Black Panther #6 Review

Written by: Eve L. Ewing
Art by: Matt Horak, Mack Chater
Colors by: Jesus Aburtov
Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover art by: Taurin Clarke (cover A)
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: November 15, 2023

Black Panther #6 takes a journey through Wakanda’s past to learn how a trusted soldier and advisor to King M’Teli couldn’t see past his idealism and walked a trail of darkness in his quest for Wakandan purity.

Is Black Panther #6 Good?

Black Panther #6 continues Eve Ewing’s long, slow, increasingly boring path to unravel the mystery behind the mysterious disappearances of Wakanda’s elite. This time, Ewing takes up an entire issue with a flashback explaining who and what Kivu’Ma is, despite the fact he’s not been seen or played a factor in any of the previous five issues.

When last we left T’Challa, the Birnin T’Chaka gang war was quickly escalating as rival factions increased assassination attempts against each other’s leadership. The Nkisu and Ilonga clans not only had to defend their leaders from outside forces but also from power-hungry members within their own ranks. In the end, Baba Nkisu received a visit from a powerful spirit with a proposition.

Now, we see that Kivu’Ma was once N’Dozi, a trusted soldier of King M’Teli. N’Dozi believed King M’Teli’s mercy and flexibility with migrants and profiteers would lead to a weaker Wakanda. After N’Dozi crosses a line he can’t uncross, he abandons Wakanda to seek the power of a dark, feared shaman in a new quest to Make Wakanda Great Again.

No, there’s no need to read between the lines. In an all-flashback issue, Eve Ewing leans heavily on the worst aspects of patriotism and nationalism to make a point that’s as heavy-handed as a fist full of cannonballs. Unfortunately, Ewing’s thinly-veiled allegory for current-year politics doesn’t land as well as it should because N’Dozi has a point, even if he reacts badly to being overruled. In other words, Ewing goes a long way to paint a picture that says “nationalism is bad” while missing that the scenario created does the exact opposite.

What’s great about Black Panther #6? Despite having no presence whatsoever in any of the previous five issues, Kivu’Ma’s origin story is well-crafted and makes sense. The idea of a vengeful spirit mercilessly dedicated to the protection of an idealized Wakanda could be explored in multiple, interesting ways.

What’s not so great about Black Panther #6? While Kivu’Ma’s origin is interesting, this issue would have been more valuable if Kivu’Ma was a factor previously in the story. Further, Kivu’Ma’s straightforward origin didn’t need an entire issue to tell. This series is already floundering due to the dreadful pacing and convoluted plot (issue #5 ranked 78th in the ICv2 Top 200 for October), so to put the brakes on story momentum unnecessarily was a strategic error.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Black Panther #6 kills what little pacing and momentum the series had coming out of issue #5 for an issue-long flashback to tell the backstory we have yet to see in the story so far. The flashback is well done, but the timing, pacing, and length of the flashback are poorly placed.