10 Marvel Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

6. Black Panther: The Client

Christopher Priest's Black Panther is the most definitive incarnation of the character, with its influence set to be felt in the MCU, among many other places.

Priest's run on the character pretty much wrote the book on Wakanda, the lore of the character more generally and made staples of Everett Ross (portrayed by Martin Freeman in the MCU) and White Tiger, as well as villains Killmonger and Venomm. It's seminal in so many ways, and while the character has had his fair share of dynamite runs over the years (Ta-Nehisi Coates is a testament to that), none have managed to eclipse Priest's.

While it took a while for Marvel to alert to that fact (the series has been out of print as recently as 2015), fans of Priest's saga won't need reminding that the book - satirical, tense and jam-packed with drama - is one of Marvel's very best.

The first volume, The Client, even looks to be influencing the plot of the upcoming Black Panther film, so be sure to get in on the hype before it releases come next February.