Afro-futurism is on the rise, and this polished, stylish meditation on personal and political power and responsibility as a strong and stable country is left reeling in the wake of a series of disasters feels like the complex SF/superhero saga you've been waiting for. Perhaps too thoughtful and careful to start off with? It can seem a little slow at times, even though it deals economically with complex situations and moral questions. A force is on the rise turning Wakandan people against their King, while two of his elite bodyguard go rogue after one of them is condemned for killing a corrupt and sexually-exploitative chief. T'Challa himself is beset by doubts at his own failures to protect his people and his sister, and his seeming inability to grapple with the growing chaos. This is a far cry from Christopher Priest's supremely confident strategist and tactician five steps ahead of friend and foe alike, and all the more likeable for it. (Must reread that run, it was a good one.)

The writing is polished, the art is incredible, the ideas and conflicts engaging, and yet somehow it feels oddly low-key, as if we're jumping into the latest chapter of an ongoing story written by someone who wants you to take the ideas seriously between bouts of fighting and fisticuffs - more of a political drama than a superhero action comic, such that some of the best and most engaging scenes are those quiet one that involve people talking - the two rogue bodyguards or T'Challa and his mother, primarily.