Who noticed that Marvel released the animated Black Panther TV series to iTunes a couple weeks ago?I only noticed when I glanced at a press release entry on Comic Book Resources. A week after announcement, I checked the iTunes store. Sure enough, there it was, waiting for me to push the "Buy it" button and let the good times roll.
But wait a minute...
Is this my imagination? Is this the same project introduced at the San Diego Comic-Con that stoked fan excitement some years ago?
If I used catchphrases like 'highly-anticipated' in this post about Panther, I would be stretching he truth. This series has been a long time coming and, sadly, some the air has gone out of my balloon.
To be fair, it's not because of the show itself. My ennui is due to all the creative wrestling this project has gone through. Also, the strange scheduling: The ever-shifting date of debut; A partial release on Australian cable television; And now, Months later, U.S. audiences can get the show... on digital download?
Yeah, my interest is a little exhausted.
The animated series was created from the first six issues of the relaunched Black Panther
comic series written by Reginald Hudlin and illustrated by John Romita
Jr. Actual comic art was transmuted into moving images and actors
Djimon Hounsou, Kerry Washington and Alfre Woodard had been tapped to
voice key characters. We were told that Marvel Studios would partner
with Black Entertainment Television (BET) to produce.
All this played out during a few annual gatherings at the Comic-Con during the increasingly popular "Black Panel." Creators shared series progress details with excited audiences for NEARLY THREE YEARS.
That's a lot of time to stay hyped for an animated show.
As I sat in the audience of EACH of these panels and listened to Hudlin and others discuss their plans, I may have got the wrong impression. I assumed the idea was to take a well-animated motion comic and air it on BET.
Perhaps all of that will happen at some later unannounced date. Until then, domestic viewers who want to catch this somewhere other than YouTube (or other video sites) can go to iTunes. the Black Panther animated series is available for download at about $2.99 per ten minute weekly episode.
This latest option bears little difference to what was presented to audiences with the "Spider-Woman" and "Iron Man: Extremis" motion comics. Those projects, however, were meant for iTunes, PSP and similar distribution channels.
I expected a U.S. TV PREMIERE for the Black Panther animated series. If not before, then at the same time as the digital download release.
INNER VOICE ROBERT: "Dude, shouldn't you just be happy it's being released?"
ANGRY ROBERT: "Yeah, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
Besides, the audience for this project has already waited so long how about other options besides buying the show in ten minute snippets for $3 a pop?
We can speculate all day on how this train rolled off the tracks before it got to this point, I'm only asking that the engineers set things straight.
If Marvel Animation plans to air the series on a domestic cable channel in the near future then it would be much appreciated. This isn't too much to ask considering the short run it already had earlier this year on Australian pay television.
And yeah, If you can't wait, catch it on iTunes, PSP, X-Box LIVE, Microsoft Zune and PlayStation@Network.
As for me, I'll be waiting to hear about that Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther? TV debut.
And if that doesn't happen, then my next post on this subject will be called: How I plugged my laptop into my dusty old flat screen.
All this played out during a few annual gatherings at the Comic-Con during the increasingly popular "Black Panel." Creators shared series progress details with excited audiences for NEARLY THREE YEARS.
That's a lot of time to stay hyped for an animated show.
As I sat in the audience of EACH of these panels and listened to Hudlin and others discuss their plans, I may have got the wrong impression. I assumed the idea was to take a well-animated motion comic and air it on BET.
Perhaps all of that will happen at some later unannounced date. Until then, domestic viewers who want to catch this somewhere other than YouTube (or other video sites) can go to iTunes. the Black Panther animated series is available for download at about $2.99 per ten minute weekly episode.
This latest option bears little difference to what was presented to audiences with the "Spider-Woman" and "Iron Man: Extremis" motion comics. Those projects, however, were meant for iTunes, PSP and similar distribution channels.
I expected a U.S. TV PREMIERE for the Black Panther animated series. If not before, then at the same time as the digital download release.
INNER VOICE ROBERT: "Dude, shouldn't you just be happy it's being released?"
ANGRY ROBERT: "Yeah, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
Besides, the audience for this project has already waited so long how about other options besides buying the show in ten minute snippets for $3 a pop?
We can speculate all day on how this train rolled off the tracks before it got to this point, I'm only asking that the engineers set things straight.
If Marvel Animation plans to air the series on a domestic cable channel in the near future then it would be much appreciated. This isn't too much to ask considering the short run it already had earlier this year on Australian pay television.
And yeah, If you can't wait, catch it on iTunes, PSP, X-Box LIVE, Microsoft Zune and PlayStation@Network.
As for me, I'll be waiting to hear about that Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther? TV debut.
And if that doesn't happen, then my next post on this subject will be called: How I plugged my laptop into my dusty old flat screen.
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