Post by goldenfist on Aug 14, 2008 14:18:48 GMT -5
Here's a review of Secret Invasion Inhumans #1 from Ign.com
The past few years, a trend has developed where television/movie writers moonlight as comic writers on the side. This development has its pros (a larger talent pool is never a bad thing) and cons (occasionally wonky release schedules). No matter your opinion on the subject, there may be a glut of material coming out from such writers in the near future, since they probably had a desire to eat during the Writers Guild strike earlier this year. Heroes writer Joe Pokaki joins the "movement" by penning the Inhumans Secret Invasion tie-in.
The Inhumans are an acquired taste. Neglected Kree science experiments that live on the Moon is a hard sell even in comic book circles, but that hasn't stopped some really great stories recently. David Hine really revitalized the characters and concepts with the limited series Silent War and to a lesser extent Son of M. Both storylines were darker and more nuanced than had ever been seen before for the subject. Of course, you're taking a risk when you attempt a serious take on a group of characters that include a giant teleporting dog with a tuning fork on his head, but Hine pulled it off for the most part.
While Pokaski retains the drastic changes made under Hine's reign, this series is much more a Secret Invasion tie-in than successor to the previous stories. I don't consider this a good thing. With no recap page and only side comments to go on, there is a serious risk of confusion for those unaware of recent changes, but at least the first couple pages take care of the general questions like "What is an Inhuman?" If you read the lead up to Secret Invasion, you've already read the majority of the first issue already. The Inhumans find out about the Skrulls and confusion and paranoia abound. There's only so many ways you can depict this concept, and they've all been done already, so prepare to be unimpressed. There is some variation stemming from how Attilan society is structured, but that's more window dressing than anything else, since the end result is the same.
The art work is hit or miss as well. Tom Raney is strongest drawing close up figures and faces. In those circumstances, everything is brilliantly detailed and proportioned, but trouble occurs with distance. If the subject is further away, proportion and perspective become poorly executed and something become cringe-inducing (I'm looking at you hellicarrier panel). There's also a general lack of background detail - essentially a blank background behind the main subject of the panel, which is a pet peeve of mine.
This series is not for everyone. It doesn't seem to be all that connected to the main Secret Invasion story, with the possible exception of Black Bolt's role as a member of the Illuminati. Still, Pokaski did his research, so the characters are true to form, which may be enough if you're a big enough Inhumans fan. For others, it's simply another iteration of the same general Skrull story we've seen countless times at this point.
Review Score: 6.0 Passable
The past few years, a trend has developed where television/movie writers moonlight as comic writers on the side. This development has its pros (a larger talent pool is never a bad thing) and cons (occasionally wonky release schedules). No matter your opinion on the subject, there may be a glut of material coming out from such writers in the near future, since they probably had a desire to eat during the Writers Guild strike earlier this year. Heroes writer Joe Pokaki joins the "movement" by penning the Inhumans Secret Invasion tie-in.
The Inhumans are an acquired taste. Neglected Kree science experiments that live on the Moon is a hard sell even in comic book circles, but that hasn't stopped some really great stories recently. David Hine really revitalized the characters and concepts with the limited series Silent War and to a lesser extent Son of M. Both storylines were darker and more nuanced than had ever been seen before for the subject. Of course, you're taking a risk when you attempt a serious take on a group of characters that include a giant teleporting dog with a tuning fork on his head, but Hine pulled it off for the most part.
While Pokaski retains the drastic changes made under Hine's reign, this series is much more a Secret Invasion tie-in than successor to the previous stories. I don't consider this a good thing. With no recap page and only side comments to go on, there is a serious risk of confusion for those unaware of recent changes, but at least the first couple pages take care of the general questions like "What is an Inhuman?" If you read the lead up to Secret Invasion, you've already read the majority of the first issue already. The Inhumans find out about the Skrulls and confusion and paranoia abound. There's only so many ways you can depict this concept, and they've all been done already, so prepare to be unimpressed. There is some variation stemming from how Attilan society is structured, but that's more window dressing than anything else, since the end result is the same.
The art work is hit or miss as well. Tom Raney is strongest drawing close up figures and faces. In those circumstances, everything is brilliantly detailed and proportioned, but trouble occurs with distance. If the subject is further away, proportion and perspective become poorly executed and something become cringe-inducing (I'm looking at you hellicarrier panel). There's also a general lack of background detail - essentially a blank background behind the main subject of the panel, which is a pet peeve of mine.
This series is not for everyone. It doesn't seem to be all that connected to the main Secret Invasion story, with the possible exception of Black Bolt's role as a member of the Illuminati. Still, Pokaski did his research, so the characters are true to form, which may be enough if you're a big enough Inhumans fan. For others, it's simply another iteration of the same general Skrull story we've seen countless times at this point.
Review Score: 6.0 Passable