Weekly Comic Book Review.com

By Joe Pokaski (Writer), Tom Raney (Penciler), Scott Hanna (Inker), and Guru EFX (Colors)

I remember it quite clearly. I was reading the hardcover reprint of New Avengers: Illuminati. Iron Man and Mister Fantastic were discussing what to do about the Skrull that had been disguised as Elektra, and Black Bolt very calmly said (said, using his voice, without blowing every thing up), “I have a better idea. I take the body, and your people die so that my people may live.” That was the moment I decided I could no longer wait for the trades—I had to start pulling the comics off the racks again, like a true fan/geek/addict. So it was with great anticipation that I began reading the mini-series that will finally answer the questions, “What happened to Black Bolt?” and, “What are the rest of the Inhumans going to do about it?”

The book begins, after a brief history lesson, with Iron Man handing the corpse of the Skrull Black Bolt over to Medusa. It takes only three pages, but Pokaski and Raney handle it perfectly. Medusa can sometimes come across as a second stringer, but here she is shown as the queen she is, purple robes flying, vermillion tresses writhing like a family of anacondas on speed. The whole book is worth buying just for the single panel where she grabs Iron Man and throws him against the wall.

Medusa and Crystal return the body to Attilan, where we get several pages of discussion among the Inhumans on what to do next, and of course the inevitable back-biting and paranoia. My biggest beef with this book is that, following the events of the Silent War, Maximus is in charge of the Inhumans again. When are the writers at Marvel going to realize that Maximus is easily, by far, the dullest villain they have? He doesn’t have any admirable qualities or cool powers, and his schemes are always the same. He’s just a weasel through and through. Brother to Black Bolt or not, there’s no conceivable reason why the royal family wouldn’t have had him executed years ago.

Finally, the Skrulls reveal themselves, and things get rolling in a very spooky and satisfactory direction. In some of the crossover books, the Secret Invasion only seems like an interruption of the ongoing story-line. Here, we get a definite sense that the fate of a species hangs in the balance.

The final scene cuts to a Skrull warship, and the Skrull empire’s own personal version of Josef Mengele. To make him extra creepy, it looks like they tried to turn him into a Super-Skrull, but only got so far as a single Thing leg. He’s trying to create the ultimate weapon, and you just know what—or rather, who—is going to be the power source… (Grade: A-)

- Andrew C. Murphy