In-Humans?
Written by: Al Ewing
Art by: Ryan Sook, Chris Allen, Ryan Sook, Walden Wong, Keith Champagne, Paul Mounts and Clayton CowlesCover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 29, 2017
While over at the DC Comics side of the shelf, it is Annuals week, Marvel is going full steam ahead
and pushing out a ton of titles including this one, Inhumans Prime #1. Now, I am not going to fake the funk and say that I am an Inhumans expert or even a fan because as of right now, I am neither. So why did I decide to review this issue? Well, I wanted to dip my toe into the Inhumans pool and see if it is something I want to become a fan of. So, if you are looking for a reviewer who can point out easter eggs and call backs, I am not your man. However, if you want to see if a newb (is that still a thing?) can jump in and enjoy this issue and get pumped for what Marvel is cooking up with the Inhumans in the months to come, then jump on in because that's the angle I'm going with here. So, is this the first of many Inhuman's reviews I'll be doing or is this the last? Let's find out...
The issue opens with a news report detailing the end of the Mutant/Inhuman conflict as a mysterious guy watches on while orbiting Earth in his "apartment". The report continues, quickly explaining what Terrigen is, why it is needed and that it is gone. However, this cold open ends with our guy telling us that everything we know about Terrigen is wrong and he has all the answers! Pretty intriguing stuff, but something that Al Ewing is going to let percolate a bit as we head off to the Grand Canyon to tie some things up while setting up the future of the Inhumans franchise.
We get Triton, Lineage, The Unspoken and Maximus who are quickly joined by Lockjaw and Karnak. Again, I am not an Inhumans expert by any means, but it is pretty evident who is higher on the food chain as Maximus mind controls Triton into attacking Karnak.
While this is going on, he screws with The Unspoken (something which seems to be a continuing affair) by giving him a bit of Terrigen crystal...which he promises is the very last one this time and Unspoken goes all electric minotaur and almost attacks Karnak. Almost, because the Inhumans led by Medusa and Black Bolt show up looking all badass!
The fight doesn't last long (thanks to the Reader), but Maximus turns it into a battle royal between old and new Inhumans which is pretty cool, but also very short lived. Damn you Captain Swain! I know I shouldn't root for Inhuman vs Inhuman fighting, but it all looked so cool! Oh well, Swain's powers counteracted Maximus' and it all ends with the bad guys in the dungeons of New Attilan.
The rest of the issue deals with a (still) secret that Maximus tells Black Bolt and a new Inhumans government. Medusa and Black Bolt have stepped down and Iso will be the leader going forward. As for Maximus, he is to be sent far away as punishment.
The issue ends with the reveal of the guy at the beginning of the issue, the promise of something awesome and the setup for a couple of ongoing Inhuman books.
So, how did it go for me? Well, I wasn't as confused as I thought I'd be and actually had fun reading this issue. Al Ewing held my hand enough to let me know what was going on, but yes, I understand that to go to the next phase, I will have to do a little research. But hey, this issue gave me an itch to do that...at least for now. Come and look me up in a couple months to see if I'm still singing the same tune.
There was a pretty big art team for this issue, but I have to say, that didn't hurt it at all. I liked the look of this book and there weren't many transition issues that large teams usually create. There were a couple of standout pages early on, but even as the art took second stage to the story, it all looked good.
Bits and Pieces:
Inhumans Prime #1 tied up some loose threads while showing the new direction for the Inhumans going forward. I'm not sure what long time Inhumans fans will think, but this new one got enough out of this to want more.
7.3/10
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