COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Inhumanity #2

Writer: Matt Fraction

Artist: Nick Bradshaw with Todd Nauck

Publisher: Marvel Comics

So this book has been an enigma to me for quite some time. When it was first announced in Previews some time ago it was labeled as Inhumanity: Medusa #1, then it was changes to simply Inhumanity #2. While this does not take anything away from what is inside the cover I had to mention it because it did cause some confusion for readers and comic shops alike.

But onto the review!

Issue two of Inhumanity focuses on the Inhuman Queen Medusa and her journey in the wake of the fall of Attilan and the disappearance of her husband Black Bolt and her son. With so many new Inhumans immerging from the Terrigen cocoons they are looking for a leader to guide them. Meanwhile Captain America is trying to figure out what is going and even asks the Queen what she plans to do.

I felt this first part of the book was really well done because it does show Medusa as a Queen who as of now has lost everything but at the same time must stand and become the Queen that she is. Medusa is no lightweight and has been in Marvel comics longer than any other Inhuman to date and I really feel that people who may not be familiar with her would get a good sense that while she is a Queen she is also a wife and mother. This is very important because it shows development for her; it shows what she is going through during this time of crisis. She is grieving and hanging on to hope that her husband and son will be found and come back to her. Cap by talking to her and explaining the situation that is going on in the wake of Attilan’s fall is only the start of her transformation into the Queen she needs to be.

Following this we get pages showing Tony Stark and T’Challa going over their data and trying to pinpoint and exact number of Inhumans now in population. We also see that people are out there killing new Inhumans while they are still in the cocoons and even a character known as the Unspoken slaughtering human troops to steal the cocoons.

Now I have to talk about the art in the pages relating to the Unspoken. When I first opened this book I was amazed. Bradshaw’s rendition of Medusa was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and in fact the pages with her after the aforementioned Unspoken scene are also breathtaking. There is even a splash page that I want on my wall. It is beautiful and he really has shown just how beautiful Medusa is and the movements of her hair are done perfectly. However the pages relating to the Unspoken seem out of place to me. I am not sure what it is but they do not seem to fit with the rest of the book. When I got to them it seemed they were less detailed and the art style was completely different than the rest of the book. Now if these are the pages Todd Nauck drew I am not sure but for me it was a distraction to see these different art styles in the same book that was not a compilation story where it is more accepted. Other than those pages this books art was brilliant.

Now once these scenes are done and we are back to Medusa and the other Inhumans, they are notified that cocoons have been taken for experimentation and worse. This propels Medusa into action and leads her into becoming the Queen that she was destined to be. Medusa shows why she is Queen and is not just some figure head. She shows she is willing to take matters into her own hands and even kill if that means her people will be protected. I felt this was wonderful because through the issue you see her growth and you see her becoming who she is meant to be, you even see that while she has started to become a Queen she is still a wife and mother and that is a good balance.

Seeing more of the known Inhumans such as Gorgon in this issue was a nice treat and there was also two panels featuring cameos of Crystal which I loved. I hope she will play a bigger role in upcoming issues of the new book Inhuman because she has so much history it would be nice to have her come to the forefront and not just a non speaking role.

All in all, except for the art on those few pages Fraction and his team have made a great book that showcases, in my opinion, one of the strongest women in Marvel Comics. They told a story of growth and development that in today’s comics is needed. So I highly recommend this issue of Inhumanity and I hope you will agree with me on the beauty that is Medusa when you see her rendering.

So from Spin to all of you I give this issue a Royal…

4 out of 5 nerds