I really enjoyed this feature a whole lot!!! If you haven't seen it, watch it!
YouTube - Black Panther Animated Feature DVD Review
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YouTube - Black Panther Animated Feature DVD Review
This blog is about television, movies, art, comic books and general cultural issues
But in greenlighting "The Black Panther" for its planned premiere early next year, Hudlin has ignited ethical questions on whether his personal involvement in the TV series benefits him financially while also clashing with his responsibilities as a network chief.
In press materials, he is listed as an executive producer on "The Black Panther" along with Denys Cowan, senior vice president of animation for BET Networks. Hudlin will also receive at least a story credit for the six episodes that have been ordered thus far, which are based on installments he wrote for Marvel.
Hudlin declined to answer questions this week about whether he was being paid specifically for producing or writing "The Black Panther," and whether he would participate in possible future sales of the animated series to other outlets or consumers. Other executives at Viacom-owned BET also refused to comment on the project.
Some ethics experts who were contacted about the matter speculated on whether Hudlin's treatment of "The Black Panther" represents a potential conflict of interest.
"This does raise the question of impropriety," said C. Kerry Fields, a business law and ethics professor at the USC Marshall School of Business. "This deal doesn't seem to have the sense of impartiality it should have. It certainly raises the issue of whether the board of directors for the network is exercising sufficient oversight. The cost, network support, advertising and its placement in the program lineup are all things he controls."
I heard much longer after the fact that Reginald Hudlin was no longer an executive at BET. I recently found this interview with Mr. Hudlin. I love it. He doesn't cover the reasons for his departure from BET but he does instead talk about the importance of Black Panther as a culture icon. The interview is from 2008 so it does not shed light on why the Black Panther Animated Series aired only in Australia and then released digitally. I've heard that it's been pulled from iTunes but I haven't checked that out myself. Something fishy is going on with how that show is being distributed.
When the series aired in Australia there were 6 weekly episodes - 20 minutes each. Sounds like they are cutting them in half and releasing them digitally. Well it's better than nothing. The series is truly awesome. If you have not seen it yet. Here is another opportunity.
Marvel Knights Animation is proud to announce BLACK PANTHER: WHO IS THE BLACK PANTHER?, a 12-episode, weekly, all-new series debuting on iTunes, Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Zune and PlayStation®Network on June 23rd.

I have recently found episodes of the Black Panther Animated series on vodpod. Since I've been frustrated by the episodes being pulled from YouTube, I've decided to use the videos posted there and write some reviews. Feel free to watch the first episode before my comments.