By Joe Pokaski (Writer), Tom Raney (Penciler), Scott Hanna (Inker), and Guru EFX (Colorist)
I won’t lie, I was never really that interested in the Inhumans. When I first read about them, I thought, “What’s so cool about a group of people that’s lead by a guy who can’t talk or else he’d destroy everything, and a girl who can make her hair move?” Then I read Fantastic Four: The End, where the Inhumans played a significant role, and I thought that they might have more merit than I gave them credit. When I saw that they were getting their own Secret Invasion tie-in, I thought I’d at least give it a try. Well, if the last two issues have been any indication of what the Inhumans typically go through, I will definitely be back for more of their stories! (And I’ll certainly look up some old ones too. Anyone know if Silent War was any good?)
This issue begins once more, with a brief summary of the Inhumans, displayed through stained glass. Then we are brought back into the fight, where the Skrulls have a full out attack occurring in Attilan. However, unlike the battle of New York City, the Inhumans, even as unprepared as they are, are able to put up much more of a defense. Heck, the retaliations of Gorgon, Medusa, and Crystal alone were enough to make me become a fan of the Inhumans.
We also see more of the Skrull’s strategy, as scientists continue to experiment on the captured Blackbolt. Just as they used Reed Richards to cause the (supposed) downfall of humanity, they are attempting to use Blackbolt to discover the means to destroy the Inhumans population.
Perhaps even more surprising than discovering that I could like the Inhumans, is the fact that the person to make me do so would be someone I’ve never heard of. I can’t recall ever reading anything written by Joe Pokaski before, but he maintains a great balance of action, story, and including elements to introduce new readers. Before this, I had very little familiarity with the Inhumans, but his writing has not even once confused me. If you are even slightly interested in the age-old race of the Inhumans, and you want a great Secret Invasion tie-in, this gets my highest recommendation. (Grade: A-)
-M. Staples
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews | Tagged: Comic Book Reviews, comic books, Guru eFX, Inhumans, Joe Pokaski, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Scott Hanna, Secret Invasion, Secret Invasion: Inhumans, Secret Invasion: Inhumans #2, Tom Raney
Yes, Silent War was terrific. It was intelligent and exciting, it respected all the past continuity while always moving forward. But if you want to understand exactly what’s going on there you ought to read the House of M follow-up miniseries Son of M first. I don’t know how well Silent War would stand up if you didn’t already know their status quo at the time.
Also, it’s a totally different kind of book, but I also highly recommend Sean McKeever’s Inhumans series, which I believe is collected as “Young Inhumans”. It’s a teen drama involving a few obscure Inhumans characters, and it humanizes them while keeping them alien. It made me care about the Inhumans to begin with, and every time a new Inhumans series comes out I wish they’d tell me what became of that series’ lead. It’s a great read, if you like that sort of thing.
Oh, and I forgot to say: Joe Pokaski’s one of the Heroes writers.