The Stop Button

Black Panther (1998) #21 [2000] W: Christopher Priest. A: Bob Almond, Sal Velluto. Beautifully paced issue has Black Panther teaming up with Moon Knight to search the afterlife for his katra. Back on Earth, Ross continues to make bad choices as temporary Wakanda regent, including surrendering to Killmomger. Awesome art. The conclusion punts–continuing the series’s biggest problem, the endless punting. It’s still impossible to get a good idea where Priest’s headed.

Black Panther (1998) #22 [2000] W: Christopher Priest. A: Bob Almond, Sal Velluto. Oh no, is there a DEADPOOL crossover? Panther and Moon Knight fight Nightmare in the dream world. Lots of twists and turns, with Ross off to dumb antics throughout. It’s a brisk, full read, with great art. But then there are crossover hypes galore; it plays desperate. The rest of the comic’s perfectly good, with some nice dream gags.

Black Panther (1998) #23 [2000] W: Christopher Priest. A: Bob Almond, Sal Velluto. The DEADPOOL crossover concludes. Thank goodness. There’s more transphobia, misogyny, and homophobia (so, so much of the last). Some great art. Some good dialogue, but then more bad. And the lousy jokes. But Priest does get to say the Avengers are super shitty to their marginalized members. They whine their way out of the conversation. It’s pretty cool.

Black Panther (1998) #24 [2000] W: Christopher Priest. A: Walden Wong. The guest art is fine. The issue plays like a bureaucracy comedy, just with all the Wakandan details. Killmonger needs to pass rites before he’s really the Black Panther and gets the super-plant. T’Challa isn’t interested (though more interested in that situation than the many other subplots going on). It’s a different issue but a good one.

Catwoman (2002) #27 [2004] W: Ed Brubaker. A: Paul Gulacy, Jimmy Palmiotti. Seriously iffy art does the issue no favors. It’s already in enough trouble, with Brubaker spinning out and doing repeats to avoid having to move forward. We do meet Slam’s boring kid though. And another talking heads scene for Selina and Holly about whether the East End is worth fighting to save. Plus a Batman cameo. CATWOMAN’s stuck.

Catwoman (2002) #28 [2004] W: Ed Brubaker. A: Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Gulacy. Selina underestimates Zeiss (again), getting her friends hurt (again), and learns nothing from it (again). Gulacy’s art is fairly wobbly. He’s doing it pure noir, complete with Robert Mitchum as Slam Bradley, and he’s not very good at the fight scenes or the costumes. Lots of it is fight scenes and costumes. Some nice work too, obviously.

Catwoman (2002) #29 [2004] W: Ed Brubaker. A: Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Gulacy. So now everyone yells at Selina for not learning anything the past few issues. If only she’d learned something maybe there’d be a story. Also Gulacy’s giving up on a bunch. He still works at the Robert Mitchum as Slam thing but nothing else. Bad Gulacy eyes, not a pretty sight. Especially for talking heads. It’s a slog.

Catwoman (2002) #30 [2004] W: Ed Brubaker. A: Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Gulacy. It’s an all-action fight issue except the fighting is limited and it’s mostly just Zeiss blathering (why are modern age Batvillains all so lame) or Selina bleeding. Brubaker seems to have decided Selina sucks and is bad at her job and everything else. Sure, Zeiss is a murderous psychopath but nothing he taunts her with is incorrect.

Catwoman (2002) #31 [2004] W: Ed Brubaker. A: Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Gulacy. It’s an incredible ending, with Brubaker doing a TEMPLE OF DOOM-esque romance novel story where Selina has to escape an arranged marriage. The issue is a complete mess and miss, with Gulacy doing all scantily clad Selina, contorting. Someone had a bad idea and never improved on it because the book just crashed into a wall. The pits.

Deadpool (1997) #44 [2000] W: Christopher Priest. A: Jim Calafiore, Jon Holdredge. A BLACK PANTHER crossover. While T’Challa recuperates, Deadpool goes after Killmonger Black Panther’s pet at Avengers Mansion. Deadpool’s villainous supporting cast bicker along the way (transphobic and sexist from the dude). Tony Stark worries about the stock market. Impressively full, but also desperately unfunny. They also take a “Deadpool isn’t racist for saying that if the writer’s Black” stance.