The Kiber Clue

Book: Black Panther

Issue No.: 12

Published: August 15, 1978

Title: “The Kiber Clue”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Digital scan

Starting at the end, the last panel of this issue of Black Panther promises that the next issue will feature a new artist and a new writer. Which is kind of a big deal, because Black Panther has been written and drawn up to this point by Jack “King” Kirby. Kirby, one of the architects of the modern Marvel universe, left Marvel in the early 1970s to work for a while at DC Comics. Black Panther was one of the books he worked on after he returned to Marvel a few years later.

I looked ahead a bit (thanks, Fandom.com Marvel wiki!) and found that Kirby was leaving Marvel for a second time at this point. (Well, it was probably a few months earlier because these books were created a while before they were actually published, but you know what I mean.) Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur book has one more issue that came out in September 1978, after which it was canceled. And Kirby’s final issue of Machine Man came out in September ’78. After Kirby left, that book went on hiatus for several months. Interestingly, when Machine Man returned the following year, the artist on the book was Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko. Like Kirby, Ditko had a complicated relationship with Marvel.

So that’s the behind-the-scenes drama. As for the on-the-page drama, this issue is continuing the story about Kiber, this guy who is abducting people so he can feed them to a machine that converts them to pure energy. And then Kiber can use that energy to further his evil goals.

Even though Kirby delivers plenty of solid visuals, this story isn’t really grabbing me. Though I am curious to see how a different creative team picks it up and runs with it. This issue ends with Black Panther finding the real Kiber (the Kiber we’ve been shown thus far is apparently just an illusion/projection). Panther is apparently surprised by what the real Kiber looks like, but we don’t see him, we just get Panther’s reaction. And it looks like when we do see the real Kiber next issue, it won’t be Kirby’s Kiber.

I did learn that Black Panther has some E.S.P./telepathy super powers. At least at this point in his history. Is that still a thing? I guess I should read up on that at some point.

Next time — A fill-in issue! (Probably.)