Editor's Note: Black Panther #10 arrives in stores tomorrow, November 11.

"Power: Part 4"

So February will be bringing us Doomwar, a mini-series about Black Panther and allies going up against Doctor Doom. When I heard about it, I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'd not heard of the writer, Jonathan Maberry, and the artist's name, Will Conrad, was familiar, but I couldn't place it.

I've never been a regular reader of Black Panther, although I've always had a fondness for the character ever since I first discovered him in the Marvel Treasury Edition of The Avengers, back in 1975, which reprinted The Avengers #52 where T'Challa battled The Grim Reaper and joined the team.

Aside from that, though, I've not really read many Black Panther stories. Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo's Secret Invasion tie-in, "See Wakanda and Die!" is really the only story that I've sought out and really enjoyed.

But with Doomwar coming up, I figured why not check out Black Panther and see what's going on. And it's been a rather pleasant surprise.

Jonathan Maberry has won me over with a nice combination of espionage, action, and the supernatural that took me by surprise. After finding out a little more about him and his work, I'm very comfortable that he'll be able to keep all of these balls in the air effectively. And Will Conrad, who's work I'd seen on Kull, has a highly-detailed style that grounds the entire project with a believable realism.

For those of you just joining us, Black Panther recently relaunched with a bang as Doctor Doom ambushed T'Challa, nearly killing him. Since then, Ororo and his family have rescued his soul from Limbo and he's been recuperating slowly. His sister, Shuri, has become the Black Panther and acting Princess Regent of Wakanda, much to the annoyance of the more conservative elements in the country.

T'Challa has only told a couple of people that it was Doom who nearly killed him, and while he builds himself back up and prepares to take the fight to Latveria, Shuri is in America trying to find out who's responsible, following a false trail into deeper and deeper trouble. At the same time, Ororo is discovering that something is terribly wrong with the majority of Wakanda's natural resources, causing a blight on their crops and helping to undermine and devastate Wakanda's economy.

So what we've got here is a pretty densely packed story, operating on at least three narrative levels with at least three different genre approaches all weaving in and out of one another. And it's working. Ororo is handling the political front, which is represented by an ongoing debate between conservative and liberal television commentators. T'Challa has gone the supernatural route, arming himself with mystical defenses that he hopes will stand against Doom's skills. He's also got his army of woman warriors training specifically to prepare for battle with an army of Doombots.

Shuri, The Black Panther, is on the trail of high-tech weapons smugglers using a combination of outdated Stark, stolen Wakandan, and mysteriously obtained Atlantean technologies. Meanwhile, Doom and a mysterious group of Wakandan rebels keep track of her and are manipulating her into believing that Namor is involved.

This issue moves the story forward on all fronts briskly and intelligently. If I have any complaint, it's only that the coming conflict with Namor seems to be a little forced. However, given the stakes involved and the personalities of the characters, it's a believable plot point that's really only hampered by my over-exposure to Namor lately.

So that's on me, as much as I could say it's on the writing.

Anyway, if you're a fan of the Black Panther, this might not be what you were expecting, but it's very nicely done. The narrative evolution of this title feels organic and natural, even if T'Challa isn't wearing the costume anymore. It provides another interesting layer to Marvel's espionage titles, one that's more openly involved in politics, and is beginning to bring in elements of the occult.

That's pretty much my bread and butter, right there. This is one of the good ones. More people should be picking this up.

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