Exchanges Of Kings And Sorcerers — Reviewing ‘Ultimate Black Panther’ #13

War is brutal. It takes its toll even when the battles have ended and one side has declared a “victory.” No matter who wins, there is no going back to the way that things were before.

Wakanda and its king stand triumphant in their war against the Moon Knight duo. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of the problems plaguing the advanced nation. Bryan Hill, Stefano Caselli, David Curiel, and Cory Petit begin the next chapter for Ultimate Black Panther.

Momentum, of sorts, at last. A lot of the issues I had with the previous twelve installments of the series centered on how many of them felt directionless; standing in place waiting for what comes next. Character development lacked at times as static versions of familiar characters were provided. With the war behind them, the series actually takes some interesting steps forward.

That’s not to say that all the problems have been fixed, but I at least came away more entertained. It’s the little things sometimes.

Hill has some intriguing ideas about Vibranium and how to go about it differently than the main Marvel Universe. At last, we finally get some more of Sorcerer Supreme Inan after she, Killmonger, and Storm were apparently traveling to Wakanda for months. Inan’s back-and-forth with T’Challa is the most open, honest, and vulnerable the character has been this whole run. It felt like an actually human version of the character rather than a stiff approximation pieced together from other media depictions.

Even the battle between T’Challa, Storm, and the manifestation of Vibranium’s consciousness was more engaging than some of the past dozen issues’ worth of action sequences.

It’s good to have Caselli back. There is just something fitting about his artistic style and this series. Baked-in, large scale superhero vibes are always present as the whimsical yet firm presentation bears fruit. Character emotions — and there are actually more of them at last — are very tangible here. It is brought to life by the artist in a way that feels authentic to the moment and to the core of the characters (which are becoming clearer over time).

Very vibrant colors are brought into play thanks to Curiel’s color palette style. They soak into the page and give a weight to everything alongside the more neutral, darker color choices. The approach gives a sense of depth to everything beyond what the artwork already provides. Wakanda is such a rich and colorful space and the palette does justice to this idea all the way through.

Perfectly-cast light style choices bring even more life to scenes, letting the various spaces have lighting that fits the overall happenings and elements of the space. Be it darker bedrooms to larger, open lit royal areas, or the city bathed in darkness and artificial light.

As noted above, some emotions are becoming clearer to see in these characters. They’re not so wooden anymore, which gives Petit even more to work with, thankfully. Each word receives the right juice and position to really embody the emotions and tone of the story, tapping in to let the words speak for themselves with slight modifications to edit the voices we hear through reading.

Ultimate Black Panther #13 is now available from Marvel Comics.