Comic Related - If It's Comic Related, You'll Find It Here!

Bill Gladman on the issue

I hate to admit that for the last few weeks there haven't really been any comics that I picked up that I felt truly worthy of calling a "Hot Shot" book. True Blackest Night came to an end, and ended a little better than I thought it would, but at the same time it just really didn't over whelm me in the process.

There has been a Realm of Kings tie-in a time or two and there have been some "good" books that came out, but nothing that defiantly stood out above the rest and shouted..."Hey look at me! Read me! Remember me!"

That changed this week with the release of Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers #1. This story takes place during World War II and right before the very first meeting between Captain America and Nick Fury. Of course this story has been told before and in many different ways, but I really liked how this went down in this book. Fury's initial reaction to Cap is great and just one of many story telling elements added to this book to make it such an enjoyable read.

A good portion of the story is told in the words and through the eyes of Gabriel Jones one of SGT. Fury's Howling Commandos. It explains how a black man got picked to be a part of Fury's elite secret task force, and how Jones felt being the only black man on the squad. The book itself is written by Reginald Hudlin, no stranger to writing books with this type of racial theme. Hudlin as been associated with some of the best stories featuring several of Marvel's black heroes including the Falcon, James Rhoades, and most notably the Black Panther.

The Commandos escort Captain America deep into Africa in an attempt to keep German Nazi's from getting their greedy hands on Vibranium, a rare metal found in the jungle nation of Wakanda. The Nazis are lead by Baron Strucker (portrayed perfectly by Hudlin).

Elements of the back story of Wakanda laid out years ago while Hudlin was writing the Black Panther series come into play such as the fact the nation has never been successfully invaded by an outside foe and the first meeting between Captain America and the Black Panther (the WWII version of the black Panther was of course T'Chaka, father of T'Challa). The brief confrontation between these two characters was shown in a quick flashback scene in the Black Panther book years ago, and now we have the chance to see the entire story unravel for us.

This was a very well written book by a writer that has a great deal of respect for the past of all the characters involved, with beautiful art work by seasoned comic veterans Denys Cowan and Klaus Janson.

A very strong start to what promises to be a very well done four part limited series.

Writer: Chris Ungar
Art: Chris Kipiniak
Cover: Chris Kipiniak
Publisher: Marvel Comics

For the first time ever, see the full story of the first meeting of Captain America and the Black Panther! It's a World War Two adventure featuring a young Steve Rogers, the Black Panther and Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos in combat with the nastiest Nazi villains in the Marvel Universe!

Rated T

PRICE: $3.99
IN STORES: April 7, 2010