Mist opportunity.
By Jeff Lake
The Inhumans are certainly enjoying the spotlight these days. From their expanded role in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to the (probably happening) future film, Marvel’s continued efforts to keep them relevant again extend to the comic racks. The latest such entrant is The Uncanny Inhumans #1, which sees the return collaboration of Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. While a solid jumping on point for new readers, issue #1 never fully stands on its own substantial legs, despite the welcome focus on the Inhumans original core.
Picking up from the events laid out wayyy back in April’s Uncanny Inhumans #0, this fist issue goes a long way in establishing the look and feel of the Inhumans going forward. The biggest difference here is that for the first time in a long while, the focus appears firmly planted on Black Bolt and Medusa. For all the time Soule spent on trying to get “NuHumans” like Inferno, Flint and Iso off the ground, few, if any, can match the investment New Attilan’s Royal Family brings to the table. This is made increasingly evident by the issue’s exhilarating opening, as Black Bolt’s search for his son lands him right in the crosshairs of his son’s current holder, Kang the Conqueror.
Soule ably builds off of the events set in motion by Secret Wars, giving Bolt a purpose as well as a direction. This forward push also extends to Medusa. Her role on New Attilan seemed to change with every passing page throughout the series’ last run, but here she’s every bit the queen of her people. From aiding the citizens of New York in a well measured dose of PR good faith to her diplomatic dealings with current New Attilan resident, Beast, Soule gives a layered boost to a character who sorely needed it.
That’s not to say it’s all mist and roses here. For one, Soule pushes the debut format pretty hard here, ensuring that every page is informative as to who the characters are, what they can do, and what they stand for. Such presentation will likely aid new readers well (and really, what are #1’s for) but for readers who have already been privy to Soule’s slow rollout, the extended look reads a bit on the nose. This feeling also extends to the issue’s new entrants. Marvel clearly wants the Inhumans to stand apart as their own marketable unit much like the X-Men and Avengers do, which makes the book’s copious guest stars a bit surprising. Kang, Beast, the Human Torch – perhaps the book’s Uncanny heading is emblematic of its hodge-podge cast, but if you’re trying to establish your own unique corner, these moves distract as much as attract.
Of course, the real attraction proves to be McNiven’s art, even as he’s incorrectly credited as the inker. We’ve already enjoyed the Soule/McNiven pairing through their work on Death of Wolverine, but man, there’s some magic here. Soule throws a heck of a lot at this first issue, and McNiven responds in kind. From hungry dinosaurs to Chitauri braving autograph seekers, each page is stuffed with detail. That same attention is given to the characters as well. Given the lack of narrative assistance that comes with rendering Black Bolt, he’s long been one of the hardest characters to read. Not so in McNiven’s hands – a mere whisper from Bolt can kill, but the look he gives Johnny Storm at issue’s end would probably do the trick just as well. The only real quibble to the art comes courtesy of colorist Sunny Gho. The aforementioned time hop scenes read well enough, but the later scenes with Medusa come off as strangely muted, something of particular note when you have characters literally made of fire. Minor color issues aside, McNiven and Co. turn in one pretty issue.
As a debut, The Uncanny Inhumans #1 does well in both setting the stage and labeling the players, Soule’s script only slightly stunted by the dragging exposition. Long term readers will find the issue a bit more on the recap side, but with a promising new narrative and some great art from Steve McNiven, the Inhumans might not be so far from superstardom after all.
