Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #5: Everybody Outta the ‘Pool!!

I’ve never been a huge fan of Deadpool. I know, I know, sorry. I just never warmed to his “Hey! It’s funny cause I’m funny!” schtick. So when I saw that he was guest-starring in this issue, I wasn’t thrilled. I was hoping that writer Jim Zub could change my mind. First off, I’m really liking this book so far. The revolving guest-star gimmick actually works in this case. For once. It’s not all A-list characters like Spidey, Cap, or Wolverine. Zub throws in some pretty obscure heroes (and villains) that are pretty fun to revisit and nice to see. This issue is pretty fun, even Deadpool isn’t as annoying as he usually is. It’s a pretty straight forward adventure where Deadpool falls ass-backward into joining the team for a mission. Zub delivers a solid story, some pretty funny lines, and some exceptional surprises.

Some sub-plots start in this issue that I can’t wait to see play out. The dynamic between Black Panther and Oyone is finally on the verge of changing and we’re unsure if it’s going to be better or worse at the end of the day. The one thing that I’m not loving about this book is that this team is the official back-up to the Avengers, yet besides Black Panther, there really aren’t any “major leaguers” on the team besides Black Panther himself. I really can’t see a group of people in a burning building saying “Thank God! Black Panther, the Wasp, and Roz Solomon are here!”. But, back to this issue specifically Zub churns out a very solid story with a great cliffhanger ending.

Artist Scot Eaton has been drawing awesome stuff in comics since the early ’90s. When I open a book and see his name in the credits I’ve relieved because he’s someone that I like and who’s both competent and knows his craft very well. This issue is no exception. He’s solid, everything looks exactly how it should, and hats off to both him and inker Sean Parsons for actually using an inker!! It’s such a refreshing change of pace.

A good, but not a great issue of the series.