Birnin Zana

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how the cover look

Cover for #3

BLAP2016003_int2_Page_3.jpg
 
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Concerning VIolence

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That said, there's simply no way, imho, that either T'Challa, Shuri, or Ramonda would tolerate those trafficking camps or lecherous chieftains in their land. It's one thing for those things to be occuring in light of the recent upheavals, but its a whole 'nother issue when no one with the Wakandan government appears to be proactive about it. I would be much more accepting of such things occuring in Wakanda if the royal family / Wakandan government was doing something about it, even if their efforts weren't as effective as they hoped due to the situation that is growing vis-a-vis Zenzi and "The People."

But the case simply seems to be that no one is really aware. If T'challa knew what was going down with the chieftans he'd already be on it. I feel like the omission of any explanation for these scenarios is not the omission of the government's overseer but merely their incompetence and lack of knowledge. A country collapsing has a million other things fukking up alongside human trafficking so it's not that hard to lose track of insider crime.

As to your second post, your guesses are as good as mine where Coates takes it.

However, since when at any point in Wakanda's 50 year publication history has Wakanda suffered from misogyny,

iirc, The Dora Milaje were originally conceived to serve as T'challa's future potential brides and basically his private harem. :patrice:
 

Birnin Zana

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But the case simply seems to be that no one is really aware. If T'challa knew what was going down with the chieftans he'd already be on it. I feel like the omission of any explanation for these scenarios is not the omission of the government's overseer but merely their incompetence and lack of knowledge. A country collapsing has a million other things fukking up alongside human trafficking so it's not that hard to lose track of insider crime.

As to your second post, your guesses are as good as mine where Coates takes it.

Considering that the human trafficking operations are happening around the Nigandan boarder, I was surprised that there weren't any Wakandan patrols by that area, especially considering that Wakanda has been attacked multiple times in recent years by outsiders. It would be in Wakanda's best interest to be vigilant around the border area. Not to mention that, based on the reaction of the women that were captives, those operations have been going on for a minute now, to the point that they felt neglected.

I think what could've helped Coates on this one is to explain via a line or two from a supporting character, or even T'Challa himself, that Wakandan forces / authorities / resources are all over the country " putting fires out" due to the recent events, resulting in the authorities being stretched too thin. That way, the people doing mischievous shyt would def be able to slip through the cracks and do what they are doing, and there's a clear reason as to why they were able to do so for so long. The same could even apply for the corrupt chieftains.

As is, though some characters mention that Wakanda is going through major trouble...it doesn't feel like it, imho. Or even look like it, in a lot of cases. Maybe that's were the disconnect is coming from, from my POV.
iirc, The Dora Milaje were originally conceived to serve as T'challa's future potential brides and basically his private harem. :patrice:

And T'Challa never treated the Doras as a private harem. IIRC, it wasn't even his idea originally (correct me if I'm wrong on that one). The only reason he continued it is because it kept the peace between the tribes. The Doras' creation was ultimately political in nature, a means for a tribe to potentially get plugged into the royal family. And the Doras, as time went on publication wise, basically have turned into an all-female unit that serves to protect the ruler and his/her family. The potential bride thing hasn't even been touched on in almost 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Doras are highly respected in Wakandan society. Those that harm a Dora can be sentenced to death. The Wakandans also respected the authority of Ramonda and Storm, even though they were foreigners. And they've rallied behind Shuri during her time as Queen, while she was the absolute ruler.

This isn't to say that there aren't Wakandans that could be considered misogynist. I wouldn't be surprised if M'Baku and other members of the White Gorilla tribe were indeed misogynists, especially due to how old fashioned they were. But Wakanda as a whole? As a country? There isn't enough on panel evidence to show that indeed was the case, unless I missed something.
 
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Birnin Zana

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Issue #3 is out. Very well-written issue. That said, the story is feeling more like a "Wakanda" story, than a "Black Panther" story, so far.

My full thoughts:

Very well-written issue, but also a very difficult issue to critic.

On one hand, purely from a writing standpoint, this issue is definitely the best issue of the current run so far, imho. Even though it served more as a build-up, the story moved forward and the writing flowed much better this time around. The art by Stelfreeze and Laura Martin were on point once again.

That said, if one was looking for a "Black Panther" issue--as in an issue focused on T'Challa, his ups and downs, etc--this is not it. If this was called "Wakanda," then this would fit right in. It def feels like he's a co-star at best for the time being.

There is also a lot of moving parts in this issue:

-T'Challa's journey isn't..."bad" per se (although his portrayal is definitely NOT where it should be), but there isn't enough of it so far. This is important especially when his plot is getting and will continue to have more deconstruction. If this keeps up, I just don't know how he'll be able to get that "W" he really needs moving forward. Coates has to balance it out at some point.

-The MA plot is moving surprisingly slowly considering the amount of panel space its taking. It either needs to pick up or be cut down a bit. Also, it appears that Aneka and Ayo gathered a lot of Dora Milaje in their final panel? How did they pull that off? Did the other Doras abandon the Kingdom as well?

Lastly, I still can't get over the apparent fact that the Kingdom, despite everything that has happened, isn't on high alert and thus has been ignoring (intentionally or not) human trafficking ops and the like. If there was a panel showing that Wakandan resources are being used to "put fires out" throughout the country the best they can, that would be one thing. At the moment, it doesn't feel like it, nor has been stated as well implicitly besides T'Challa and / or another character saying that Wakanda is going through stuff. A lot of telling, but not enough showing, imho.

-Tetu and Zenzi (and Tetu in particular) had a good showing. I'm assuming we'll see more of Tetu's powerset as time goes on.

-Shuri's journey is still a wildcard and is actually quite intriguing. It appears she'll be leaning even more towards the traditional ways. I'm curious on how it all ties to the main plot, outside of her potentially being revived.

Good story overall so far, but I can't say its a good "Black Panther" story, if that makes sense. I hope that changes soon.

I'm very curious on how #3 and #4 especially will sell. If they both sell over 55k, that would be huge.
 
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