War Of Kings #3 – Review

By Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Rick Magyar (inks), Will Quintana (colors)

The Story: War of the Kings rages on as Vulcan tries to rebound from the devastating counter attack  by the Kree and Inhumans. The Star Jammers and the Guardians of the Galaxy make their move to rescue Lilandra from Gladiator and the rest of the Imperial Guard. All of this transpires while in the background the Inhumans struggle with their leadership over the Kree.

What’s Good: The only good thing to come out of Secret Invasion is whatever is happening in the Marvel Cosmos. War of the Kings is at the top of that bracket and this issue doesn’t disappoint. Between Vulcan’s craziness, the Inhuman’s suspiciousness, and the Star Jammers’ boldness, there is a lot to like about this issue. It reads like a block-buster movie; or should I say, a GOOD block-buster movie.

Gladiator has always been one of my favorite characters and in this issue we learn a ton about his personality as he quickly becomes the star of this series. His decision at the end of the issue, though expected, will have an enormous impact on this series. I’d like to see him more involved in the greater Marvel Universe. Perhaps he could visit earth and, I don’t know, like, kill the Sentry. Dead. Forever. Oh well,  just an idea.

It’s obvious that Abnett and Lanning are spinning a winner here. Their pacing, dialogue, and scripting are almost flawless. Additionally,  the art style is perfect for this series. Paul Pelliter’s pencils and Rick Magyar’s heavy inks are fabulous.

What’s Not So Good: It’s basically non-stop action in these pages. I would have liked to have seen more development with what’s going on with the Inhumans. The scenes involving Crystal were interesting but a little frustrating in their ambiguity. Also, Crystal’s character is on one hand  to be an intelligent and measured diplomat, but on the other, innocent and gullible to the true intentions of the rest of her royal family, which is a little contradictory.

Conclusion: If you’re looking for a fun and engaging read, then the War of Kings is for you. No doubt what transpires in these pages will shape the Marvel U for the foreseeable future. However, if your into cosmic Marvel than this will cement your convictions. But if not, this series won’t convert you.

Grade: B+

-Rob G

Secret Invasion: War of Kings – Review

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Writers), Paul Pelletier & Bong Dazo (Pencils), Rick Magyar & Joe Pimentel (Inks), and Wil Quintana & Mike Kelleher (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #8 definitely piqued my interest in the War of Kings. In addition, the Inhumans mini-series that tied into the Secret Invasion left me wondering about how Black Bolt and company would carry on in the aftermath of the Skrull’s plot. However, I figured it’d be probably worth checking out seeing as how the War of Kings one-shot is helmed by the creative team behind the excellent Guardians series and tells a story about the Inhumans.

The Story: Secret Invasion: War of Kings takes place in the aftermath of the Skrull invasion. With Black Bolt back as the driving force behind the Inhumans, the Kree science projects decide to finally take the fight to those that have wronged them. The Skrulls, the Kree, and the Shi’ar Empire all get a taste of what’s to come in a one-shot that provides all the action and exposition necessary to get readers ready for the War of Kings.

What’s Good: As cool as the Secret Invasion tie-in was at times (loved the way Black Bolt dispatched of his Skrull torturer), I never really “got” why many consider the Inhumans to be so cool. Now I do. They re-establish themselves in a big way throughout the action-packed (extremely colorful) one-shot and it definitely leaves me wanting more. Long story short, I’ve got to hand it to Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning for getting me hooked on an event I had almost zero interest in less than a month ago.

What’s Not So Good: The Inhuman Crystal’s narration throughout the book comes off as a bit too melodramatic and heavy handed for my taste. While I understand that the new Inhuman status quo is literally shaking the group to its very core, a little bit more subtlety would have been welcome. Also, while the artwork looks quite well-done for the most part, it suffers from an annoying lack of detail from time to time. And that’s something I find quite surprising considering the impressive work most of the team has done on the Guardians of the Galaxy series.

Conclusion: Secret Invasion: War of Kings works as an entertaining, action-packed prologue to the War of Kings event. While it has a few flaws, I really enjoyed my time with it. If you are a fan of the Inhumans or are thinking of investing in the cosmic crossover, consider it a must read.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny