Black Panther #6

Nov 1977 · Marvel · 0.35 USD

📊 ~58,746 copies sold its debut month

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“A Cup of Youth”

★ 1st appearance — N'Gassi

About this Issue

Black Panther #6 is the pivot point of Jack Kirby's 1977 solo series where the Wakandan home front becomes as narratively urgent as T'Challa's globe-trotting adventures abroad — introducing General Jakarra, T'Challa's treacherous half-brother, whose coup against the royal council seeds a multi-issue throne-war that drives the series through issue #10. The simultaneous debut of N'Gassi, the loyal Wakandan regent caught in Jakarra's power grab, gives the Wakanda side of the story its first sustained supporting cast, deepening the political texture of a title that had previously operated almost entirely on a pulp-adventure register. Together, these two debuts mark the moment Kirby's run graduated from a one-man expedition narrative into a split-screen royal drama — a structural shift that would resonate in later, more politically complex Black Panther runs. The issue also stands as the series' first to carry the raised 35-cent cover price, a minor but dateable publishing milestone of the mid-Bronze Age.

In "A Cup of Youth," Black Panther and Abner Little race across the globe in search of a mythical elixir, now leading them to the mysterious Samurai City. Meanwhile, back in Wakanda, T'Challa’s half-brother General Jakarra seizes power in a bold coup against the regent N'Gassi. Written and illustrated by Jack Kirby, with inks by Michael Royer and colors by Sam Kato, this 1977 Marvel classic blends high-stakes intrigue with the rich world of Wakanda, all framed by Kirby’s dynamic cover art and Frank Giacoia’s sharp inks.

writer, artist Jack Kirby · inker, letterer Michael Royer · colorist Sam Kato · cover Jack Kirby, Frank Giacoia

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $11

CGC 9.8 · 41 in census $265

CGC 9.6 · 59 in census $117

CGC 9.4 · 40 in census $56

CGC 9.2 · 16 in census $49

CGC 9.0 · 16 in census $47

CGC 8.5 · 15 in census $42

Show all 17 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 9 in census $40

CGC 7.5 · 2 in census $26*

CGC 7.0 · 4 in census $22*

CGC 6.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.0 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

Kirby's 1977 Black Panther series came into being when Marvel, eager to showcase the return of 'The King' after his years at DC Comics, gave him near-total creative latitude — making him writer, penciler, and his own editor on the title. The series launched in January 1977, displacing the Don McGregor–era Jungle Action run, which had ended on an unresolved cliffhanger only three months earlier. Archie Goodwin served as a co-editor alongside Kirby, providing a layer of editorial oversight, while Mike Royer supplied inks for the interior pages of issue #6 and Frank Giacoia inked Kirby's cover. According to multiple sources, Kirby was reportedly unenthusiastic about revisiting a character he had already worked with extensively, and he departed the series after exactly twelve issues, with the title then continuing under a different creative team.

Trivia · 8 facts

Story title: 'A Cup of Youth' — written, penciled, and co-edited by Jack Kirby; interior inks by Mike Royer; cover inks by Frank Giacoia; colors by Sam Kato; co-edited by Archie Goodwin.
First appearance of General Jakarra: T'Challa's half-brother and the series' primary Wakanda-based antagonist, who launches a coup d'état against the royal council while T'Challa is abroad.
First appearance of N'Gassi: Wakandan regent and acting head of the royal court, whose authority Jakarra directly challenges — the first sustained Wakandan supporting character in the Kirby run.
The plot runs on two simultaneous tracks: T'Challa and Abner Little infiltrate the hidden Samurai City in pursuit of the Water of Immortality, while Jakarra seizes power back in Wakanda.
Jakarra's coup arc extends across four subsequent issues (#7–10), with his vibranium-exposure mutation in #8 and his final defeat by T'Challa in #10, making issue #6 the origin point of the series' longest sustained storyline.
This issue marks the first appearance of Samurai City as a location in the Marvel Universe (Earth-616), adding a hidden Japanese-warrior enclave to Wakanda's surrounding geography.
Issue #6 is the first issue of the 1977 series to carry a 35-cent cover price, raised from the prior 30-cent price point — a concrete Bronze Age production marker.
The Kirby run, including this issue, has been collected in: 'Black Panther by Jack Kirby Vol. 1' (TPB, 2005, collecting #1–7), 'Essential Black Panther Vol. 1' (2012, black-and-white, collecting #1–10 plus the full Jungle Action run), and the 'Black Panther Epic Collection: Revenge of the Black Panther' (2019/2021, collecting #1–15 and related issues).