The Terrigen Mists: Incomparable Inhumans Appreciation

[Owl]

This is a bit of topic, but I have managed to see the future avengers anime (the one with inhumans in it). The season two has not been dubbed yet, so I didn't undenstand a word, but there are still some things I can tell you.
The animation quality of their powers is the best I have seen so far in any animation. Black bolt is nerfed but still wery powerful. Medusa only moves her hair when she fights (so far) but when she does it look awesome. One thing I dont undestand is that with exeption of Crystal and Maximus none of them have irises or pupils. Attilan is on the moon.
Now plot wise (they appeared in only two episodes so far).....they seem to have come to earth for Kamala and one other character. Maximus is scheming something.
I will wait for an english dub to continue watching, but I will give it a shot.

[mung]

The no pupils thing is weird unofficial quark that started in Jenkins. Almost every time they used their powers their eyes when white. It happens a bit off and on in Soule's and Amus's inhumans as well,. I don't think there is a real explanation for it and it seems to only happen to the royals.

[Mike_Murdock]

^ I should probably say, even in the Jack Kirby story I'm reading, they'll often go with the blank white eyes - particularly when they're not doing closeups. I think Iron Fist is a common example of this technique.

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #3 - Pawns of the Mandarin



This issue starts with the Mandarin watching the Inhumans defeat a digging party. Apparently, the Mandarin wants the "Eye of Yin." He shows up personally to do fight them and uses his Deus ex Machina Rings pretty effectively. Luckily, no one has more Deus ex Machina powers than Black Bolt. Honestly, people complain that all his powers besides his voice (and maybe flight) have been forgotten, but he was far too overpowered. There's got to be a balance with him.

That being said, it was a ploy - have the Inhumans think the Mandarin was dead so they'll want to figure what he was digging for. In the end, they come across a Jack Kirby designed idol that activates. The issue ends in a cliffhanger.

In many ways, this issue is very much a Jack Kirby story. At this time, he was writing the Eternals, which was very much filled with the ancients being advanced alien gods. There's also the Black Panther that had a ton of magical or mystical technology from long ago. This story fits in with those. On the other hand, the story is only ten pages long and feels much less than that. It's a two-parter that could have been told in 12 pages and been the better for it. There's not much else to say. Tomorrow is Kirby's last issue.

[mung]

https://twitter.com/JackKirbyMuseum/...91178835771394

[Owl]

The no pupils thing is weird unofficial quark that started in Jenkins. Almost every time they used their powers their eyes when white. It happens a bit off and on in Soule's and Amus's inhumans as well,. I don't think there is a real explanation for it and it seems to only happen to the royals.

Thanks for the explanation.

[responsarbre]

In many ways, this issue is very much a Jack Kirby story. At this time, he was writing the Eternals, which was very much filled with the ancients being advanced alien gods. There's also the Black Panther that had a ton of magical or mystical technology from long ago. This story fits in with those. On the other hand, the story is only ten pages long and feels much less than that. It's a two-parter that could have been told in 12 pages and been the better for it. There's not much else to say. Tomorrow is Kirby's last issue.

It's been a while, but I remember reading something in Marvel Comics: The Untold Story that said something like Kirby had written and drawn the Inhumans stories in Amazing Adventures on his own time long before they were published, and that he was disappointed when he had to cut them in half to have them published in a double feature. (Though I suppose #9 and #10 were full-length, but without Kirby.)

[Mike_Murdock]

Yeah, Kirby is done after issue 4. I've read 1 and 2 as a single unit before. I think they read fine either together or cut up because there's a solid cliffhanger. 3 is just a thin story. I'll let you know tonight if 4 makes up for it.

[Mike_Murdock]

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #4 - With These Rings, I Thee Kill



This issue has a pretty cool opening splash page with the Mandarin looking at the Inhumans. His fist is in the foreground. In the reflection of his rings, you can see the faces of the Inhumans looking back at him. The Inhumans are in front of the Idol of Yin. Even Inhuman records are aware of the ancient land of sorcerers called Yin. The idol has a sphere on it that's glowing with energy. Black Bolt grabs it, but it starts to fly away and the chase is on. It turns out the Mandarin is using his rings to summon it.

The Mandarin absorbs the power of the orb. From that, he is easily able to defeat the Inhumans and pretty much anything else. He begins bragging about how powerful he is. He talks about how he can even destroy the moon. This is pretty impressive stakes for such a forgotten book. Then the Mandarin gets so caught up in his bragging that he misses that Black Bolt created a swirly pattern that hypnotizes the Mandarin. Karnak and Gorgon come in and knock him out. The Mandarin's rings are removed and left in the cave that is sealed when they leave.

There's not a lot going on for this conclusion either. The story very much flies at the seat of its pants for little reason. Beyond the opening splash page, which I really like, the art isn't all that interesting either. I'm looking forward to next issue, though.

[Mike_Murdock]

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #5 - His Brother's Keeper



So I'm reading this in the trade, so there's the occasional Fantastic Four issue in between. Between last issue and this issue, a lot has happened. Over in the FF, Crystal found out she was getting sick because the humans were polluting the air and making it toxic for Inhumans to live. They didn't yet decide to leave the Earth (and they never declared war on anyone over this unlike some other supergroup I know), but Crystal did leave Johnny Storm and head back to the Great Refuge (i.e., Attilan) because the air is cleaner in the Tibetan Mountains than it is in New York City in the 70s. There's also a big change in Amazing Adventures. Jack Kirby is off the book. Replacing him on pencilling duties is Roy Thomas. Thomas is noteworthy because he's writing Avengers and Captain Marvel at this time. In three months, he will start writing the Kree-Skrull War in that book.

On art is Neal Adams. Adams is a dramatic shift from the stylized pencils of Jack Kirby into a far, far more realistic style. I don't normally post pictures in my review beyond the cover, but just a comparison between Kirby's drawing of Medusa and Adams's drawing of her speaks wonders. There's a wonderful attention to detail and shading that gives this book a more realistic feel that helps sell its superhuman qualities.

Kirby:


Adams:


Roy Thomas also is a huge fan of second-person narration. If you read his time on Iron Fist or even the Captain Marvel run he was doing at this time, you would see a lot of that. For those who are fans of the X-Men podcast Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men, Chris Claremont took over this second-person narration when he wrote Iron Fist and imported it to X-Men for a time, which led to what they call as "the Angry Claremont-ian Narrator." It's all due to Roy Thomas.

Anyway, you, I mean Black Bolt, is on an important mission only he can do that requires him to leave the Hidden Land (i.e., Attilan). He leaves before Gorgon can ask him why Maximus is sealed in an impregnable cylinder where his heart beat and respiration are crawling to a dead stop. Gorgon is worried that maybe Black Bolt is trying to kill his brother. That night, Karnak and Gorgon sneak to Maximus's container and decide to free the Madman. After all, what harm is there in freeing one powerless crazy person?

Black Bolt arrives in a city at night (for some reason, I think it's San Francisco, but I don't recall it mentioned). He sees a little boy named Joey being forced by his Uncle Roscoe to break into a building. Unfortunately for Roscoe, Joey has a crisis of conscience and decides not to go through with it. Unfortunately, Roscoe is not a kind and understanding man and proceeds to punch the **** out of his nephew. Black Bolt decides this is a good time to intervene and does the same to Roscoe. He decides to take Joey to a hospital and, to avoid any confusion from the populous, steals one of the bad guy's clothes and wears those instead.

Unfortunately, at that moment, Gorgon and Karnak free Maximus and his powers are unleashed. Those powers strike Black Bolt and give him amnesia. With Maximus free, Gorgon and Karnak now learn that Maximus has developed "the power to blank minds." Maximus gleefully tells them that he struck Black Bolt. With no memory, he will forget that he shouldn't speak and will end up destroying the human city.

This story is a far more interesting opening part than the Kirby stuff. It's interesting to see how things are still developing with the Inhumans. At this point, Maximus had no powers and, when he gets them, it's news to everyone else (this will later be retconned, of course). It's also impossible to see Black Bolt among humans in a suit and not think of the Inhumans TV show. I think that show took some interesting elements from the comics but had no idea how to do it effectively. This comic isn't perfect by any means. For starters, Black Bolt is pretty much on his own and no one else has much to do. Also, it's a little unclear why Black Bolt went to the world of the humans in the first place but his mission has been literally forgotten.

[Holt]

Loving these recaps, Mike. These stories collected anywhere?

[juan678]

line it drawn

[Force de Phenix]

Loving these recaps, Mike. These stories collected anywhere?

On Comixology they have a pack, but it's included in the Marvel Unlimited library. It's under Amazing Adventures. The next headliner is Beast.

[Mike_Murdock]

Loving these recaps, Mike. These stories collected anywhere?

Yes. Look for the Beware the Inhumans Trade Paperback. Or go on Marvel Unlimited and you can read them all for free (with a subscription) under Amazing Adventures (1970-1976) #1-10 or check out Comixology.

juan678, that's a beautiful piece of work.

Anyway, I wasn't feeling very well yesterday, so I missed one, so I'm going to do two today. I realize I've been doubleposting quite a bit in this thread, so sorry about that:

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #6 - Hell on Earth



The issue opens with a confrontation between Maximus, Gorgon, and Karnak. Maximus's powers are overwhelming everyone else so they can't fight. He prevents Gorgon from concentrating so he screws up his throw, then he forces Karnak to accidentally destroy an important Inhuman icon, then he forces the two of them to fight each other. At that moment, Medusa jumps in. Maximus refers to her as a "Many-Pollicled Octopus." I like Maximus. Turns out, while the royal family has limited immunity, the rest of Attilan has none, and Maximus commands a crowd to attack. Triton rescues them in an airship and they escape, but they crash on the beach.

The two stories are interspersed, but it's easier to just tell them separately. In San Francisco (it's described as the city by the bay), Roscoe wakes up and sees that Black Bolt has left his outfit. He takes it and wonders off where he finds Joey and Blackagar. Joey is begging Black Bolt to talk. Luckily, when Black Bolt starts to speak, he's facing the bay. He destroys what appears to be a mothballed Battleship from World War II. Roy Thomas cleverly references the "loose lips sink ships" propaganda from the war at this moment. There's a lovely panel of Roscoe with his face in absolute shock and horror from what he just witnessed. As Black Bolt and Joey escape, the cops show up. Just then, a gun is pointed at our two heroes.

Once again, this story is much more dramatic than the Kirby story, imo, and the art is a wonder to behold. I really like the new and improved Maximus. He's the Maximus we're used to when it comes to powers and I think that benefits the character. Certainly, it makes it harder for people to just lock him up when he's obviously up to no good.

[Mike_Murdock]

Has anyone seen Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors yet? I had a ton of fun with it. To me, this show feels at least on par with quality of the shows I enjoyed as a kid, although the animation is a bit rougher. Victor/Exile has a really interesting power set and I like him a lot. Ms. America Chavez manages to still be my favorite character. Although, did MAC straight-up murder that Kree Accuser?

Anyway, here is my second review today of an Amazing Adventures story:

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #7 - An Evening's Wait for Death



This issue has Gerry Conway take over from Roy Thomas as the writer, although Neal Adams remains on art. Before I even saw the credits, I noticed that it's now in third-person narration. Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, and Triton are unconscious on a beach in China as PLA soldiers swarm them. However, their Captain decides the Inhumans are not demons and orders his men to lower their weapons. Unfortunately, before they do so, the Inhumans wake up, see the humans, and fear the worst. A fight breaks out. I'm a little unclear on what the island they crashed on is. It apparently has a secret compartment with a jet in it the royal family uses to escape.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Black Bolt and Joey are at gunpoint from a man named Mr. Dibbs. Mr. Dibbs is a black man and a cyborg (apparently DC can't even claim the first black Cyborg) and, after assuring he's on the same side, causes his gun to go back into his body. Mr. Dibbs also knows who Black Bolt is. He helps the pair escape... only to immediately betray them because he's working with Roscoe. They have plans to use Black Bolt for their own ends.

The Inhumans come to California where they are attacked by bodybuilders who misinterpret their actions. A fight breaks out and Triton saves the day by leading everyone in a chase while the rest of the royal family sneaks away and changes into normal clothes. After hearing a disturbance on Johnson Street, they decide to go there. There they are greeted by a shocking sight. Mr. Dibbs is using Black Bolt to threaten violence unless he gets his demands for social reform. If the mayor doesn't agree to his demands, he'll unleash Black Bolt's voice on the world.

I liked this issue less than the last two parts. The biggest reason I have is apprehension over either Gerry Conway or Roy Thomas writing black militantism. Don't get me wrong, these were important social issues of the day, but I don't really trust them to handle it with care. Other than that, Mr. Dibbs seems like he'll have an intriguing backstory that I hope they follow up on. He's a cyborg whose hand can turn into a gun, much like Ulysses Klaw from Hudlin's Black Panther run (or Ulysses Klaue from the Black Panther movie). He also seems to know who the Inhumans are, despite being a fairly closely guarded secret at this point. Other than that, they're really hammering home the "no place for Inhumans in human society" themes, which is fine except I don't think they're doing anything greater with it than pointless fights. That being said, Gorgon references that Black Bolt wants the Inhumans to live among the humans, which triggers vague recollections from the first issue of this story that this might have been Black Bolt's original reason for going to San Francisco.

[Noek]

I did and liked it, also no idea but Captain Marvel and Ms. America were both flying in space with out any gear so I assume the accuser is like them.