REVIEW: ‘Black Panther: Blood Hunt,’ Issue #2

Black Panther: Blood Hunt #2 is published by Marvel Comics. It is written by Cheryl Lynn Eaton, with art by Farid Karami, colors by Andrew Dalhouse, and letters by Joe Sabino. This is part of the Blood Hunt event. In the latest issue, Black Panther finds himself at the beck and call of the Gods, with the vampiric invasion of Earth reaching a celestial level.

This issue involves the gods much more than the previous issue, but they don’t appear out of nowhere. The very first scene shows Black Panther communicating with Bast, visiting them on a spiritual plane. However, Black Panther: Blood Hunt #2 expands this concept to an enormous level. As Black Panther is sent searching for a hidden temple, deities are explored in the great delta, the cast getting larger by the page. Pantheons from both West and East Africa have representatives.

The level of research untaken is phenomenal, dredging ancient characters from far reachers of both natural and fictional mythologies. The story is mesmerising and captivating, but the escalation of the spectacle has complicated the issue somewhat. A mystical journey has deepened, and demons have emerged, but there is a broad exposition. The pace is slow and contemplative, and the transitions between scenes could be better.

The human characters have been dwarfed by the omnipotent deities that have emerged in Black Panther: Blood Hunt #2. While there are many that make an appearance, the noisiest voices are Bast and Konshu. Both are important gods within the Marvel Universe, with very well-known conduits and worshippers on Earth who fight with their symbols and powers. They speak with nobility and ancient wisdom but with a rivalry that goes back centuries.

That history can cause the reader to get lost, but there is no shame in taking time to delve into the dialogue. What is interesting, and perhaps intentional by Eaton, is that when a well-known human villain speaks during a conversation late in the issue, they have that same nobility and sense of grandeur that the actual gods talk with.

The art gets the best out of high-fantasy storytelling. All of the gods and deities look spectacular in Black Panther: Blood Hunt #2. It matters little if they are only a cameo or crucial to the wider plot against the vampires; the details are remarkable. Through many, such as Khonshu, they are frightening to look at. These designs venture back toward the horror genre that the whole event has been steeped in. All of the creatures and members of the pantheons are inhuman, which can lead to a disconnect with the characters in the comic.

Bast is seen as both a large, serene black panther to taunt her namesake and a bipedal woman. Even a king like T’Challa is out of his depth, and his bewilderment is highly entertaining. His eyes are wide, taking all of it in, which also draws attention to their transformation since his infection with vampirism.

The colors alternate from a selection of blues to a palette of orange. The blue is presented as safety, associated with Wakanda and the jungle. The orange is fierce fire, with other gods often seen with these shades and a sense of danger and unknown around them. The lettering changes color to fit the various speakers, trying to tap into their celestial nature. But Konshu’s font, in particular, is clunky and difficult to read.

Black Panther: Blood Hunt #2 must be respected for its ambition. The direction in which it has travelled is completely unexpected but not unwarranted. Black Panther has always delved into spirituality, with the Panther God at the centre of the Walandan belief system. Eaton takes the Blood Hunt event even further and connects that to a wider network of gods.

This particular region has never been explored in this detail, and it is fascinating to see it formulated within these pages. But there were many moments where my brain was in danger of melting, and the human characters within the story looked very lost.

Black Panther: Blood Hunt #2 is available where comics are sold