Books : The Inhumans (Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four)

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- A little melodramatic
I bought this after reading the Transformers/GI Joe with Jae Lee. The drawing was stunningly dirty and the story was communicated through action. This reminded me a lot of Infinity Crisis (which people also love)- a lot of talk about what it means to be heroes and heroes in heroic poses.

Rating:

- Marvel's other imprints continue to amaze me
The Inhumans are Marvel's most interesting group of characters even above the X-Men. They are always put in the background as the supporting characters to the Fantastic Four. Rarely have they ever been allowed to have their time to shine in the spotlight on a grand stage until the recent storylines in 2005's "House of M" crossover and the upcoming 2007 limited series "Silent War". Over the years Marvel has done various limited series, with varying degrees of success. The 1998 Marvel Knights series by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee is perhaps the most sucessful of these ventures. But this isn't your usual Inhumans, they have created a serious and moody affair. I'm not usually all that adamant about Lee's early artwork on WildCATS Trilogy, but here his shadow heavy pencils and abstract art style manage to fit in just right. The Knights Inhumans series carries a realistic sense of conflict that almost makes the book feel like a feature length animated film. It is a shame that the ongoing monthly series was cancelled. Lee and Jenkins should be invited to have another shot at the Inhumans in another miniseries.

Rating:

- very good, give it some time though
Reading level: ages 9-12? NO WAY! A kid would be lost with this book.

This book is a slow moving character study... at first! But be patient; things really heat up in this book and are well worth the wait.

Jenkins writing style requires serious attention, this is not a casual read. But again, it's worth the effort. For the first few chapters I was saying to myself, "What the heck is going on?!?!" but then everything starts to come together in a clever way. Also, Lee's art is beautiful.

This book has some great appearances by Namor, and a cool sketchbook in the back.

Check it out!

Rating:

- Wow. One of the best comics of the last 10 years.
Since Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Sandman et al., there have been a great deal of comics published by mainstream companies that can be termed literary in their approach and/or quality, depending on which definition you use.

In 12 issues, Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee manage to give us a clear sense of everything in the world, a world that seems to be nothing like our own. They manage to give the characters depth (all of the characters except Triton and Crystal seem three dimensional, Triton and Crystal could have used a little more characterization) and compel you to finish the series. The story ends every issue on an amazing cliffhanger (well not the last one so much) and manages to do what a lot of great stories do: it uses the external landscape to reveal what the internal feelings of the character are (especially for Black Bolt who can not speak). The art is amazing from an artist who seems to slip under the radar sometimes. The story really says a lot about the human race and manages to look at it from a totally differnet perspective.

There are two subplots that I think could have been developed more,

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

the first being the boy that Triton saved from the Lusitania, which seems to be in there mostly as a scene to show that the Inhumans had good experiences with humans for once. The second being the subplot of the humans who made themselves into Inhumans (like Lockjaw as a bulldog with a fork on his head), it was such a cool idea and it could have been developed much more.

END SPOILERS

In spite of the fact that it is not the next Watchmen (which We3 being the only comic that, in my opinion, may [and I emphasize may] come close to breaking ground like that), Inhumans is definatley worth a read. While some comic fans would rather see continuity followed to the letter (even when it contradicts itself) and a huge epic fight in every issue and these people could find Inhumans to be a bit slow paced (and don't get me wrong, I love big superhero books with epic fights as much as the next guy but I can appreciate a story like this far more) instead of seeing the internal conflicts foreshadowing the big epic battle that is to come, if they sat down and read the entire series, they could be in the minority.

I highly recommend Inhumans for the comic book fan who likes superhero stories that are treated with depth, intelligence and sophistication.

Rating:

- A real treat.
While I have read Marvel Comics for a good portion of my life, my acquaintance to the Inhumans was only through the cursory exposure from various X-Men storylines. I purchased the TPB mostly because of positive reviews and an admiration of Jae Lee's art. Boy am I happy that I did.

This work serves as a superb demonstration of what the comic book can achieve as an art form. The multiple story arcs all hold the reader's interest well. The writing is tight and tells a surprisingly complex story in 12 issues with few wasted words/frames. Jenkins manages to introduce the book's characters and backgrounds in a natural, uncontrived manner, which is a rare feat in this medium.

The artwork is a pure joy. Jae Lee's style fits the material and sets the mood perfectly. The amount of detail in each frame, especially involving facial expressions, is remarkable and goes a long way to drive the storyline.

If I have one criticism, it would be that certain elements of Jenkins' writing style are overused throughout the book and become slightly irritating. Still, this book easily ranks as one of the best TPBs I have ever picked up.

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