By Joe Pokaski (Writer), Tom Raney (Pencils), Scott Hanna (Inker), and Guru eFX (Colorist)
The Story: Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Triton, Gorgon, and Lockjaw make a risky visit to the Kree in order to set up an alliance that will help the Inhumans find the captured Black Bolt. Meanwhile, the Skrulls get ever closer to unlocking Black Bolt’s emotions in order to use his power as a weapon.
What’s Good: This visually attractive book seems just as interested in re-establishing the Inhumans within the Marvel universe as it is with being a piece of the Secret Invasion puzzle. It is a nice change of pace from the more action oriented tie-ins. In addition, Joe Pokaski does some nice character work and clearly understands what must be done in order to ensure the Inhumans remain relevant, following the event they are being tied to.
What’s Not So Good: By the end of the issue, the plot seems needlessly complex considering that there is only one chapter left in this arc. I sense a rushed, messy conclusion in the near future. Also, while Tom Raney’s pencil work is attractive, there is some facial inconsistency that proves distracting on more than a few occasions.
Conclusion: Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3 scores points for doing something different, but it is still a fairly average book all around. Worth checking out if the characters interest you or the future of the Marvel universe is a concern, but not exactly what I would consider a must-read.
Grade: C
-Kyle Posluszny
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Black Bolt, Crystal, Gorgon, Guru eFX, Joe Pokaski, Karnak, Kree, Lockjaw, Marvel, Medusa, Science Fiction, Scott Hanna, Secret Invasion Inhumans #3 Review, Skrulls, tie-in, Tom Raney, Triton
Unfortunately, C level writing is almost par for the course as far as SI tie-ins go.
You make some good points…though as far as the Blackagon thing goes, you’ll have to forgive me…the Inhumans tie-in is really my first experience with the group (and only my second time checking out anything from the marvel space characters.)
I think a C might be a bit lenient… I mean, I have read worse comics, but the Inhumans line should fit like a glove with the Secret Invasion. This does not fit like a glove, it misses the mark… It misses it by a lot –and i had such high hopes for the Secret Invasion Inhumans series.
One thing that I noticed, that was really the final blow, and no one’s mentioning this, is Medusa casually drops Black Bolt’s real first name, twice, WRONG. She calls him Blackagon… ?!!?!?… i had to do a double take and re-read it. His first name is Blackagar!!! Pokaski some how managed to fuse Black Bolt’s full name (Blackagar Boltagon) into one slay-of-a first name and still gets the issue sent to the printers…. drag. Looks like some hot shot writers need to brush up on their Marvel history. Like i said, Medusa mentions him, using that name twice! How did no one catch that?
As lame, nerdy, and tedious as I might sound, that little typo really took me out of the comic … after the Silent War reestablished the Inhumans ability to be a respectable, stimulating and “must-read” series/subculture in the Marvel Universe, it really saddens me to see such carelessness -especially when the Secret Invasion is involved. This short run series related to the Secret Invasion created a huge window of opportunity for Marvel to capitalize on the Inhumans’ franchise and expand the fan base. With that said, this C average writing isn’t at all acceptable when being linked to a huge cross-over event like Secret Invasion.