New "Inhumans" Trailer

   A new trailer for the upcoming Inhumans movie and TV series was unveiled today at the Comics Con - and they released it to the web, too!

   Here's the clip, which gives us a better look at the powers of the Royal Family - and some hints about the story:

"The Inhumans" Trailer

   The trailer for the upcoming Inhumans TV show has just been released, and it certainly looks promising.

   This is another one of those Marvel features where I wonder, "Can they make it work?" (I had the same questions about Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, and those turned out great - so here's hoping for more of the same here.)

   ABC must like what it sees, because they're releasing the first episode to IMAX theatres before it airs. Check it out:

Death of X #4 (of 4)

   From time to time the major comics companies will put out a comic that arrives, basically, as a heartfelt "UP YOURS" to longtime comics fans.

   Here's one now.

   The final issue of Death of X is meant to seal the deal, to show us why the Inhumans and the X-Men must fight (in an upcoming Event mini-series, natch).

   And we get a little bit of that. The Inhumans set loose on the world two clouds of Terrigen Mist (exposure to it reveals a small number of normal people as Inhumans and gives them some kind of power).

   But exposure to the mists has terrible (often fatal) effects on mutants - so the X-Men decide to destroy those clouds.

   Of course, instead of sitting down and talking about solutions, the two opposing forces instead fight to the death - even though there's no reason for the fight to escalate that far.

   The story rather casually, almost as an afterthought, takes out a character who I've been a fan of since my earliest days as a reader (we're talking early '60s here), and it's terribly wasteful and pointless.

   It does have this effect: I'll be avoiding the mini-series that follows, along with the spinoff storylines. Perhaps if they ever get around to correcting the numerous (and egregious) harms they've inflicted on both the X-books and the Inhumans (numerous deaths and ongoing character assassinations), I'll return.

   But I'm not holding my breath waiting.

Grade: D

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Death of X #3 (of 4)

   The Death of X series continues to rumble along, trying to give the Inhumans and the X-Men (and mutants in general) reasons to go to war with each other.

   It had mostly achieved that with its basic concept - that the Terrigen Mist released by the Inhumans to trigger (and reveal) other members of their race across the face of the Earth was having unpredictable (and often deadly) effects on mutants.

   Instead of taking that and running with it, the creative team has tried to pile more misunderstandings on it, as a team of mutants is accidentally affected by a rescue effort.

   But a new player has entered the game - one not known for moderation or peace-making.

   This isn't a bad series - the art is strong and the story is building toward - something - but it feels like this series is just moving pieces into place to set up the next story (no doubt all-out war between the races) which will be the next big "event."

Grade: B+

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Death of X #1 (of 4)

   The fact of the matter is, I'm almost completely out of touch with both the X-Men franchise and the Inhumans comics - and this book is all about a rapidly-approaching war between the two.

   (I do read All-New X-Men, but that's it - and it's only marginally connected to the other mutant books.)

   The first issue of the Death of X mini-series checks in with both "families" - we see a small team of X-Men investigating a call for help from Muir Island, and a small team of Inhumans watching as the cloud of Terrigen Mist sweeps across the city of Matsumoto in Japan.

   That mist has been sweeping across the world, transforming regular humans (the few who carry Inhuman DNA) into new powered Inhumans - but the mist has a completely different effect on mutants.

   There are elements to the story that mystify me. For example, the X-Men part of the story takes place "One Year Ago" - and the Inhuman part is set in the modern day. I have no idea why, but I trust that'll be cleared up in future issues.

   In the meantime, we have some excellent artwork by Aaron Kuder and what promises to be an interesting story by Jeff Lemire and Charles Soule.

   But I'm not crazy about killing characters, and we see some of that already - and the promise of much more.

   So will this revitalize the X-Men franchise, and bring the Inhuman franchise along for the ride (as Marvel no doubt hopes)?

   We'll see.

Grade: A-

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Uncanny Inhumans #7

   I really liked the first story arc in the Uncanny Inhumans series, but the second story has been bit of a stumble - though not a complete mess.

   It's centered around a nightclub called The Quiet Room, which is apparently Black Bolt's "home away from home." It's a bit silly, but I'll allow it - after all, even Black Bolt can have a hobby.

   It's a safe place for heroes, villains and Inhumans to gather and mingle - but almost immediately all hell breaks loose.

   Two massive sub-humans get into a fight (sort of a two-man barroom brawl). The Leader and The Thinker get into a competition that may destroy the club - and most of the city. And a customer has a valuable item stolen at the club - luckily, there are Inhumans handy who should be able to track it down and recover it.

   That all leads to some entertaining action sequences, a particularly nasty villain, and an odd turn to a business meeting.

   It's a bit of a crazy quilt, and a little too jumbled to come together into a cohesive whole. It's not bad, it only suffers in comparison to the previous story.

Grade: B

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Uncanny Inhumans #5

   After a terrific opening storyline, the latest issue of The Uncanny Inhumans changes things up.

   Following up a time-traveling life-and-death conflict is tricky - so what better way to unwind than by visiting the most unusual club in the Marvel Universe?

   It's known as The Quiet Room, and it's a place where Inhumans, superheroes and supervillains can meet and enjoy assorted entertainments.

   Supposedly, it's a safe zone where nothing can go wrong. (Apparently whoever coined the guarantee never watched the movie "West World.")

   The issue is a great swerve on the series, giving us a chance to see the characters from a different angle.

   With a great script by Charles Soule and terrific art by Brandon Peterson with color art by Java Tartaglia, this series continues to set a high mark for the Inhumans, who have enjoyed, thus far in their history, a real mixed bag of adventures (in other words, some are great, some not so much).

   But with this series, I'm happy to report, the results are: so far, so good!

Grade: A-

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Uncanny Inhumans #4

   I do so love an intelligent story, and that's what we're getting in each issue (so far) of Uncanny Inhumans.

   The story starts with a tragic twist. As the world was threatened with destruction (prior to the Secret Wars), Black Bolt wanted to protect his son Ahura from the inevitable, so he took the extraordinary step of asking Kang the Conqueror to guard and protect his son.

   But when the Earth was... restored, shall we say... then Black Bolt tried to retrieve his son - but that only roused Kang's anger (a deal is a deal, after all), and he used his time traveling skills - and a grown Ahura - to set about wiping the Inhumans from reality.

   Time travel stories can be a bit dicey, and stopping a time master is almost impossible - but writer Charles Soule has cooked up some clever twists and some strong character beats here.

   Add to that terrific art by Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten and you have a powerful start to this series.

   And considering the hit-and-miss success of the Inhumans over the years since their were created, it's great to see them hit one out of the park.

Grade: A

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The Uncanny Inhumans #3

   It's not a typical comic book, but The Uncanny Inhumans continues to offer up an intelligent storyline with compelling characters and terrific artwork.

   And what a pedigree! It features members of the Inhuman Royal Family - Black Bolt, Medusa and Triton - working with the Human Torch (Fantastic Four) and the Beast (X-Men), facing the apprentice of Kang the Conqueror!

   If you can find a book with a better Lee / Kirby lineage, buy it!

   Complicating the story written by Charles Soule is that the apprentice they're facing is the son of Black Bolt and Medusa - but through the time manipulations of Kang, he's no longer a child. Instead, he's a menace who threatens to end the Inhuman race forever!

   The issue looks amazing, with Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten crafting powerful character designs and stunning action sequences. The only flaw - and it's terribly minor - is that I'm not crazy about their redesign of the Torch.

   But that's a minor complaint about a smart, well-written series that I'm enjoying so much.

Grade: A

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Uncanny Inhumans #2

   It's a treat to have a "team" comic that actually takes a serious approach to storytelling.

   The Uncanny Inhumans focuses on the Royal Family - Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon and Triton - and adds in a couple of wild cards: the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and the Beast (Hank McCoy).

   I suspect the latter are thrown in to add some humor and humanity to the book, and they actually fit in well here (despite Johnny's ill-advised romance, which I don't believe for a second).

   The story is a heavy one - before the (near) destruction of the Earth, Black Bolt turned his son Ahura over to Kang the Conqueror - but getting him back is proving to be nearly impossible, and Kang is using his powers as a time-traveler to strike back at the entire Inhuman race.

   It's a big story with far-reaching potential, and writer Charles Soule is painting it as a shocking, intelligent science fiction story.

   The art by Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten is tremendous, with impressive character designs and stunning vistas - they're playing on a big stage here.

   The Inhumans has always been a tricky book to manage - are they too different from humans to be the subject of a series?

   So far, this title is showing the way for how to handle the team is a thoughtful way.

   Except for that romance thing.

Grade: A-

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The Uncanny Inhumans #1

   The Inhumans are getting a big push from Marvel's TV branch - they're a big part of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - and there's a feature film scheduled to turn up in a couple of years.

   So it's only natural that they keep trying to revive the comic book version.

   Recent attempts to do that have run into some problems with erratic creative teams, with constant interruptions by events, and with the temporary shutdown of the Marvel Universe during Secret Wars.

   This issue offers something of a fresh start, though it still carries some of the baggage from earlier versions.

   Written by Charles Soule, it establishes the Inhumans as an Avengers-like super-team, fighting to protect the world from assorted threats, including an alien invasion this time around.

   It also focuses on Black Bolt's attempts to recover his son, who's in the hands of one of Marvel's deadliest villains. Oh, and there's a romantic sub-plot that feels like it arrives out of left field.

   The art by Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten is wonderful - kinetic, with powerful layouts and striking character designs.

   But will this series work? I'm a bit on the fence - it features a lot of costumed characters, but doesn't give us a reason to care about them. They need to be (forgive me) humanized a bit more, so we can sympathize with their efforts.

   It's a fair start, but the series needs to work a bit harder to earn our love.

Grade: B+

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Uncanny Inhumans #0

   (Should I mention how much I hate the idea of starting with an issue #0? I mean, it’s just dopey. Is it just me?)

   Anyway, here we are with another attempt to base a comics series on The Inhumans. (This time around, they’re the Uncanny Inhumans. I’m surprised it’s not the All-New Inhumans.)

   Obviously, Marvel has a lot of faith in this franchise - they’ve incorporated the concept into the Agents of SHIELD TV show, and they’ve announced plans to produce an Inhumans film.

   It’s hard to understand why, since the concept has never supported an ongoing series, and the most recent attempt crashed rather spectacularly.

   But it’s back again, and off to a good start.

   One reason is the inclusion of Black Bolt, the enigmatic and powerful leader of the hidden race of super-powered beings.

   The story actually combines his return (after his apparent death) with his obligations as a member of the Illuminati, who are fighting to save the Earth in New Avengers.

   But he has another task to manage - he must track down a missing member of the Royal Family.

   The real star of the issue is artist Steve McNiven (with Jay Leisten inking) - Marvel tends to bring him out for special projects or to get new series off to a great start - and he succeeds here, with page after page of powerful, stunning images.

   Charles Soule’s story also does a good job of sparking interest - though it doesn’t really provide any backstory for new readers.

   Perhaps they’re saving that for issue #point-25.

Grade: A

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The Classics - Amazing Adventures #1

   Just a little over two years after Marvel ditched their "split books" (a single comic sharing the adventures of two heroes), in 1970 they brought them back with Amazing Adventures and Astonishing Tales.

   AA focused on two of the most popular supporting cast members from the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, and assigned both of them some of the company's top talent.

   So the Inhumans was handed over to its co-creator, Jack Kirby - not just as the artist, but also as the writer! Ironically, it was one of Kirby's last jobs for Marvel - in a couple of months he would move over to DC, where he'd write and draw an assortment of comics.

   His story here is pretty straightforward - it introduces the members of the Royal Family - Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak and Triton - and sets up a threat that may destroy their homeland.

   It's all action and intrigue and it sets up a cliffhanger guaranteed to bring you back for the next adventure. Oh, and it also includes one big mistake - Kirby gives the (for all intents and purposes) mute Black Bolt a thought balloon - the first and last, as far as I know. Better to keep BB mysterious.

   The second story starred the Black Widow, and it's written by Gary Frederich and drawn by John Buscema. It's her first solo story, and to be honest, it's just so-so. It has an idle, rich Natasha deciding to get back into heroics because she's bored.

   The story springs from her recent appearance in the Amazing Spider-Man's comic, where she gave the (admittedly exhausted) wall-crawler a good fight. Here she goes to the rescue of her housekeeper's son, who's in trouble with some loan sharks. And that's about it.

    The series was, frankly, a pretty mixed bag, with constantly-changing creative teams (though it would include some amazing artists, including Neal Adams and Gene Colan), and it didn't last in this form for a year.

   After issue #8 it focused on a single feature, and eventually it would be home to the new adventures of the Beast (in his new hairy form) and then Killraven. And then it was gone.

   But it was fun while it lasted!

Grade: B+

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Inhuman #1

   Sometimes you read a comic, and for whatever reason, it just doesn't work.

   Here's one now.

   Inhuman has a good writer, Charles Soule, who's doing excellent work on She-Hulk. It has a fine artist, Joe Madureira, who has a stellar career of solid work.

   But this issue, coming on the heels (if that's the right phrase) of the still-ongoing Inhumanity series, and spinning out of the Infinity mini-series, is dedicated to the Inhumans - a race of humans who were artificially evolved in the planet's pre-history.

   As part of Infinity, the king of the Inhumans, Black Bolt, released the Terrigen Mist onto the world, transforming (or threatening to transform) seemingly normal people into super-powered (or severely mutated) creatures.

   So you have an issue filled with twisted imagery, a powerful Inhuman pursuing a deadly purpose, strange transformations, and lots of death.

   And perhaps it's the casual death that bothers me - it's all too common in comics theses days, to the point that it loses all meaning.

   But more likely it's the lack of a protagonist. The main character is a murderous mystery figure,  and Medusa isn't particularly sympathetic or welcoming and is really a minor character here.

    Look, I've enjoyed the Inhumans since they first appeared in the Fantastic Four (just before Galactus' first appearance). But they've never hit it big because, well, they're just too strange. There needs to be some common ground for the reader to latch onto.

   So far, I don't see any evidence of that here - just lots of sturm an drang.

   The've got the "In" (for incredible) part of the series worked out, but not much in the way of "Human" (or humanity) in evidence,

   Back to the drawing board.

Grade: C+

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Inhumanity #1

   The Inhumans is one of the rare "big" Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creations that never quite translated into a popular comic series.

   There have been some very good series based on the concept, but they never really caught on.

   But never one to let a good idea go to waste, Marvel is back to try again with Inhumanity, a comics event that will wind through most of Marvel's titles in some form or another.

   Here's the basic concept: the Inhumans are a race of mortals who were genetically tampered with by an alien race some 25,000 years ago.

   The advanced race ultimately decided to tamper with its own genetic code using the Terrigen Mist, which has been the McGuffin in more than one story.

   In the wake of the events in Infinity, Black Bolt has unleashed the mist on the world (via a most dramatic method) and, as a result, has revealed a vast number of Inhumans who were living among normal humans.

   For mysterious reasons, this process has unhinged the Inhuman known as Karnak, who faces the Avengers - and the Royal Family.

    With a strong story (as always) by Jonathan Hickman and wonderful art by Olivier Coipel and Mark Morales, it's a compelling start to the event.

   Whether it will put the concept over the top and into its own title, only time will tell.

Grade: A

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Infinity #4

   I admit that I'm a big fan of Thor (as my recent post on the "Top 10 issues by Stan and Jack" should prove), so the cover helped this issue jump to the top of my reading stack.

   And I'm glad it did! The previous issues of Infinity (and Avengers and New Avengers) have all been building up the impossible foe, the towering menace by both the ancient race of Builders and the more recent mad god, Thanos.

   And here we see the heroes standing up to those foes with varying degrees of success - and with widespread carnage.

   In addition to Thor's turn in the spotlight, we also learn some vital information about the Inhumans, and something happens here that's going to have an impact on the next big event to hit the Marvel Universe.

   As always, the story by Jonathan Hickman is compelling. The art by Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver is vivid, complex and stunning.

   I think - depending on the wrap-up - this may be Marvel's best event in a long, long time (and maybe ever). Can't wait to see where it goes from here!

Grade: A

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