Issue(s): Black Panther #8, Black Panther #9, Black Panther #10, Black Panther #11, Black Panther #12, Black Panther #13
Cover Date: Mar 78 - Jan 79
Title: "Panthers or pussycats?" / "Black Musketeers" / "This world shall die!" / "Kiber the cruel" / "The Kiber clue" / "What is... and what should never be"
Credits:
Jack Kirby - Writer
Jack Kirby - Penciler
Michael W. Royer - Inker
Jim Shooter - Plot on issue #13
Ed Hannigan - Script on issue #13
Jerry Bingham - Penciler on issue #13
Gene Day - Inker on issue #13

Review/plot:
Jack Kirby ensures that his run on Black Panther will never be remembered fondly by introducing the Black Musketeers.

They are a group of royal family members that all lived outside Wakanda but return to help out against Jakarra, whose mutation after exposure to Vibranium is complete.

The Black Panther himself is delayed because he's stuck wandering through the African desert after getting hoodwinked by some mobsters as well as the cast of a Star Wars analogue.

The cheese factor and childish approach is just embarrassing.

The Black Panther subsequently investigates another Bizarre Adventures type of monster threat. The Panther has been having weird dreams...

...and he's prudently developed ESP.

His visions alert him to the threat of a being called Kiber.

Kiber is converting captives into energy that he absorbs as food. A cousin of T'Challa's named Khanata is among the captives. The Panther is captured by Kiber's android minions and brought to Kiber's island as well.

But Kirby's run is cut short and the story is finished by ringers (issue #13 isn't nearly as spectacular, but it feels a lot more professional). Kiber turns out to be a giant monstrosity that the Panther is able to communicate with via his ESP.

He leads a revolt among the captives, defeats the androids, and deprives Kiber of his food.

Pretty bad overall, despite some nice Kirby art. That's actually T'Challa in the gimp mask below; he's defending his right to the Black Panther title against a challenger in a flashback scene.

A distinction between the primitive and the highly advanced technology in Wakanda is made here; the regular villagers are not permitted to have guns, and are forced to defend themselves from the vibranium monster using shields and spears.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Black Panther begins this arc returning home from America, where he has been for what feels like "decades".

References:

• Issue #8 opens with a scene depicting T'Challa's rite of passage after the death of his father. There are references to Fantastic Four #53 and Avengers #87, which have previously depicted aspects of the Black Panther's past.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Black Panther TPB vol. 2

The title of #13 is a reference to a song on Led Zeppelin's 2nd album.

After leaving this book(and Marvel), Kirby went into animation but supposedly intended to return after one TV season. But,thanks to Marvel's later-in-1978 "work made for hire" contract, Kirby was told he couldn't work at Marvel because he refused to sign it. Other non-signers included Mike Ploog, Frank Brunner, Don McGregor, and Roger Slifer.

In FOOM#20, Kirby is quoted "Vibranium has a profound effect on whoever touches it."

He puts a similar sentiment into the mouth of Joshua Itobo in #12: "The unpredictable effect of Vibranium exposure on the body is a serious matter."