Martha Thomases: Black Panther Is Back And…

Martha Thomases

Martha Thomases brought more comics to the attention of more people than anyone else in the industry. Her work promoting The Death of Superman made an entire nation share in the tragedy of one of our most iconic American heroes. As a freelance journalist, she has been published in the Village Voice, High Times, Spy, the National Lampoon, Metropolitan Home, and more. For Marvel comics she created the series Dakota North. Martha worked as a researcher and assistant for the author Norman Mailer on several of his books, including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Executioner's Song, On Women and Their Elegance, Ancient Evenings, and Harlot's Ghost.

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2 Responses

  1. George Haberberger says:

    I bought and read the new Black Panther book last week and… meh. I doesn’t really speak to me but then I am a 64-year-old white guy in the middle of America so maybe it is not supposed to. But the tribulations of a king of a technologically advanced African nation doesn’t sound like it would have much in common with urban youth either. Yes I know the larger issues of humanity transcend settings and race and I have enjoyed Batman even though I am not a vigilante because a street criminal killed my parents.

    Batman v Superman has been criticized for including some plot elements that people who don’t read the comics may be unfamiliar with like the para-demons and Darkseid’s Omega symbol. Someone said you shouldn’t have to read 30 years of comics to enjoy a movie. The link to Black Panther’s history seems to be a similar issue.

    I read and have all the Don McGregor issues of Jungle Action and Black Panther from the 70s, (I even have a piece of original art by Billy Graham), so your clerk at Forbidden Planet is a bit presumptuous. And Bob Ingersoll is right, MacGregor’s run was, and for me remains, the best interpretation of the character.

  2. George Haberberger says:

    By the way, I was in Forbidden Planet on Saturday. My wife and I go to Broadway shows for vacation once a year and I usually make it down to Forbidden Planet, the Strand Bookstore and The Mysterious Bookshop in Tribecca. Anyway Black Panther came out on Wednesday, this was Saturday and there was note on the stack of Black Panther comics about “only one to a customer”. Since this was 4 days after it came out and there were quite a few still there, I think such a stipulation is unnecessary.