The Whisper That Shook The World
Black Bolt returns from The Fault to reclaim his throne, setting the events in FF #5 and 8 into motion
The Good
The issue starts with Black Bolt battling one of the Many Angled Ones and utterly obliterating it. Yeah, he fights against and defeats a extra-dimensional god. The fanboy in me very much so enjoyed this.
I think it was really fitting that the first Inhuman to discover Black Bolt is Lockjaw. These two have always had a very special relationship and this moment reminded me of the very touching one they shared in Jenkins' classic Inhumans run.
Hickman does an excellent job of writing the relationship between Black Bolt and Medusa.
Black Bolt's been acting a bit strange since his return. Knowing the way Maximus' powers work and his ideas of how the Inhumans should be living I think he may be responsible for this more short tempered Midnight King.
Black Bolt not only speaks but screams this issue and that always gives an artist an opportunity to draw some very nice destruction. The Kree throne room will definitely need a bit of remodeling.
We get a clear answer to what Ronin and the other Kree elite were discussing last issue. It looks like the Supremor's kept an ace up his sleeve and wasn't willing to just accept his foretold doom as a forgone conclusion.
The Bad
Tocchini's art just doesn't work from me and was the weak link in these issues. Black Bolt is a character whose unique nature makes it absolutely necessary to have an artists who's work is easy and clearly understood. Tocchini's style is just too loose and scratchy to allow Black Bolt's facial expressions and body language to effectively communicate his thoughts to the reader. There were plenty of moments that I was looking at panels and wondering exactly what had just occurred. A good example of this is when Black Bolt returned from The Fault I honestly have no idea what was going on there.
I know many of you will be frustrated by the questions this issue raises. And those who aren't fans of the Inhumans or following what's been going on in Marvel's cosmic corner may not find themselves nearly as engaged by this issue as I was. As another reviewer said "Mileage may vary".
The Verdict
Buy This Comic!!!
As a longtime reader of Hickman's Fantastic Four work and follower of it's cosmic stories I found this comic to be very rewarding and satisfying. Old questions were answered and new, tantalizing intrigues were born. This issue explains how some of Marvel's most powerful players reentered the big stage and I'm glad that Hickman took the time to show the events leading up to their return rather than just having them show up out of nowhere. This is a story that may not seem to hold much meaning to others, and that's understandable, but I've learned with Hickman every thing has a point. He's just one of those slow burn storytellers that you just have to trust til he gets you to that "ohhhh, now I get it!" moment. I can assure you that the events of these last two issues will definitely "matter" soon enough and after seeing the October solicits form Marvel I can safely say that the seeds for future FF events were sewn in these latest issues.