
T'Challa and Storm do work well together and it's nice to see him set his pride aside, even a little, to accept her aid.
The way T'Challa deals with Kraven is well handled. Appealing to his noble nature, and character was the perfect tactic.
The Bad
Love this cover and definitely love the Way Bianche draws Storm, but that right hand on the cover is all sorts of wrong.
I highly enjoy Palo's art but the way he draws Storm's just not to my liking. In fact, his work overall this issue felt a little less focused. Still good mind you and very suited for the story, but less sharp and smooth around the edges.
Liss writes Storm very much out of character for most of the issue and it really bothered me. She didn't come off as the confident, intelligent, poised queen that she is to me. I don't know how to say this without sounding sexist but Storm was a bit too mouthy towards T'Challa for me. Storm definitely would voice her displeasure with T'Challa's distance and stubbornness. However, she'd assert and defend her position with more grace and aplomb, not snark and sarcasm. Orroro IS NOT Emma Frost, she should not read like her. Her "witty" rejoinders to T'Challa got real old really quickly. And the way she deals with Dr. Holman is waaay out of her M.O.
The plot point about Brian being able to be controlled simply by touching him was pretty silly and hurt the story for me. I think the story would've been much more interesting had Brian been a bit more feral and unpredictable like when his powers first emerged. This little condition also comes out of left field and turns the battle between T'Challa and Kraven into a glorified game of tug of war.
The Verdict
Buy This Comic!
Despite my problems with this issue I've gotta say this is a really fun read and is a great jumping on point. Even if you didn't read the last issue you can dive right into this one and enjoy the story. This isn't the best of what Liss' Panther has to offer, but it's a solid, entertaining effort. If you want to see the best of what he can do then I'd definitely, strongly recommend going back and collecting the whole of his Urban Jungle arc which proceeded these last two issues.
