#JackedKirby - Flashback To The T’Challa’s Trial by Combat!!! This awesome splash comes from Black Panther #Issue8 which was published in a March of 1978. This double page spread is the kind of thing I often point to when people say Jack “lost a step” in his later years in the comic industry. If he did I certainly don’t see it here!!! This page is at the front of the issue and transports is back to T’Challa’s original Trial By Combat to become the Black Panther. But there is a sneaky twist in the next two pages. Even though this was T’Challa’s final test before becoming the Black Panther... that isn’t him in the costume. It is actually the person who WAS the Black Panther when T’Challa challenges him... and that is T’Challa bare chested with that purple gimp mask on in the lower right corner of the page!!! After roughing up the current occupant of the suit, T’Challa removes his mask and is given the title of Black Panther, Protector of Wakanda by his fellow tribesman. The story then flashes forward to current time with Panther on a mission, explaining that he was “reminiscing” about the day he became the Panther. A great device to squeeze a flashback to his origin by Jack! #JackKirby #KingKirby #Kirby #BlackPanther #TChalla #KirbySplashPage #SplashPage #Comic #Comics #ComicBook #ComicBooks #70sComics #ComicsOfThe70s #TrialByCombat #BringOutTheGimp
