Things are just not going well for the Inhumans.
Creative Staff:
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Andre Araujo
What They Say:
Lineage has been lurking in the background since the beginning; it’s time for him to show his hand. The climax of year one of Inhuman is here. Don’t miss it!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a lot of pieces moving through, the Inhuman series has been really interesting to watch unfold and quite frustrating at the same time. As we near the end of this first series ahead of Secret Wars, all those parts in motion point towards some big changes ahead, depending on who comes out on top. There’s several storylines in motion, all connected by varying degrees, but at its core it’s all about the Inhumans themselves. Just not the ones we’ve known for decades for the most part. And in some ways that works out well because some of the new additions are pretty interesting, if given enough time to really be a part of things. The only downside for the series as a whole for me is that after the strong opening issues artwork, the title has felt pretty inconsistent since then, especially in the character design department.
With this issue, there are several things going on and a couple that are truly intriguing. The smaller storylines have their merit though, as Gabby is about to have her baby but Gorgon is nowhere to be found to help since he’s had his body mucked over by Lineage. It’s good to see the baby storyline about to be dealt with, and with the potential for a terigenesis within the womb, that could be played in some amusing ways. This issue also gives us a few more pages of Karnak doing his best to get out of the hell he’s in with the after life, but those other dead souls he’s with aren’t intent on giving up what little they have, so he has to do it himself. A little help does arrive at the end since there are just a few people dying elsewhere, making it easier to add more numbers to this realm. And we get a little more with what Medusa and her group are going through with Lash and his very basic idea of kill, kill, kill, since he’s been reduced to a simplistic creature. It makes for good action material, but again the off-model designs frustrate, notably with Frank.
What wins me over with this issue though is Lineage. He’s been intriguing from the start and continues to be here. His initial bit of giving Eldrac a body to move in while still having the gate as the head is hilarious but perfect and is the kind of quirky humor I love with this book. We get some of that with his dialogue with Gorgon as well. But it’s also with Gorgon that he provides a great outlook on what he’s doing as he wants to change the world. With his view of ancestral history through twenty-thousand years, something very unique, he has interesting views on the fact that evil is relative when you get down to it. And that plays to his goal as he talks about The Capo and what Ennilux has been up to and how it’ll afford him what he needs to truly enact his plan. There’s creepy/humorous moments with The Capo as Lineage begins to devour him, but in its own twisted way it really makes sense and positions Lineage to be a truly terrifying villain.
In Summary:
I have a real love/hate relationship with this title, but I keep sticking with it because I’m enthused about its prospects overall within the greater Marvel Universe. I’m a bit more wary because there’s so much uncertainty with Secret Wars in how that will impact things, but what we get here with this issue and the work in the arc in general has me really hopeful that we’ll get something interesting, or with a great twist, to help bring it all together with the annual and then what we get during the Secret Wars phase. Soule continues to spread himself across a lot of stories here, some that still feel very weird like Karnak’s, but it’s all coming together with Lineage at the center of things. And that just delights me at the moment. There’s a lot going on here and not all of it works, but it at least keeps everything moving right along.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: April 29th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
