Review: INHUMAN #2

INHUMAN #2
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Joe Madureira
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 28, 2014

INHUM2014002_DC11_LRCharles Soule and Joe Mad return after a delay to continue the tale of Dante, the recent victim/recipient of powers from the Terrigen Mist bomb unleashed during Infinity.

Charles Soule does an exceptional job of giving each of his 36 monthly titles a unique voice. Inhuman is dealing with a cast we don’t see often, and Soule uses that to his advantage. He is the first writer to write Dante, and as of yet he’s doing a good job of giving the character a voice. His rage, confusion and every emotion in between are right on the surface, and considering what he has gone through his character reads very well. There is always some excitement when a fresh character is brought into the Marvel U, especially one that has been part of a large media push as has been the case with Inhuman. Each page he appears on is interesting and Soule is doing a good job of letting information about the Inhumans be discovered via conversation. For long time Marvel Cosmic readers some of this info will be redundant, but for any new reader checking out Inhuman these pages contain valuable information and introductions to some key Inhuman concepts. Soule writes Medusa very well and, as with the first issue, I’d argue she outshines Dante in this comic. Medusa is regal while being concerned, an angry Queen attempting to shepherd her people into a new era. The burden she carries is obvious in every situation Soule puts her in, but she is outwardly very “stiff upper lip” as a monarch should be. With how well Soule is writing She-Hulk this issue acts as a great argument for a Medusa ongoing helmed by Soule, should Inhuman start to focus solely on Dante at some point. There is a lot of shifting around in this story, bouncing between locations and story beats very quickly, and some may perceive that as rushing. It feels like Soule had many goals that had to be accomplished in this issue and while some plot points could have used a little more fleshing out it is just the second issue in the series and there is lots of time left for more story to be told.

Joe Madureira delivers solid artwork throughout the collection, and fans of Joe Mad will be very happy with what they find in this issue. It’s easy to argue that the wait is worth it when you see the pencils inside Inhuman #2, as Madureira’s artwork sells the story very well. He conveys Dante’s rage very well and gives the Inhuman characters a lot of life. Gorgon has never looked better and the visually dynamic Medusa is stoic and regal by Madureira’s hand. Her iconic hair has a life of its own, and she absolutely owns any page she is on. Madureira also pencils one hell of a good Captain America in this issue, making me want to demand a Cap book with him on pencils sometime in the very near future. His style is perfect for this story and these characters, and I highly recommend picking this issue up for the visuals alone. Joe Mad delivers. Colourist Marte Gracia works well with Madureira’s style and is a big part of why this artwork has so much energy. His colour work brings a spark to these pages, especially when Medusa is in the picture, and the work of the art team is superb in this comic.

Inhuman #2 is a solid issue in a series that will hopefully not be overlooked despite the gap between issues. Dante is a character with a ton of potential and the Inhumans look fantastic by Madureira’s hand. Soule and Joe Mad are a strong creative team working to rebuild one of the great empires in the Marvel U, and I’ll definitely be coming back for issue #3.

The Verdict: 8.0/10

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