Never has so much melodrama and action been so rushed and so crammed into tiny little boxes. I hate to criticize myself 35 years ago, but I must have seen that I didn’t need to make so many small panels since I would be left with empty ones at the end of the story. By my standards, that’s enough for a back-up story! But I was probably creatively exhausted after whipping out this mini epic. The Panther “returns” – as I said before, not for us, we missed an issue – and he’s quite a rebel compared to the establishment rock that is Mr. America. Dare I call The Panther a bit of a wild thing? He breaks Mr. America out of jail and proceeds to show no remorse. Mr. America goes along with it, sure, but that’s the point as I see it – after years of being a mentor, now he’s being taught a little something about being an anti-hero, about doing what you’ve got to do in order to fight for what’s right. So, as a nine-year-old, I apparently believed that in order to make the rules, you gotta’ break the rules. Sheesh, I never had a chance! I was doomed!

Anyhow, I love Oxen! I hope he pops up again!