Summary
T’challa the Black Panther has accompanied “Mr. Little” a treasure hunter to a rival’s house only to find him dead with King Solomon’s frog in his hand. They are attacked by a strange warrior who then escapes. Mr. Little then tells T’challa about the history of the frog. It is a time travel device which when has caused the downfall of many a civilization when used incorrectly.
They depart for King Solomon’s tomb so they can lay it to rest along the way they encounter a ship and flying soldiers which they fend off. They arrive at Mr. Little’s hideout but are attacked again and Little is shot dead. Black Panther is taken down by Princess Zanda who demands his help to locate the tomb so she can sue the frog correctly.
In the ensuing scuffle the frog is activated and a strange man with purple skin and a large head appears demanding to know who they are.
The Good
Princess Zanda’s first appearance!
The legendary Jack Kirby writes the first Black Panther series!
King Solomon’s Frog as a concept will make an appearance in every Black Panther ongoing 9except the one staring Shuri) thus into the very Mythos of Black Panther. This is it’s first appearance.
The retro art still holds up today thanks to great pencil work by Mike Royer and colors courtesy of Dave Hunt. The issue although created back in 1977 does not suffer from the sheer volume of text (wordyness as I like to call it) contained in modern comics and especially the 90’s.
The Bad
By modern standards this T’challa is not nearly as quick witted or as “enhanced’ as we know him now.
If you’re a casual comic fan who likes the new computer colored and enhanced images you wont like this.
Don’t like T’challa/Black Panther? This issue will not convince you otherwise.
The Ugly
3/5 Good