BLACK PANTHER.

history.

DATE OF ORIGIN:
As early as 1966, Black Panther #1 appeared in 1977

BOOK HISTORY:
Fantastic Four #52, 1966
Also see Avengers #52 & Jungle Action #5

Black Panther (15 books)
#1, Jan, 1977 - #15 May 1979

Black Panther Series (4 books)
#1, July 1988 - #4, Oct, 1988

Panther’s Prey (4 books) #1, 1991 - #4, 1991
Marvel Entertainment Group

B.G. INFO.

A Trailblazer in the history of Black Superheroes, the Black Panther's story is a story of "firsts". Definitely one of the first mainstream Black Heroes to be portrayed in a decent light, even though he was not created by a black artist. His name was T'Challa, Leader of the imaginary Wakanda nation and a scientist at heart. The Black Panther was portrayed as a dignified king and even the nation of Wakanda was a technologically advanced nation, while the TV show "Tarzan" showed Africans as incoherent jungle bunnies that were helpless without a loin cloth wearin', vine-swinging caucasian saving the day.
We applaud Jack Kirby for not only having the wherewithal to create a Black character in the 60's but to show one in a positive light. It is ironic that during a time when Bobby Seales and the real-life Black Panthers were taking a stand against police brutality, many criticized the comic hero for not being radical enough. I think this was somewhat unfair complaint however given all the other positives the comic contained.

He first showed up in 1966 Fantastic Four #52, and after spending several years as a member of the avengers he received his own short-lived series in the mid 70's. The Black Panther #1 finally appeared in 1977. 11 years after his first appearance, I guess superheroes with all their powers still needed affirmative action!

The Black Panther has returned to the limelight with his own series written by Christopher Priest. Beautiful art by Joe Jusko set the tone for a book that has received quite a bit of notice as of late.