Inhumans vs X-Men #0

By Charles Soule, Kennth Rocafort and Dan Brown

After the terribleness that was Death of X, we move onto the next step in the X-Men and Inhumans story, which is logically, Inhumans vs. X-Men. While this is just a #0 issue that sets up many of the things to come, it is a necessary book. Fans are pretty much on one side or the other here and it’s up to Charles Soule to give us a better story than the last mini. He’s got the writing chops, but he may need to win some fans over due to the bad taste left in readers mouth from Death of X.

Charles Soule fills in some of the gaps after the events of Death of X. Soule starts us off eight months ago with Beast and Iso beginning to work on a possible cure for the Terrigen mist. Soule’s take on Beast is odd and very unlikable. He is too excited for a man who just lost a frenemy of twenty years. At a time when emotions should be a little raw, Beast is taking selfies. Iso does come off very likable in this sequence though and seems just as skeptical as people reading the issue. Emma’s whereabouts are well documented this issue and Soule does an excellent job with her. We’re not sure if she’s going crazy or if she has a brilliant plan, but she is very intriguing so far. As the issue goes on, the time gap to the present shrinks until we’re at present day. Soule does a fine job of putting all the main players in place for the conflict. Emma’s recruitment and Beast’s testing dominated the issue, but there were small cameo’s by others like Magneto, Storm and Medusa. Soule put out a pretty good introductory issue for this mini-event.

The pencils this issue are handled by Kenneth Rocafort with colors by Dan Brown. When Rocafort is on a book there usually aren’t too many complaints, and there won’t be any for this issue either. Rocafort’s background and establishing pages look fabulous. The Savage Land looks gorgeous, complete with large dinosaurs and beautiful waterfalls all drawn masterfully. Characters from a distance don’t lose much detail, as shown when Beast meets with Crystal and Gorgon. Rocafort is a huge talent artist and his work speaks for itself. Equally as important to the equation is colorist Dan Brown who makes Rocafort’s pencils come to life with his magnificent colors. Brown’s work leaps off the page with it’s bright blues and piercing orange flames. Brown’s work will immediately draw your attention and in some instances, like when Emma is in her diamond form, you’ll have to stare at it for a minute to fully take it all in. The art is the MVP of this issue, hands down.

Inhumans vs. X-Men #0 was a very good read. Charles Soule’s script filled in many of the gaps fans had after Death of X, but still left some plot points dangling for the rest of the series. The art was amazing, but one ouldn’t expect anything less with Rocafort and Brown on this book. If Death of X left a bad taste in your mouth, Inhumans vs. X-Men #0 is a good way to rinse out the awful after-taste.