Wakanda is a rich corner of the Marvel universe that recently got its very own series. Basically an anthology, each issue features a different character and creative team. It’s a series that shined a light on familiar characters like Shuri but ended up doing more to make Wakanda feel richer and more pronounced. That goes for its people but also the locations. Now that the series is complete though, how does it hold up, especially since Black Panther isn’t in most of this collection?
Wakanda was released in time for the second Black Panther movie. This series was clearly trying to capitalize on the fact that the Black Panther wasn’t present in the film either. For the most part, it works, with some handy maps to show where the stories are taking place in Wakanda and the different subcultures in Wakanda.
The series opens with a Shuri tale by Stephanie Williams and Paco Medina, moves on to an Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda tale written by Evan Narcisse and Adam Serwer with art by Ibraim Roberson, features Killmonger in a story by Ho Che Anderson and Sean Hill, then John Ridley and Julian Shaw focus on Tosin Oduye aka The Wakandan. Then Brandon Thomas and Jose Luis focus on Okoye. Closing out this collection is every backup story by Evan Narcisse and Natacha Bustos detailing Wakandan’s history.
The opening Shuri story features Rhino breaking into Wakanda and causing a ruckus. This tale wraps up in the fifth issue, with Okoyo defeating the villain, who is up to something in the opener. That gives the book a beginning and an end of a sort, though it sticks out a bit since there’s nothing connecting the other stories. Williams makes you believe Wakanda doesn’t need Black Panther to work, with great dialogue for Shuri and a tale that lets her lead.
The Intergalactic Empire story has great art.
Credit: Marvel
From there, each story occurs in a different time or place. Did you know Wakanda had an area that rejected all technology? The Wakandan is an interesting hero who has no tech but does have tattoos that allow him to fight. Killmonger and the torture he endured acquiring a purple flower are also revealed. He’s a villain eventually, but we see the things he was put through that made him that way. His story sticks out a bit as an outlier, though, since it’s more about the character than Wakanda or its people.
The second issue story featuring the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda is a nice surprise, with M’Baku in charge. Roberson’s art is super detailed and amps up the sci-fi, high-tech features of the empire. In this story, we get to learn a little bit about the culture and how a social class, and basically slavery, is okay by some. Of all the stories in this collection, this one feels the most complete, with an enemy defeated, interesting reveals about the culture and heroic moments on top of all that.
Originally printed in the back of each issue, the history lessons delivered by Ramonda to a group of Wakandan schoolchildren help detail key things we knew or ensure things are in canon. Written by Narcisse with art by Bustos, these tales read better all in one go. They range from stories about how a drum saved Wakanda to the Black Panther of the year 1 Million B.C. They’re short, to the point, and probably could have served as the main story if extended.
Wakanda does feel odd to have a near-zero presence of Black Panther, save for a few references and appearances in the backup history chapters. That’s especially so because he’s on the cover, which is unfortunate since the rich Wakandan history and various characters featured here could very well support a series. Your interest in each tale will vary as an anthology without a main ongoing story. I can’t say the Killmonger story intrigued me as much as the others for instance, partly because he was mostly the focus rather than the story being about Wakanda or its people.
For the most part, this collection does the work to show Wakanda is a rich nation, but with how some stories play out more like history lessons, you might need to be interested in investing time in these lesser-known characters before diving in.
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