The Good
Let me preface this with the fact that I'm not the biggest Inhumans fan. I've mentioned that before but I'm am intrigued by this title. There's a lot of world building going on as Medusa tries to pick up the pieces from the Inhuman city being destroyed along with the arrival of NuHumans, former humans that had traces of Inhuman DNA in their bodies activated by the release of the Terrigen Mists. This means we're seeing new characters with no history. That makes aspects of this title completely new-reader friendly.
With the arrival of Ryan Stegman as artist, he and writer Charles Soule show us another new character, the Reader. He makes for a great visual on the very first page of the issue. For those craving more familiar characters, the action quickly cuts to New Attilan. Thor is visiting Medusa because the Avengers are concerned with what is going on in the city. We get to see Medusa's outlook as she rules over this new city and the new citizens.
Soule keeps the action moving back and forth. While we still have the series establishing all the characters, the action scenes, wonderfully illustrated by Stegman and colored by Marte Gracia. Simply put, this is a good looking book.
The Bad
My main problem is the pacing of the issue. There are two, almost three, different storylines going on. That isn't really a problem but the sudden shifts back and forth. Some shifts work nicely to build up the suspense. Others moments became a distraction as you're trying to follow the action.
I'm still trying to become attached to the new characters. Most of the issue focuses on the scenes with the Reader and those with Medusa and Thor. We then see Inferno and Lineage show up. I still need to see more of these and the other new characters before I can decided if I want to become invested in their stories and adventures.
The Verdict
There's a lot going on in INHUMAN. We're seeing the Inhumans build a stronger presence for themselves as New Attilan is being developed. Charles Soule is balancing bringing in new characters along with some familiar Inhumans we would expect to see. The pacing between scenes in this issue feels a little frantic as it jumps back and forth in the middle of the action. Ryan Stegman makes his debut on the series and, along with Marte Gracia, it all looks really good. I'm still not 100% sold on delving further into the world of Inhumans but I am definitely intrigued with what is going on.
9 Comments