Inhuman #2

By Charles Soule, Joe Madureira & Marte Garcia

Inhuman was supposed to be a huge new venture for Marvel Comics entering 2014. The first issue, initially set to release in early January, was highly touted with Matt Fraction writing and Joe Madureira on pencils. Unfortunately, we never saw their creation as heads butted, causing an upheaval in the writing department. In stepped Charles Soule, along with a three-month delay for issue #1. When it came out, the issue was good, but then issue #2 got bumped again. Here we are five months after the series was set to launch, and we’re finally getting issue #2. Probably not the way Marvel wanted to launch a new overhyped book.

All those issues aside, the product, so far, has been exceptional. Issue was #1 presented a strong start, but here in issue #2 Charles Soule’s strong personal writing style and Joe Madureira and Marte Garcia’s engrossing visuals make this book feel like a summer blockbuster.  Soule quickly established a new status quo for the Inhumans, putting the remains of their fallen capital directly next to the Statue of Liberty. In doing so, Soule quickly shows that the Inhumans are being set up as a major power in the Marvel Universe.

Medusa, the Inhuman’s Queen, has a nice little arc, featuring one of the biggest heroes in all the Marvel Universe. We also spend some more time with Dante, the “Nuhuman” we met in issue #1. Soule sets up a budding bromance between Dante and Gorgon, and Soule uses those moments to insert some truly funny moments into this book.

The visuals throughout, as expected from Joe Madureira and Marte Garcia, are stellar. I could look at these pages all day. The interactions between Gorgon and Dante are a visual feast. Action scenes are precise and violent, yet scenes of exposition show a contrasting quiet tension. Medusa, quickly becoming a personal favorite, is drawn with an air of regality. Garcia’s coloring gives it all the finish it deserves, with bombastic brightness. Each image truly pops. Just gorgeous art all around.

Under Soule’s guidance, one doesn’t have to look too hard to see a potential franchise begin established in Inhuman. Yes, the entire team must get this book back on a regular schedule, but what we’ve seen has been excellent so far. Soule, Madureira, and Garcia are weaving an action-packed story filled with courtly intrigue. So far, it feels like a unique story. Marvel has a chance to create a unique corner in their universe, and so far they’re on course to just that.