Unfortunately this was my "introduction" to Black Panther. I've definitely read other comics with him included but this was the first "Black Panther" comic I've read. Loved some of the covers but the interior art by Francavilla is just totally not my style. Not claiming I can draw, at all, because even my stick figures look a little off, but this kind of art looks to me like someone said, we need a quick story board and then someone decided it was good enough and then just colored it.

Other than that the story was just very oldschool and not in a good way. Hatemonger is one of those villains that just needs to go away. I mean I get that he was maybe a way to bring up social issues back in the day, but now we have Trump and he's real, so it makes this guy look kinda silly. I did like how smart they made Black Panther, always thinking 2 steps ahead.

It also kind of seemed like they just tacked on the last issue (one from Spider Island) to get everyone interested in that story line, since it had nothing to do with the rest of this collection. AND... This really had very little to do with Fear Itself so I feel like again it was just marketing and not story telling that influenced its creation. ( )

I've slowly become a big fan of Black Panther as I encounter him through the various crossover event tie-ins. His Civil War and Secret Invasion tie-ins were so good they convinced me to order the few solo collections that are still available. So, I expected this tie-in to be excellent, regardless of how well it worked within Fear Itself. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

I'm a fan of T'Challa as Black Panther, not as a solo vigilante relocated to Hell's Kitchen to take over for Daredevil - which is what we have here. He doesn't have his vibranium tech, his Panther God-enhanced senses, or his authority as ruler of Wakanda. And what that leaves us with is a Batman wannabe. Further, this volume doesn't add anything to the Fear Itself crossover.

There are three short tales here. The first was actually entertaining because I didn't even realize he wasn't Black Panther anymore. Kraven, Spider-man's famed hunter foe, is after the same quarry as T'Challa, a young man named Brian. Kraven also wants to take down Panther. He must use all his considerable intelligence to overcome the hunter; with a little unwelcome, but necessary, help from his wife Storm. Their banter elevated a decent story into an entertaining one. The second tale was the worst. A self-entitled, lazy normal guy is possessed by the dead villain Hate Monger as part of the Fear Itself chaos. He proceeds to spew anti-immigrant hate speech through most of the "story." There are panels and panels of wordy hatefulness and no action until the very end when Panther stops him. Boring and unsatisfying. The last tale is part of the Spider Island arc that spanned a few series and consists of Panther chasing down a car. The driver just stole something from the Kingpin and Panther wants to know what. But, the story ends without a resolution as it is continued elsewhere. It's like reading the first chapter of a book that you don't own and don't know the title of.

Overall, this book was just not worth the purchase. The first story was okay, but I definitely expected more for the Black Panther. ( )