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Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics

ISSN: 2150-4857 (Print) 2150-4865 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcom20

Black Panther and black agency: constructing cultural nationalism in comic books featuring Black Panther, 1973–1979

William Schulte & Nathaniel Frederick

To cite this article: William Schulte & Nathaniel Frederick (2019): Black Panther and black agency: constructing cultural nationalism in comic books featuring Black Panther, 1973–1979, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2019.1569081

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2019.1569081

Published online: 27 Jan 2019.

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ARTICLE

Black Panther and black agency: constructing cultural nationalism in comic books featuring Black Panther, 1973–1979 William Schulte and Nathaniel Frederick

Department of Mass Communication, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, USA

ABSTRACT This study looks at ways cultural nationalism manifests in comic books featuring the character Black Panther between 1972 and 1978. As politics and agency became goals for the African- American collective, agency and strength were presented as an actualised reality in the character, Black Panther. This essay explores the ways creators of the Black Panther comic books interpreted and navigated the dynamics of the Black Power Movement. The primary method for this essay is textual analysis to examine narratives and visuals within the context of the genre. Overall, this study finds the medium is able to take several abstract feelings and notions and give them voice. However, in doing so they ended up reinforcing stereotypes associated with African- Americans and the Black Power Movement. The book’s creators facilitate an interpretation of the black aesthetic and cultural nationalism to acknowledge their positive influence but rely on stereotypes to achieve those goals.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 27 February 2017 Accepted 4 January 2019

KEYWORDS Nationalism; panther; aesthetic; stereotypes; comics; colonisation; constructionism

Introduction

In 1966, a man clad as a jungle cat bested in combat Marvel Comic’s first family, the Fantastic Four. This would prove to be a big moment in comic history. The mystery man displays phenomenal athleticism, martial skill, and scientific genius. This is not unusual for a character introduced to challenge superheroes in the hyper-dramatic world of 1960s comic books, but the context was unique. This was the first appearance of Black Panther, the ruler of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a hidden utopia never colonisation or exploited for either natural or human resources (Fraser 2010).

This was at the same time as the production of so-called Blaxploitation films of the 1960s and 1970s, with many of the works exploring a new visual frame that sought to counter the history of African-American oppression in the United States by displaying blacks as powerful, self-determinant, and heroic rather than victims. A dominant white aesthetic permeated visual culture up to that point (Ongiri 2010). The Black Panther comics follow this visual switch to black power in some key ways, but break with it in others. This essay explores ways the white creators of Black Panther interpret and navigate the dynamics of the Black Power Movement. Likewise, the research navigates the themes

CONTACT William Schulte [email protected] Department of Mass Communication, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, USA

JOURNAL OF GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMICS https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2019.1569081

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

and stories featuring Black Panther to reveal if an attempt to legitimise or deter the black aesthetic, cultural nationalism, social process, or racial stereotypes is at work.

It was during this era that events associated with the Civil Rights Movement changed the public understanding of oppressive social fields. These fields lasted well beyond the Civil Rights Movement and gave rise to the Black Power Movement and the concept of cultural nationalism. Cultural nationalism manifested as a desire to reconnect with Africa and create agency and a culture separate from Western norms.

Cultural nationalism, or the claiming of African identities by African-Americans, was the most visible manifestation of this phenomenon. This involved the acquisition of significant lifestyle changes – the use of African names, the celebration of African-based holidays, and the wearing of African-inspired dress. (Rhodes 2007, 93)

As a media artefact with, according to Marvel editor Steve Gerber ([1973] 2012), the express intent of taking part in the movement to reconnect African-Americans to cultural blackness, Black Panther is uniquely suited for a review examining the themes of how this was attempted. Further, as the first black superhero, Black Panther represents a significant event in a popular genre of mass communication. This essay, using early editions of the comic book as both visual and textual artefacts, examines Black Panther for themes connected to the well-established ideas of cultural nationalism. The concept of cultural nationalism has been used to look at a wide variety of topics and cultural platforms, including theatre (Mason and Gainer 2001); the Jewish fight for a cultural presence (Aberbach 2008), and Japanese struggles to maintain their cultural roots (Starrs 2004). The purpose of this qualitative essay using textual analysis is to add to the dialogue of cultural national studies, which examines artefacts from the standpoint of critiquing or upholding national cultural norms as a shared experience (Beiner 1999).

Black Panther and cultural trends

Black Panther, whose given name is T’Challa, is widely considered the first black superhero, but prior the success of the ‘Black Panther’ feature film (which has made over $1 billion worldwide and set several box office records) was not often counted among Marvel’s superhero pantheon by the general public, although comic book fans knew him well. The character was created by white comic creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, but didn’t star in his own title until 1973 (Thomas 2011). Black Panther was introduced as an exotic supporting character and a storytelling vehicle for the Fantastic Four in 1966. This was the same year Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther party in Oakland, California (Hamilton 1997). According to Cronin (2008), Lee and Kirby always insisted the name Black Panther was a coincidence and the character does predate the formation of the Black Panther party by several months. However, the character does not precede the Lowndes County Freedom Organization founded in Alabama under Stokely Carmichael in 1964. This group used a panther logo and inspired the Black Panther name for Newton and Seales’ organisation .

Black Panther is one of three era-defining black heroes that first appeared in Marvel between 1966 and 1972. The Falcon followed in 1969 in the pages of Captain America, the first African-American superhero. Luke Cage, Power Man, debuted in Hero for Hire in 1972 as the first African-American superhero with his own series.

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Eventually the stories being told in the comics brought Black Panther to the United States. This often found him in an urban environment, interacting with people of colour like himself, but with an American history. He joined Marvel’s premier team, The Avengers, in 1968. The Avengers featured heroes like Captain America, Ironman, and Thor. The timing is notable; he was added to the roster a month after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (May, 1968) and his speech ‘I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.’ Black Panther enjoyed a long run as a member of ‘Earths Mightiest Heroes’ gaining popularity and exposure.

In 1973 Black Panther received his own title. Jungle Action #6 was the first issue of a story line called Panther’s Rage. In the same year, 1973, Tom Bradley became the first black mayor of Los Angeles, and Maynard Jackson became the first black mayor of a major southern city, Atlanta (Hamilton 1997). These milestones are significant but to further position Black Panther in history understanding the Black Power Movement of the 1960s and 1970s is vital. Many advocates supported the movement as a political and social initiative evoking racial pride, self-sufficiency, and equality for people of African descent. Stokely Carmichael, leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader, is credited with first using the term ‘Black Power’ in 1966. Carmichael represented a cohort of activists who participated in Civil Rights and the Black Power Movements. In the mid- 1960s, many activists no longer saw nonviolent protests as a viable means of combatting racism. The Black Panther Party, the Black Women’s United Front, and the Nation of Islam developed new cultural, political, and economic programmes and grew memberships that reflected this shift (Hamilton 1997).

Many found desegregation insufficient and supported the deconstruction of white power structures so space could be made for black political voices. Because of these beliefs, the movement was often represented as violent, anti-white, and anti-law enforcement. The comic book industry was segregation dominated in its own way as well and featured mostly white creators and characters, but change was underway.

Prior to Jungle Action #6 the book was a reprint series of older comic books. Many of the stories characterised blacks in unflattering stereotypes. These older stories were indicative of an entertainment style of an earlier era (see Figure 1). Don McGregor, a proofreader at Marvel, was assigned as writer for the book’s new direction. According to McGregor:

I was appalled that Marvel was printing these blond jungle gods and goddesses saving the natives stories, and I mentioned that. I said if they were going to do a jungle strip, they should have a black character as the hero. I wasn’t saying it to get a series to write; I only said it because I had to read this stuff. And I wasn’t particularly thinking about the Black Panther. I hadn’t given it any thought more than I hated them reprinting a lot of those terribly insulting, often racist, stories. (Marvel.com, 2014, 3)

In terms of Black Power, the black film boom of the 1960s and 1970s built an African- American audience whose consumption and subjectivity mattered a great deal in terms of economic force (Ongiri, 2009). The Black Panther Party created symbols that influenced the African-American aesthetic and the Black is Beautiful movement emerged as a counter- weight to the white prism that black people’s natural features were somehow inferior (Hamilton 1997). This dynamic extended to other areas of African-American culture as well. According to Taylor (2013):

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One of the main illustrations of the Black is Beautiful movement was the Don Cornelius’ 1969 creation of Soul Train. With a full African American cast of dancers and advertisers targeting the Black is Beautiful movement, Soul Train was the first and largest outreach to the black community that glamorized the physical diversities of Black America. (2)

Comic books had the potential to work synergistically among these media. They had a profound reach as evidenced by their circulation during the 1960s and 1970s. For example according to the Ayer Directory of Publications (1973), the first year of Black Panther’s solo series, the Marvel Comics Group (24 titles that included Jungle Action) had a circulation of 6,479,463. Looking at black interest magazines at the time, Black World’s circulation was 50,000, Jet’s circulation was 564,638 and Ebony’s circulation was 1,221,915. This was only

Figure 1. Black Panther (lower right) replaces white jungle heroes (upper left) in Jungle Action as comic creators explore the African-American aesthetic. This dynamic worked in opposition to the cynicism some black artists, such as Richard Pryor (lower left), showed for positive black images and a secular audience. Source: The Marvel Database and richardpryor.com.

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1 year of circulation and Jungle Action was included among many other Marvel Comics. There is no circulation data specific to Jungle Action, as the series didn’t last long enough. In that era, Marvel only filed second-class mail data (used by Ayer) in the fourth or fifth year of a publication.

Although creators like McGregor appeared to take seriously the need for positive African-American images, others like comedian Richard Pryor lampooned such ideas. For example, his character Clark Washington, ‘a mild mannered custodian for The Daily Planet who was able to transform into “Super Nigger,”’ typified the cynicism many African- Americans had for positive black images in popular media in a post-segregation culture (Ongiri, 2009, 22). At the same time Pryor was lampooning the idea of a black superhero for a secular audience.

The Black Power Movement is often framed in terms of music, fashion, and a general distrust of authority (Ongiri 2010). The Black Arts Movement, for instance, developed in parallel with the Black Power Movement as artists and writers incorporated Afrocentric themes into their work. Steve Gerber, one of Marvel’s principle creators in the 1970s and the editor of Jungle Action, wrote in Jungle Action #7 ([1973] 2012) (Black Panther’s second solo issue) on behalf of Marvel’s staff about some of the goals and themes that motivated the book, including creating a different image of the role of Africans in Africa:

T’Challa, king of the Wakandan nation, heir to its land, son of its mythos and its past, guardian of its future. Perhaps the first jungle hero who is not a foreign import. And that is one precedent, which badly needed shattering. T’Challa. Regal, sophisticated, even urbane yet part of the world that birthed him, the diametrical opposite of the pulp-magazine white-man-or woman-gone-wild-syndrome. T’Challa and his people are black men who have abandoned their roles as spear-carriers and safari boys to take up the tools of technology and use them to preserve and protect, rather than exploit, the continent of Africa. (Gerber[1973] 2012, 16)

Gerber alluded to the use of comics as a social medium to address inequities, and many researchers find remarkable potential for social change in similar mediums across a wide range of social, political, and human facets.

Substantive discoveries and positioning for a study of Black Panther

Comic strips and comic books long have been viewed as a manifestation of popular culture and are studied widely for a variety of expressive themes. Saenger (1955) performed a content analysis on American newspaper comic strips for themes asso- ciated with male and female relations. And McAllister (1990) sought to place the comic book industry within an overall framework of cultural influence and argument; suggest- ing the books are both a reflection of culture and a means of attempting to alter it through the power of narrative and image.

Hoyer (2009) explored how comics influence culture using the Scottish comic strip ‘Oor Wullie.’ Hoyer found that the nostalgic representation of the Scots language reinforces the group identity of the nation by reminding readers of their cultural good and distancing that culture from an English linguistic tradition, which was gaining ground. Gerde and Foster (2008) looked at how comic books can be used as an educational tool as the books serve as an intermediary between formal study and sheer entertainment. ‘Students can address emotionally charged topics such as discrimination in the workplace in a unique

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environment, removed from them. The comic world provides alternative universes in which alternative consequences can be explored’ (247).

While comics are studied as agents of social change, or at least to have that potential, other scholars take more critical approaches. According to Nicholson (2008), comics can create pervasive racial stereotypes that resonate over decades. Nicholson connected the early strips featuring Dick Tracy in the 1930s to a ‘perverse nostalgia’ for undisciplined law enforcement premised on racialised violence. The strip caught the public’s imagination through its early adoption of mobile communication, capitalising on a fascination with new, wireless technology. Blateire (2010) observed how Marvel Comic superhero names invariably were descriptive, serving as a labels – or charactonyms – for a set of powers. The name Black Panther describes not only a description of feline powers but also a less-than subtle nod to race, origin, and an awareness of culture. The dynamics of place, history, and message is addressed in social constructionist thought. This theory allows for the creation of a model to review visual and written material on a profound level.

Social construction theory and a cultural nationalistic dynamic

In terms of framing an artistic, cultural-nationalist dynamic, social constructionist theory has some utility. Media, comic books among them, form mental pictures for an audience and those images tend to become naturalised as objective reality. This informs the ways individuals interact over time. The behaviours are perpetuated until the construction is the norm (Berger and Luckman 1966). This provides a symbolic reality for the social world. In this case, the symbolic reality exists in the enhanced-fictional comic world. Regardless, the alteration of the social world could lead to an altered reality.

According to Jorgensen and Phillips (2002), knowledge is not objective truth. It is a product of categorising the word into products of discourse. Worldviews and identities can change over time. This privileges the view that knowledge is not reality but is contingent on malleable social discourse. Discourse as a form of social action plays a part in producing the social world. There are links between knowledge and collective process, thus there are links between knowledge and action (Burr 1995; Gergen 1985). In terms of social constructionist thought, the social world is paramount to the value individuals place within themselves and how investment in the social world is returned. This understanding of place influences the marketplace of ideas (Lin 2005).

The exploration of social constructionist theory, and the literature involving comic books and culture above informed the following research questions. These questions guided this analysis of Black Panther as a cultural nationalistic dynamic.

RQ1: Did the comics featuring Black Panther reveal an attempt to legitimise the black aesthetic and cultural nationalism from 1972 to 1979?

RQ2: Did themes emerge that showed links between African history and social process in the text or subtext of the stories?

RQ3: Did themes emerge that illustrate racial stereotypes in the platform that enforce or deter the cultural nationalistic movement or Black Power?

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Approach to textual analysis examining Black Panther

This essay reviews the comic books Jungle Acton #6–24, originally published from September 1973 to November 1976 and Black Panther #1–10; originally published from January 1977 to July 1978. These books were chosen because they featured Black Panther as the main character and corresponded with the height of the Black Power Movement. The primary method of review is textual analysis. Carley (1993) suggests textual analysis is a broad term used to cover methods that examine text within the context in which it occurs. The procedure involves studying the text for various themes and relationships.

The review analyses both the visual and written narrative and categorises the work into themes consistent with cultural nationalism and the Black Power Movement. The themes used in this study to examine material are drawn from those categorised by Rhodes (2007) and included: cultural tradition, which is a desire to reconnect with Africa, colonisation, in terms of the exploitation of African people and resources, Western influences on black history due to slavery and oppression, resistance to Western ideology to create agency and a culture separate from Western norms, and style, which Taylor (2011) and Ongiri (2010) asserted glamorised the physical diversities of black America.

Each page of the source material is reviewed for key words and central images suggestive of the themes under study. Those words include, power, authority, peace, violence, pride, and honour. The analysis also includes looking at the context beyond word use and inferring meaning that is overtly or subtly consistent with cultural nationalism, black power or the back aesthetic. Given the medium, this context extends to visual representa- tion of these dynamics as well. As these instances were observed they were recorded, categorised and then analysed . Comics are both a visual and written narrative so the illustrations are used to determine context and meaning. In the end, 450 pages of the comic books Jungle Action and Black Panther are examined. As themes were discovered in the material, they were marked and categorised . They were then analysed for further meaning. It is notable that the books examined are reprints of Jungle Action #6–22 and #24 and Black Panther #1–10 in the form of Marvel Comic’s Essential Black Panther Vol. 1 trade paper- back. This volume includes 27 issues. Jungle Action #23 is not included in this review because it reprints Daredevil #69; a team-up adventure from 1969.

Despite the textual analysis and the genre including some of the expected themes, there were several areas of social, historic, and cultural manifestation that were found to be exceptional in the pages of the texts.

A socially safe and enhanced reality

Overall, this essay finds the creators working on Black Panther sought to engage the Black Power Movement by including the cursory elements of the crusade in a socially safe and enhanced reality. The comic books, using the character as a vehicle, appear to define new parameters for the way cultural nationalism was engaged for a general audience. The creators avoided some of the nuances of Black Power, such as those that endorsed revolution, socialism, or other systemic changes, but privileged those consistent with the tenants of the Civil Rights Movement like nonviolence, fellowship, and equality. The elements of cultural nationalism most favoured by the creators were those showing a strong African aesthetic,

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defiance, and recognition of an exploited and colonised Africa. The representation of Black Panther and the supporting characters tended to be positive, especially when involving those of colour subjected to social injustice. Examples from the text depicted older Africans and African-Americans, although the majority of the characters were adult men and women of colour. For this essay, the action and adventure indicative of a superhero comic book is explored only as an aid to the context and placement of cultural nationalistic themes.

The black aesthetic and cultural nationalism

In regards to RQ1, this review finds several themes that support a strong black aesthetic separate from that which dominated the visual landscape of the past, but few that show a profundity of cultural nationalism, though many elements of the movement appear. Black Panther was an established character by the time Marvel made him the headliner in Jungle Action. They established he was the king of his own country, and although this connection was a vehicle for a few stories when he became an Avenger, the primary motivation of the character was to understand the outside world so his country could integrate (Wheeler, 2014). Integration itself is contrary to a cultural nationalistic view but the friction created by tradition and outside influence drove several of the stories reviewed for this work. For example in Jungle Action #6, Black Panther returned to Wakanda with an African- American girlfriend as isolationists plotted a coup. Monica Lynne, Black Panther’s girlfriend, was distained by his advisors and considered a corrupting influence on the king. Her understanding of customs and fresh American vernacular was played against the xenophobic Wakandan people. When a murder occurred in Jungle Action #9, Monica was the only suspect. W’Kabi, Black Panther’s security chief, said:

You have allowed this outsider to desecrate sacred rites … it is only last night you finished the sacrosanct panther ceremony! You have allowed her presence in tribunal matters, yet time an again you defend her. (McGregor, Buckler, and Janson [1974] 2012, 9)

In the context of cultural nationalism, the symbolic (and often literal) return to Africa inspired fashion and an aesthetic, separate from the West, to inspire art and culture. Monica joined Black Panther in Africa so she could learn more about herself by experiencing different lifestyles (McGregor and Buckler[1973] 2012a, 6). A return to African roots as explored by Rhodes (2007) is indicative of cultural nationalism at the time of the stories; however, the cultural disparity explored by the book’s creators is divisive. Wakanda is not welcoming to Monica as a motherland and being American made her so culturally removed from the Wakandan people, she is unacceptable. This diverges from the historic narrative of cultural nationalism as the creators show reconnection to Africa as illogical. The inability of white America to understand how cultural nationalism fulfils a social need was typical at the time (Ongiri 2010).

The creators did attempt to make Monica symbolic of the evolving identity of African- Americans in the United States. As African-placed as this story was, she keeps Black Panther tethered to the growth he experienced abroad. Monica is portrayed as unapologetic and assertive, giving counsel and compassionate guidance to Black Panther. Black Panther, himself, is often questioned about his commitment to the Wakandan ideal, as though his association with outsiders calls into question his legitimacy. This is a similar dynamic to the rejection of white notions of appropriate behaviour indicative of the Black Power Movement.

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This liberatory culture involved developing pride in black history and affirming a dis- tinctive black culture rooted in identification with Africa as a homeland. Stokely Carmichael maintained that black Americans must reclaim their identity from what must be called cultural terrorism, from the depredation of self-justifying white guilt. (Rhodes 2007, 92–93)

Regarding the black aesthetic, Black Panther’s moral compass is depicted as steadfast, commanding, and respectful. There is a composed and almost Zen-like undertone to the character. Unlike his contemporaries who also embodied the black aesthetic in entertain- ment, like John Shaft, Black Panther is often depicted as slow to anger (even righteous anger). When moved to violence, it is a reaction prompted by an aggressor or in defence of himself or others. Even so, creators depicted him in a wild world. In fact Black Panther fights different animals 11 times in the material reviewed for this study (see Figure 2).

The Black Panther costume covers his whole body, including his entire face.The costume is a sacred vestment that goes with his station as king and spiritual leader of his people, but it is also a bodysuit unmistakably ‘superhero.’ The covering of his face could be interpreted as a desire to obscure his colour and make him more appealing to a general audience. Stan Lee, the co-creator of Black Panther was also the creator of Spider-Man, a character who also wears a full-face mask. Lee said one of the unintentional results of the Spider-Man outfit was that young people, regardless of race,couldimagine themselves as Spider-Man(Lee 2002).Perhaps that was a part of the dynamic with Black Panther as well. However, in the material reviewed, Black Panther is often without his mask and his costume is often shredded in combat, as though creators wanted no such confusion about the race of the person beneath the costume.

Figure 2. Black Panther fights a rhinoceros to the ground showing his spiritual connection to Africa and the visceral strength of his station. Over the series he also fights apes, snakes, dinosaurs, wolves, and crocodiles. Source: Jungle Action #9.

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There is a theme in the source material consistent with conquering that which is primal, both internally and externally. When anger surfaces there is often counsel for temperance, either from Black Panther’s advisors or from Black Panther, himself.

As a force working contrary to strong representations of an African-American aesthetic there are few more polarising than the Klu KluxKlan.The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s saw a surge of Klan activity across the South, including bombings, beatings, and shootings of both black and white activists. These actions outraged the nation and helped win support for the Civil Rights Movement. During the late 1970s, the Klan was starting to grow again to match its incarnation during the Civil Rights Movement. Between 1975 and 1979, Klan membership jumped from 6500 to 10,000 with an estimated 75,000 active sympathisers (The Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011, 35). McGregor directly pitted Black Panther against several iterations of the Klan in Jungle Action #19–22. In this storyline, Monica’s sister is killed resulting in Black Panther probing the cause in their Southern hometown. As they investigate, white robed and hooded men attack them. The plot itself follows a crooked real-estate development deal, but the drama of the story comes from the Klan placing Black Panther on a burning cross. This allows creators to explore the dichotomy between the black aesthetic and violent oppression. As Black Panther burns he smashes his feet into the support post and breaks free. He then attacks the Klan while still burning and tied to the cross. The symbolism of a strong black aesthetic over nefarious racism is overt (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Black Panther defies his own crucifixion and breaks free of a burning cross. The Klan scrambles away, terrified of the man’s physical prowess. Source: Jungle Action #20.

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This incarnation of the Klan created a vehicle to combat racist rhetoric and allowed McGregor entry into a deeper exploration of Southern oppression.

History and social process

The concepts of exploitation are explored in several ways in the text. As established, Wakanda as a country is a fantasy, never colonised or exploited for resources, human or otherwise. This was a different reality than that much of the African content. Slavery was practised in diverse ways in different parts of Africa prior to European trade, however historians ascertain from shipping records, between 9 and 11 million people were taken out of Africa by European slave traders in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (PortCities Bristol, n.d.). Exploitation continued beyond slavery, between 1878 and 1898, European states had partitioned off most of Africa. The motive for this was materials for European factories, Europe in the early part of the nineteenth century was undergoing its Industrial Revolution. These factors culminated in the scramble for Africa (Magdoff 2000). This continued after the First World War, as allied nations divided the continent for lumber, diamonds, and other precious stones.

In regards to RQ2, this study finds themes that show links between African history and social process in two colonisation dynamics in the text. Each story approached the subject in subtle ways. Cultural nationalism is frequently seen as a return to ancestries and a restart of an interrupted history. ‘Although some scholars have found cultural nationalism to have few teeth against the prevailing order, the Black Power Movement was a foundation of cultural identity for many African Americans’ (Rhodes 2007, 94). As Africa is considered a preferred culture and tradition, the Wakandan fantasy takes that idea of cultural dislocation to the next level. Threats to Wakanda are threats to an Afrocentric doctrine. Moreover, the creators working on Black Panther explore those dynamics as an alternate but parallel history. For them Africa is exotic and filled with hidden lands, creatures, and even cultures.

The Panther’s Rage story closely relates to the theme of exploitation of African people and resources, and resistance to western ideology. Erik Killmonger, the primary villain in the Panther’s Rage story, is a Western educated Wakandan, intent on usurping Black Panther’s throne. His backstory includes white outsiders, intent on stealing vibranium (a sound- absorbing alloy found only in Wakanda), killing Killmonger’s parents, he is even enslaved to mine the ore. Vibranium is a resource resembling other resources for which Africa was plundered. As Killmonger sees the outside world as corrupt and Black Panther’s comfort with change, he invests himself in the heroes’ destruction. Vibranium transitions from being an internal natural resource to a commodity and weapon.

Black Panther pursues Killmonger to a secret land shrouded in mists. In this land dinosaurs and other primitive creatures reside. Killmonger uses the beasts as weapons in his war against Black Panther. The coup pits the hyper-modernization of Wakanda against the hyper-primitive forces of the mists with Killmonger literally attacking the capital with dinosaurs (see Figure 4). This was not a realistic representation Africa, but a stereotype based on loose impressions of mystery and African mystique. It serves as an exploration of cultural nationalism as it is an expression of bucolic Africa at odds with Western-style modernization. A desire to reject Western aesthetics is a key cultural nationalistic theme.

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The mysterious continent filled with the unexpected is a theme that found its way into other stories as well. As Wakanda itself fits into that mystique, the creators often return to what else could be hiding in Africa. Jungle Action, as a title, resolved in 1976 with issue #24. Black Panther received a self-titled series in 1977, written and drawn by his co-creator from a decade before, Jack Kirby. Kirby’s style was somewhat different but he also manifests themes of mystery and colonisation as McGregor did before him.

Black Panther, blackmailed into seeking an artefact called the Sacred Water Skin (a kind of holy grail that could grant eternal youth), journeys to unknown parts of Africa and discovers a hidden samurai culture. The samurai displaced the original inhabitants to guard the artefact centuries before. Colonisation and coup again are central subjects. In this story Black Panther’s half-brother, Jakarra, seizes control of the throne in Black Panther’s absence (Black Panther #1–7, 1977).

Jakarra was small in stature and dresses in a Western military uniform. This is visually different than the tribal-influence on clothing established throughout the text (see Figure 5). Jakarra was educated in foreign military schools, and this similarity to Killmonger’s Western education, reinforced the theme of a corrupt influence in the form Western ideology.

Figure 4. The forces of Erik Killmonger attack the Wakandan capital. The coup pits hyper-modern forces against primitive power with Killmonger attacking the capital with dinosaurs. Black Panther fights among the chaos. Source: Jungle Action #17.

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Returning to The Black Panther vs. the Klan storyline, Jungle Action #22 (1976) explores the notion of interrupted history as Monica’s mother tells the story of Caleb, one of her ancestors, a former slave freed by the Civil War, but with nowhere to go. This story examines Western influences on black history due to slavery and oppression. Black Panther said, ‘Ancestry and history vanish because the new generations seldom consider it important to hear the lives and events of those who shaped them. And if those personal histories die untold … they are lost to us forever’ (McGregor, 1976, 4).

Caleb, with no education and few means to take care of his family, struggles with oppressive former slaveholders embittered by the loss of the war. This story explores the founding of the Klan as a political movement and its use of terror to create submissive behaviour. The story ends with Caleb being lynched in front of his family; however, in Monica’s mind the account forms as though Black Panther were in the story as a protector (see Figure 6). In her version Black Panther did not allow corruption to seed itself in post- Civil War political powers and he keeps Caleb safe from a demonically powerful Klan. After the story she says, ‘I was conjuring my own mythology. How about that? Didn’t you notice? Everything’s so much simpler in fantasy, people can be such clear-symbols, know what I mean’ (McGregor, 1976, 17)? To which Black Panther responds, ‘I feel as if I have started in the middle of this conversation’ (McGregor, 1976, 17). Symbols of thwarting oppression

Figure 5. Colonisation and coup are themes in Black Panther’s Wakanda. Black Panther’s half- brother, Jakarra, seizes control of the throne in the king’s absence. Jakarra is small in stature and dresses in a military uniform. He is educated in foreign military schools. Western education furthers the theme of a corrupt influence in the form of Western influence. Source: Black Panther #6.

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and coming to terms with an ugly history are common themes in cultural nationalism. Remembering the past and glorifying African culture in art, literature, and rhetoric allow for history to be an ugly chapter rather than the end of a story.

Dispelling and reinforcing stereotypes

Western influence aside, Black Panther is steeped in political intrigue and African tradition, in terms of the story, this is explored as a culture that grew alongside a self-enfranchised modernization, created in conjunction with the Wakandan people.

Figure 6. As Monica’s mother recounts the lynching of an ancestor; Monica imagines the story with Black Panther as the protagonist rewriting a history filled with persecution. Source: Jungle Action #22.

14 W. SCHULTE AND N. FREDERICK

This created an imaginary African power and autonomy, but it also allowed the creators to evoke parameters by which that power and autonomy could be considered bene- volent. In regard to RQ3, themes do indeed emerge that illustrate racial stereotypes that enforce and deter the cultural nationalistic movement or Black Power. The most overt stereotype is anger. Among the action, there is a cautionary rhetoric promoting non- violence and peace. In reference to Erik Killmonger, Black Panther said, ‘I cannot guess how he has become so powerful in so few years – but he will pay for the suffering he has caused.’ To this his advisor Zatama says, ‘Violence!! That’s always your only answer T’Challa’ (McGregor and Buckler[1973] 2012b, 6). (See Figure 7)

Violence does invariably find the characters, that is the genre, but notions of peace resound: ‘I remember widows weeping … I remember the cries of a village slain by your leader. I will kill you for those memories!’ this from Black Panther’s security chief, W’Kabi, as he is tempted to kill Killmonger’s lieutenant, Venomm (sic). To which Black Panther said, ‘I know your Rage W’Kabi. You would not believe how similar to my own yours is. But this death will leave you with a memory as damning as the ones you mention. This is not the way …’ (McGregor and Buckler[1973] 2012a, 15). The notion of killing memories, rage, and frustration draws parallels with cultural nationalism, speci- fically framed as Black Rage Dispositionalism (Taylor 2011, 59).

Figure 7. W’Kabi’s anger is directed at Venomm (sic), the only white character in the Panther’s Rage story. Black Panther calms W’Kabi opting for restraint as forces conspire to take away innocence along with their culture. Source: Jungle Action #8.

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Anger was often the interpretation of this dynamic as was rage over slavery and unsavoury Western interpretations of race and station. Black Panther explores rage and anger as well but it is a limited exploration as Black Rage Dispositionalism is an articulation of disappointment in African-American leadership, callous society, poor opportunity, and government indifference (Taylor 2011, 60). Rather this expression is stereotypical of the angry black man associated with the Black Power Movement. ‘In the Black Power era, the black Christian integrationists purged white liberal allies from their organizations and valorized Africa and the rest of the non-European world’ (Taylor 2011, 86). This text privileges Afrocentric themes of the Black Power Movement but also embraces white liberal allies as seen in Black Panther vs. The Klan (see Figure 8).

Many stereotypes make their way into the text, often as a way to address them. The primitive cultures, coups, colonisation, and a mysterious and wild Africa covered in this section are all stereotypes seeded in the text as vehicles for storytelling.

Discussion

The findings of this study suggest a significant interaction between cultural nationalism and the way they manifest in the comic book Black Panther from 1972 to 1979. In this case, Black Panther as a character and media artefact is a natural manifestation of the world that was unfolding around the creators. He is also a superhero with all the action and heroic substance indicative of the time. The action is often over the top and the similarities to a modern Africa or African-American experience have an imprecise connection. But the books are a serious attempt to legitimise the black aesthetic and cultural nationalism in a platform that had up to that point neglected to do so.

Figure 8. In the Black Power era, many organisations purged white liberal allies from their organizations. Black Panther aligns himself with a white investigative reporter to fight the Klan. Source: Jungle Action #21

16 W. SCHULTE AND N. FREDERICK

In terms of social constructionism, Black Panther is the product of white creators responding to a cultural dynamic inclusive of African-American people. As cultural nationalism and Black Power became realities, Black Panther’s artists and writers began using them as structures for the characters and applying those structures to the text. It is an imperfect representation of the movement, but most art as an individual endea- vour is imperfect for framing social issues. The comic book as a medium is able to take several abstract feelings and notions and give them voice. However, in doing so they end up reinforcing stereotypes by presenting blacks as angry, savage, or poorly edu- cated. This representation of Africa and cultural nationalism supports Berger and Luchmann’s exploration of symbolic reality and the interpretation of events as mediated knowledge. What people perceive to be true is not objective reality, thus the work reinforces both positive and negative stereotypical mental pictures for an audience.

The placement of a positive black aesthetic for a general audience shows the creators were invested a social world inclusive of cultural nationalism and Black Power. Gerde and Foster describe the genre as an intermediary between consequences and the audience. As such, Black Panther provides an alternative universe in which consequences can be explored and, due to the medium, the exploration of black issues in this world is safe for white creators to explore.

As the study demonstrates, the Black Panther book exhibits value in the tenets of cultural nationalism and individuals of colour but in doing so reinforces both positive and negative stereotypes.

The difference between other media focused on cultural nationalism or the black aesthetic can be found primarily in terms of the Black Arts Movement. White industry mainstays created Black Panther and white creators wrote his solo adventures. This is not art and literature created by those of colour, for those of colour, to reflect the emerging black aesthetic, thus no true African identity is claimed, at least by Rhodes’ (2007) defini- tion. Rather, Black Panther is a white interpretation of that aesthetic. Although the work falls short in terms of production, its depictions are consistent with what Ongiri (2009) called a new visual tradition for African-Americans.

Conclusion

The authors argue this study found that cultural nationalism ranges beyond obvious media outlets into a secular and a historically white-dominated channel for entertainment, comic books. Comic books in the 1970s became a space where ideas of cultural progression were imagined as both ideal and positive. This study offers a measure of confirmation of those ideas. However, those ideas were often overshadowed by the prevalent stereotypes of the time. Overall, this study identifies several themes consistent with cultural nationalism within the text. These include, a celebration of the black aesthetic, a reimaging of inter- rupted history, condemnation of colonisation, exploitation of blacks, and superiority of black culture over Western ideology. The findings also suggest an imperfect interpretation of these themes as a result of white perceptions of the movement and the superhero genre itself. This is an important area of study. As culture is often explored through traditional media channels, exploring other channels of media offer researchers opportunities to explore dynamics through new lenses.

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This study is limited in several of areas. The comic books reviewed represent only a small sample of many comic books being published at the time by many publishers. Positive or negative representations of cultural nationalism or the Black Power Movement could be widely different in other works. An examination broader in its sample could have different findings. Further, no attempt was made to contact creators directly involved with the creation of these works, rather secondary sources and the source materials are used to ascertain the way these works were intended. Further research is anticipated that would seek to explore how creators intended their efforts to coincide with cultural nationalism and if this was indicative of the industry as a whole. In addition, there was no attempt to collect demographics of readers.

Overall, this work informs the broader understanding of cultural nationalism in the 1970s. Using comic book depictions of Black Panther in the emerging cultural landscape of the time gives a better understanding of the ways African-Americans were being inter- preted by American popular culture.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

William Schulte is an associate professor of mass communication at Winthrop University. His fields of study include social constructionism in news products and entertainment, the paradigm shift between print and digital platforms, and the culture of news workers. He is the author of the book “Social Construction and News Work”.

Nathaniel Frederick II is an associate professor of mass communication and the director of African American studies at Winthrop University. His fields of study include African American magazine history, representations of masculinity in television and film, cultural and historical analysis, the American Civil Rights Movement, Cultural and the historical analysis of African American sacred music.

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