Black Panther: Blood Hunt by Cheryl Lynn Eaton and Farid Karami / Webs of Wakanda by Cody Ziglar and Daniele Di Nicuolo

We're far from the heights of ten years ago, when there were multiple Black Panther series at once. Now there's not even one. (Well, kind of; we do have Ultimate Black Panther, but that's not set in the main Marvel continuity.) Now, fans of the regular T'Challa have to settle for dribs and drabs: miniseries tying into crossover events, guest appearances in other titles. I read two such appearances in between collections of Ultimate Black Panther.

from Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1

The first is Black Panther: Blood Hunt. I guess the idea here is that lots of Marvel characters have become vampires? Specifically, I believe T'Challa has been turned into one by Blade.

I like the idea of a story about T'Challa holding back his own vampirism; I think that very much plays to the strengths of the character, as someone who values his mind. What would it be like to lose control over that mind to your inner animal? The parts of the miniseries that deal with this are the best... unfortunately they're largely confined to the first issue. After that, the series descends into tedious theobabble; it's all about which Wakandan god did what in the distant past and it's all like, Why should I care? I never figured it out, and at three issues, this story is still too long, and deviates too far from the interest of its core premise.

The other is a three-issue story from Miles Morales: Spider-Man. This is actually a sequel to Blood Hunt: having acquired a vampiric infection himself, Miles has traveled to Wakanda to seek the help of T'Challa in curing it. I was surprised at how much this was a direct continuation of Eve Ewing's short-lived Black Panther: Reign at Dusk ongoing; I had expected that series to be forgotten the moment it was over. But T'Challa is still in the environment where Ewing left him, and we even get appearances from that series's supporting cast. I didn't think Ewing's series totally succeeded in what it tried to do, but I liked the cast and the world it built up, and I was glad to see them here. No idea if future Black Panther writers will care about them, but I'm glad they lived a little bit longer.

from Miles Morales: Spider-Man vol. 2 #27

Outside of that, this is solid, charming teen-focused superhero comics. Miles is relatable, awkward but well-meaning; his supporting cast, who we cut back to occasionally in the U.S. (Miles's friends are covering for his absence with a shapeshifter), is funny and engaging in their own travails. Daniele Di Nucolo's art is cute and expressive and exactly what this title needs. The mystical stuff is kept subordinate to Miles's own emotional journey, it's never an end in itself. Enjoyable stuff that made me want to read more of writer Cody Ziglar's run, and I'm grateful that Black Panther introduced me to it.

Black Panther: Blood Hunt originally appeared in three issues (July-Sept. 2024). The story was written by Cheryl Lynn Eaton, illustrated by Farid Karami, colored by Andrew Dalhouse, lettered by Joe Sabino, and edited by Wil Moss. It was collected in Blood Hunt: Marvel Universe (2024), which was edited by Daniel Kirchhoffer.

Webs of Wakanda originally appeared in issues #27-29 of Miles Morales: Spider-Man vol. 2 (Feb.-Mar. 2025). The story was written by Cody Ziglar, illustrated by Daniele Di Nicuolo, colored by Bryan Valenza, lettered by Cory Petit, and edited by Tom Groneman. It was collected in Miles Morales: Spider-Man: Webs of Wakanda (2025), which was edited by Daniel Kirchhoffer.

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