Secret Invasion: Inhumans #4 – Review

By Joe Pokaski (Writer), Tom Raney (Pencils), Scott Hanna (Inks), and Guru eFX (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: The Inhumans Secret Invasion tie-in has for the most part, been quite successful. It tells an engaging, cosmic chapter in the Invasion story while, at the same time, working to re-establish the Inhumans within the current Marvel Universe. I have had my issues with the series from time to time, mostly concerning the inconsistent artwork and unnecessarily complex storyline, but I look forward to seeing how the Inhumans are going to be situated for the future.

The Story: The Royal Family works to obtain the items necessary to save Black Bolt from the Skrulls trying to make him into the ultimate weapon. Meanwhile, the Skrulls continue their attempts to make Black Bolt crack.

What’s Good: I never thought I would say this but, thanks to the way this particular Invasion story ends, I now find myself interested in the War of Kings. The main reason? The last chapter of Secret Invasion: Inhumans is full of surprisingly effective character work that finally made me feel some emotional investment in the characters and their future. Couple that with some good looking artwork (including a few fantastic full-page shots) and you can consider me happy to have checked out the return of the Inhumans.

What’s Not So Good: The inconsistency in the artwork once again pops up, though it isn’t quite as distracting this time around because it’s kept to a minimum. To be honest, that is my only real complaint with this one.

Conclusion: It’s tough to criticize something that succeeds in doing everything that it needs to do. Definitely check out Secret Invasion: Inhumans #4 if you are planning to follow the War of Kings event.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3 – Review

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

Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four Annual #1 – Review

By Aron E Coleite and Joe Pokaski (Writers), Dan Panosian and Mark Brook (Pencilers), Danny Miki and Troy Hubbs (Inkers), and John Rauch and Antonio Fabela (Colorists)

While I enjoy the occasional “Ultimate” comic, I’ve never been a huge fan of that universe.  I don’t plan on “converting” any time soon, but this issue sure makes a strong showing that the Ultimate U can offer a traditional Marvel story, while still maintaining its own flavor.

In the future sentiment has turned against all those with powers, and the X-Men have become a group of illegal freedom fighters. Eventually these X-Men decide to travel to the past to destroy the thing that started this hellish future: Reed Richards. As they invade, we see a rather entertaining fight between the FF of today and the X-Men of tomorrow. Twenty years of honing power and skill allow the X-Men to be victorious in capturing Reed, and the remaining FF decide to turn to the one group they believe can help them: the current X-Men. What follows is a typical mystery as the two teams work together to solve exactly what the future X-Men intend to do, and why they’ve only captured Reed, instead of killing him.

As a quick side note, the two things that interested me about the future X-Men were discovering who the new Captain America (yes, he joins the X-Men, and no, he’s not Steve Rogers) and the new Phoenix are (in this case, it is a character who is finally yet introduced in the Ultimate U) And if you think the future X-Men are cool, just wait until the last page reveals the future Fantastic Four!

Overall, this was an extremely entertaining plot, and I can’t wait for part two in two weeks! If you are a fan of the “regular” X-Men or the Fantastic Four these two issues would be a great thing to pick up to give you a taste of their “Ultimate” counterparts. (Grade: B+)

-M. Staples

Secret Invasion: Inhumans #2 – Review

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

Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1 – Review

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