64 BLACK WIDOW
stories were infl uential on early graphic novels, including Don McGregor’s later work
on the graphic novel Sabre , written by McGregor and illustrated by Paul Gulacy.
Kirby’s brief return to Marvel Comics in the 1970s included a number of series
featuring Kirby as the sole writer, editor, and illustrator. Th is included a 12-issue run
on a new Black Panther series. Although Kirby’s Black Panther stories are somewhat less
critically acclaimed than the previous stories by McGregor, this series is fondly remem-
bered by fans as among the last great work produced by Kirby before he largely retired
from work-for-hire comics.
Black Panther was a frequent recurring character in the 1980s and 1990s, and
starred in a four-issue miniseries in 1988 written by Peter Gillis and illustrated by
Denys Cowan. Don McGregor returned to the character in backup stories featured in
the anthology title Marvel Comics Presents. Black Panther was not again featured in a
regular, ongoing series until 1998, with a new series written by Christopher Priest.
Priest introduced a number of complex characters, such as the Hatut Zeraze. Th e
Hatut Zeraze was the secret police force of Wakanda, led by T’Challa’s adopted brother
Hunter, known as the White Wolf. T’Challa disbanded the Hatut Zeraze and exiled
the group, along with Hunter, from Wakanda. Also, for a time, T’Challa retired as
the Black Panther due to health and mental issues, and went into hiding in New York
City. Th e Black Panther costume was found by a troubled young police offi cer named
Kasper Cole, who took up the Black Panther identity for several issues during the end
of Priest’s tenure. T’Challa does reclaim the Black Panther title, however, with Kasper
Cole adopting the alter ego of the White Tiger. T’Challa, again active as a member of
the Avengers , participated as a character in many of the Marvel crossover events of the
2000s, such as House of M , Civil War , and Secret Invasion. Black Panther has starred in
a further ongoing series, written by Reginald Hudlin, director of the fi lms Boomerang
and House Party , and illustrated by the popular artist John Romita, Jr.
Th e most memorable event for the Black Panther in recent years was his marriage
to Storm, also a descendent of African royalty and member of the mutant team the
X-Men. Th e two characters’ relationship was dramatized in the 2006 miniseries Storm ,
written by popular African American fi ction writer Eric Jerome Dickey and illustrated
by David Yardin. Although the marriage of the two characters was presented as an as-
pect of the Civil War crossover event, the stories written by Dickey were composed to
be accessible to a non-comics readership that might have approached the book because
of its high profi le author. Th e marriage of Storm and Black Panther captured a signifi -
cant amount of public attention from the news media and entertainment press.
Currently there is an ongoing Black Panther series, featuring T’Challa, written by
Stoker Award winning author Jonathan Maberry.
Robert O’Nale
BLACK WIDOW is the moniker used by three distinct superheroines, most popularly
Marvel Comics’ spy-adventurer Natasha Romanova (aka Natalia Romanoff ), mem-
ber and sometimes-leader of the Avengers superteam. However, the original Black
