Creative Staff:
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Joe Madureira
What They Say:
New Inhumans are transformed every day as the Terrigen Mist spreads around the world. Queen Medusa finds herself face to face with Captain America, and it doesn’t go well.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While I liked the opening issue of Inhuman alright, it felt pretty awkward in its overall execution with what it wanted to tell. Rushed and unsure of itself as it tried to pull a few different pieces together that didn’t come across smoothly. With the second issue, all of that is wiped away and we get a more straightforward and useful issue that explains some of what’s going on, ties us more to the larger happenings in the storyline and other characters outside of the primaries here and sets a pretty decent stage for what’s to come with a nice little cliffhanger. Though it’s a little heavy on the exposition, it’s needed to get the point across about what’s going on. And it’s all beautifully illustrated, which makes it quite striking even when folks are just sitting around.
The series is, at this point, giving us two driving focuses. We get the larger and more emotional context of what’s going on through Medusa as she tries to salvage what she can of the Inhumans, establish that where they are now is essentially sovereign territory (good luck, New York!) and to start making it clear that she has some sort of holding plan to keep things together. Medusa has always been the calming side of Black Bolt and now that she’s thrust into the foreground, we see her establishing a firm control in order to get things done. That’s made evident as Captain America has come to try and offer some assistance, to get an idea of what all is going on in Attilan and to get Medusa to realize she does have some allies. Cap handles himself well here and has all the right tones and expressions to not seem threatening, but Medusa also does a solid job in making it clear that she is a leader and responsible for her people. And her people are growing as the Terrigen mist goes around the world and she has retrieval teams out to bring back those that want to learn more and understand what they are now. It’s complicated in its own way, but there’s a neat approach to it all.
On the flip side, we get Dante and a bit of his sister Gabrielle. Dante stepped up big time against Lash the last time around as he went through his transformation quick, hard and powerful. Now he’s in this huge new world, his mother is dead, he’s protecting his pregnant sister and he’s coping with all the changes his body is going through and the lack of control. That he’s all over the map makes sense. What I like is that Medusa has Gorgon take care of him and his initial training and acclimation to what’s going on, explaining what he is and a bit of the Inhuman’s history. It fills in the gaps for the new readers in a sensible way and we expand the cast nicely in getting to know Gorgon a bit. He also has the right kind of stern but compassionate approach to Dante, something that he’ll likely need as more like him begin to arrive at Attilan. Medusa’s attempt to give home and refuge to all new Inhuman’s is a political nightmare of course, but it’s the right emotional outreach and you can see the conflict it will have for those like Dante that want nothing of this, until they realize that this is where they go from here.
In Summary:
I liked but was ambivalent with the first issue, but this second issue feels like a much more solid start since it’s laid out well and structured without any odd time gaps. Bringing in Captain America isn’t a surprise as he has the right connections to make this exploration for SHIELD and others, whereas someone else could end up being a lot more volatile. For me, the combination of what Medusa talks about and shows in her actions here is a sign of a strong, capable and determined leader that will chart the course of the Inhumans in a way that will be really fun to read. Dante provides us with a more human and accessible view in some ways so there’s a lot to like with him, and to see how Gabby is kept in the loop. Charles Soule feels like he’s really found his voice quickly with this issue and that helps a lot. But what helps even more is that Joe Madureira really knocks it out of the park with his designs here, from the backgrounds to the foregrounds, which is made all the more appealing by the beautiful color work that Marte Gracia does. Digitally at least, this is a vividly beautiful book with some great darkness to it that draws you in more. The combination of all the creative pieces here has me a lot more excited for this series now.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 28th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
