History of Black Panther

Below is Jack's original concept drawing for the Black Panther (original name: Coal Tiger).  From this humble concept, came empowering adventures and technological wonders.  Jack always wanted his creations to inspire the reader. From this concept drawing below, opportunities, inspiration and inclusion followed.

This original drawing is still owned by the Kirby family today.  It was drawn on simple paper (not the standard comic stock used at the time) and has water color stains on the bottom left hand side. It is easy to see that Jack was truly going for something special but possibly never thought the character would see the light of day.  The Black Panther went through a few design (and name) changes before seeing print.

Jack, never one to throw away any concept or idea, went back to his Coal Tiger design when doing concepts for his New Gods series at DC Comics.  Below is the slightly redesigned concept of Coal Tiger.  This character was part of the original concept drawings for the New Gods.  Although the character never made his way into the New Gods books, he was part of the original concept pieces for them.

So there you have it.  The untold story of how the original design for the Black Panther almost made its way over to DC Comics as part of the New Gods.