A week of notable endings and beginnings instead begins with…a mid-arc issue of the least heralded series of a new line? Say, what? That’s why it’s my column, though, so let’s look at my buys, recommendations, and curiosities from the week of comics in the latest edition of The Pull.

Comic of the Week: Ultimate Black Panther #4

My expectation for Ultimate Black Panther was that it would be the least exciting of the first three Ultimate books, and not necessarily because of its quality but because the other two titles were such big swings in Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto’s Ultimate Spider-Man and Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men. And the situation has largely played out that way, as it feels like Ultimate Black Panther has been slept on compared to the rest, with it even taking up the fourth spot with anticipation growing for the upcoming Ultimates series. However, this is a very solid comic! It’s hard for something drawn by Stefano Caselli to not be solid, but even though it still is less spicy than the rest, this is a good book that’s doing interesting and different things with its cast while surprising readers. Bryan Edward Hill is delivering, Caselli is killing it, David Curiel’s colors are exceptional, and it’s managed to become something that’s even greater than the sum of its parts.

It hasn’t really felt too Ultimate yet, as it’s really just a regular-ish Black Panther book to date outside of some of the relationships being early on and T’Challa’s relationship with Okoye being…well, let’s say…decidedly different here. But I can work with that. It’s a rock solid book, and sometimes that’s all a series needs to be.