The Terrigen Mists: Incomparable Inhumans Appreciation

[Mike_Murdock]

I think this mini series is just a cheap excuse from Marvel to get rid of the characters while trying to look good.

I might have thought that before this issue, but it looks less likely after this issue.

[mung]

You know this Vox stuff is actually quite similar to what the progenitor planned. Maybe that's why Royals isn't mentioned.

[Ravin' Ray]

I hope at the end of the mini we get a callback to this scene from the end of Secret Invasion: Inhumans, with the Royal Family stronger than ever.

[Johnrevenge]

I hope at the end of the mini we get a callback to this scene from the end of Secret Invasion: Inhumans, with the Royal Family stronger than ever.

Seeing how things are going on, I'm not entirely optimistic

[Keyotheseasons]

I hope at the end of the mini we get a callback to this scene from the end of Secret Invasion: Inhumans, with the Royal Family stronger than ever.

This would be best case scenario. I just want to the see the Royal Family thrive and not be persecuted or hated by everyone (in- and out of comics).

[Mike_Murdock]

I was at the Cup O'Joe panel yesterday at Comic Con where they were discussing the Marvel Knights 20th Anniversary. A fan asked if they could talk about the Marvel Knights Inhumans book. Joe Quesada said basically that they wanted to get Jae Lee on art and he wanted both Paul Jenkins and to do the Inhumans. He told a funny story about how Jae Lee was terrible at meeting deadlines and, one day, their editor (who later married Quesada) literally drove down to Virginia to pick up the pages when he didn't turn them in on time. He finished by saying that the second issue was one of the best stories he's ever read and that he still thinks that miniseries was the best Inhumans story of all time.

[mung]

Kind of a tragic thing with Lee and the Inhumans. It's not too well known but that run cancelled over missing deadlines. It was doing quite great in sales, comparatively it had higher sales than Black Panther and Thunderbolts. It probably would have been a long running book.

[Mike_Murdock]

Interesting. They implied things happened differently (with the benefit of nostalgia). Essentially, they suggested that it was intended to be a mini because that was the only way Jae Lee could realistically finish the book.

[Noek]

You can ignore all of this once you answer with a no. Do you watch anime? Have you seen JoJo? Have you seen the Newest JoJo, it came out Yesterday 5/08/2018? It is set in Italy and has a mobster theme could you see an Ahura/Ennilux like comic following this route?

[Mike_Murdock]

I said I would review an issue a day of the original Inhumans story from Amazing Adventures. I just got back from NYCC, so I'm a bit tired, but I don't want to fall behind. This story is available on Marvel Unlimited and is also in the Beware the Inhumans trade paperback. If I had more time, I would have re-read the Incredible Hulk King-Size Special that's also included because it introduced the Inhumans D-Team knockoffs of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, which I have a soft spot for. They are "Falcona, the Huntress," "Leonus, the Lion-Man," "Aireo, the Floating Man," "Timberius, the Tree-Dweller," "Stallior, the Centaur," and "Nebulo, he who appears but as an uncast shadow." Of those, Nebulo is far and away my favorite. But the story isn't relevant except for their appearances in Amazing Adventures. I do want to note that the story has art by Marie Severin who, unfortunately, would be forgotten by most if she hadn't recently passed away.

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #1 - Beware The Inhumans



This story is written and drawn by Jack Kirby, so it has all the strengths and weaknesses of 70s Jack Kirby. Jack Kirby has such a wonderful dynamism and creative energy, but, by the 70s, he was often a bit overly stylized and I never got the impression he enjoyed returning to characters he had previously created.

Leaving some exposition aside, the story begins as a Chinese expedition searches to find the Inhumans (I assume, they're described as "soldiers of the Chairman."). The Inhumans drive them off. Karnak gets to do some cool stuff by chopping a mountain cliff in a way that causes a bridge to form to both scare the Chinese and allow them to escape. The Chinese instead decide to launch an "atomic grenade" at the Inhumans, but Medusa "of the living hair" grabs it and Black Bolt flies in to kick their ass.

Overall, this feels somewhat rough with a very simplistic view of Cold War politics mixed with an oddly overwritten dialogue. It's one thing when Stan Lee wrote to cover for the art, it's another thing when the artist is writing the dialogue we can see in the art anyway. That being said, there are some interesting moments. One of the big things is that Attilan's isolation is fueled by their superior technology, but the technology gap is closing quickly and discovery is almost inevitable. I think the part that bothers me is they were discovered by the Fantastic Four so they're really singling out the Chinese as not being allowed to meet them. That being said, the fear seems well-justified as a Cobalt Missile is launched straight towards Attilan!

Literally one panel later, we find out Maximus sent the missile. We also find out Jack Kirby doesn't give a **** what other writers wrote about the Inhumans as he immediately called Stallior "Centaurius," Leonus "Lionus," and Aiero "Aeolus" (this last one is a better name, though). I'd like to think, since Maximus is the one doing it, he's intentionally calling them the wrong names. I think this is the first time we see Maximus willingly embrace the name "Maximus the Mad."

Like a good supervillain, he's decided to launch missiles to convince the Inhumans that the humans are attacking them and provoke a war. Two missiles are launched and Black Bolt uses his amazing, super, god-like powers to destroy both of them. The wreckage of the second one reveals that the missile was "Made in the USA" and has a number 4 on it. I guess the FTC insists that all Fantastic Four products list their country of origin. Medusa suggests that maybe Maximus is responsible instead, but she's just a silly female and that ridiculous suggestion is quickly dismissed. Instead, Black Bolt signals to prepare for war against the Fantastic Four.

This is a 12-page story, but is still fairly dense for twelve pages. It's got intrigue, superpowers, and potential for both geopolitics and family squabbles. In short, it has all the traditional makings of an Inhumans story. However, it certainly isn't an expertly told story and things feel stiff in comparison to both earlier and later stories. Still, the cliffhanger is a very solid one to start the next issue. Who doesn't love a good Hero vs. Hero fight featuring the Inhumans?

[Mike_Murdock]

Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 #2 - Friend Against Friend



When Marvel released a Jack Kirby True Believers set of reprints, they reprinted the first two issues of this story. Part of the reason they did it was because they were releasing everything Jack Kirby did that wasn't the Fantastic Four (which, to be fair, they should release this stuff because Kirby was more than the FF). That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if part of the reason they released this story is because they get to sneak in the FF anyway. At a minimum, this story is noteworthy for an awesome shot of Ben Grimm fighting Lockjaw while in his bathrobe.

The Inhumans materialize in the Baxter Building and get to work. Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, and Lockjaw are all there. Crystal, of course, is not because she's with the Fantastic Four at the time. Triton is not there either but Gorgon hopes that his task beneath the sea bears fruit. There's a lovely tug of war match between Ben and Lockjaw before Black Bolt and Karnak knock him out. The shock wave from that gets Johnny and Crystal's attention and they race to the aid of their compatriot. Medusa knocks out Crystal. Frustratingly, she refers to Crystal as her cousin. I could be badly misremembering, but I believe the fact that they were sisters was established very early on. This story establishes just how impressively powerful the Inhumans are. They've caught the Fantastic Four by surprise, but they're completely dominating them (at least the Thing and the Human Torch).

We cut to Maximus with his band of Inhumans who are, this time, correctly named, although he called Aerio "My flying Inhuman" because, once again, Maximus can't be bothered to learn names. At this moment, Triton comes out of the water, grabs Maximus, and takes him into the sea. It turns out that Black Bolt didn't fall for Maximus's trick afterall. At the Baxter Building, Reed and Sue return with Franklin to find the place in shambles. Ben is about to fight the Inhumans again for ruining his bathrobe. Black Bolt uses his powers over molecular manipulation to repair the Ben's clothes.

The story ends with the Inhumans as cocky and as arrogant as ever. Reed Richards asks if there was good cause for the attack. Medusa says yes without ever bothering to apologize. Instead, she simply explains that the evidence pointed to the FF so there was no choice to react. Luckily, Black Bolt pursued the slim alternative that it was Maximus, which happened to be correct. Then the story gets oddly political. Essentially, in the growing world of nuclear stockpiles, when a false alarm happens like this, would it be possible to figure it out before lives are lost? Would they pause to find the true aggressor? In some ways, this ending is foreshadowed. The beginning involved Communist China. There was a scare involving nuclear weapons. And the Inhumans blamed the United States for the missiles. But it's hard to say the ending was earned. Overall, this story functions as a solid Inhumans story. It puts them in an interesting path without compromising on who they are. For the first Inhumans solo story, I think it's worth checking out.

Tomorrow, Amazing Adventures continues with another story by Jack Kirby.

[Oberon]

Thanks for the recap, Mike. I may have read these as 15 or so year old. I remember Maximus' crew more, from the Hulk annual around that time (preceding), where they may have been introduced ? not sure?

On a more somber note, I finally caught up with Death/Inhumans and gosh I wish it weren't so. I'm hoping for something better for them. Pretty heart-rending.

[Mike_Murdock]

Yeah, I reference them a bit more before I start my review of Amazing Adventures #1. To my knowledge, they appeared in that Hulk Annual first. If I wasn't at New York Comic Con, I would have taken some time to review that issue before I went to these stories because they're pretty cool in that one - particularly the dude who has the ability to basically be a shadow.

[Oberon]

I remember him too. He was rather different. I don't think he has shown up much. Was he killed? I don't remember.

[Mike_Murdock]

According to Marvel Database, Nebulo last appeared in Atlantis Rising - a 90s Fantastic Four event. Stallior supposedly appeared much more recently, but I have no recollection of that.

Speaking of, CBR just did an article about this very issue

1968’s Incredible Hulk Annual (labeled as a King-Size Special at the time) is famous for the iconic Jim Steranko cover for the book. It’s one of the most homaged covers in the history of comic books. However, the inside of the comic is a bit less famous. Credited to Gary Friedrich and Marie Severin, the story involves the Hulk taking on Maximus the Mad and his new group of evil Inhuman subjects who try to trick him into helping them take over Inhuman Society after the bad guys were banished by Black Bolt. Black Bolt fights the Hulk, but realizes that the Hulk isn’t really a bad guy and he offers Hulk a place with the Inhumans but the Hulk turns them down. The issue has some cool action scenes by Severin, but for the most part, the story didn’t have a huge impact on the Marvel Universe.

The reason for that, likely enough, is due to HOW the comic book was produced. As you likely know, Marvel did something called the “Marvel Method,” where the artist is given a plot and then they draw the book based on the plot and then the writer adds dialogue to the penciled pages. So, this combination led to a disaster when Gary Friedrich and Marie Severin got together. Friedrich hated coming up with plots and Severin didn’t typically work that way, either.

Anyway, worth a click and a read, plus there are some nice pictures from the issue.