Comic Review: Death Of The Inhumans #1

Death Of The Inhumans #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Donny Cates

Artist: Ariel Olivetti

I’ll be the first to say it: the Inhumans have kind of become a joke.

Very recently, as most of you probably remember, there was a plan to phase out the X-Men and replace most mutants with Inhumans. This was, of course, to really hype up what they planned on being a mega-hit ABC series starring the moon-dwelling Inhumans. The oversaturation of Inhumans series did not work out well and there was pretty much immediate fatigue. On top of that, the show was a bonafide stink-bomb.  I, as much as anyone, wanted the show to succeed. But I never get what I want. So, when any comic book company makes a push to revitalize a certain franchise, the go-to move is to threaten death upon them. As you can guess, my immediate reaction upon seeing the upcoming Death Of The Inhumans series was a hearty guffaw. Then the creative team caught my eye: hotshot Donny Cates and the always amazing Ariel Olivetti. So, I thought, it might be something worth checking out. They might breathe some life into it by smiting these Shakespearean space weirdos. And my god, they succeeded. This issue starts off with a brief explanation of the creation of the Inhumans, brought forth by the Kree Empire conducting science experiments of early man. In the present, the Kree’s homeworld is being destroyed so they have taken back to the stars to “reap the seeds of war once again.” Now they have their sights set upon the Inhumans, and they want their experiment back under their control by any means necessary. This message is sent very plainly to Black Bolt by the massacre of 11,038 free Inhumans, with “Join Or Die” written on a number of the slain. The perpetrator of this unspeakable travesty was Vox. Created by the Kree, Vox is the first of the “Super-Inhumans”, who’s all force and power, with little to none of that pesky humanity. Vox has set out to cripple The Inhumans, and force Black Bolt to surrender to the will of The Kree. And, boy, by the end of the issue, Vox definitely delivers a powerful and ruthless blow to Black Bolt’s morale.

Gravitas. Donny Cates and Ariel Olivetti deliver a heaping load of gravitas with this issue. There’s not one beat of this story that comes off hokey, silly or corny in the least. It’s very much a story about a royal family under attack. The Inhumans’ very way of life is under attack, probably by the greatest threat they’ve faced. Cates is Midas; everything he touches turns to pure gold. The narrative mostly lies in the narration, which is so precise and moving at times, it’s unbelievable. The description of Black Bolt’s process of writing down the names of the 11,038 killed by Vox, is heart-wrenching, and that is honestly the least of it. The last couple of pages contains something that might be the most gutwrenching thing that could have happened in an Inhumans series, it’s almost cruel of Cates and Olivetti to have done it. Speaking of Olivetti, his art here is unbelievable. It’s absolutely perfect, and I’ll go as far as to say it’s the best work he’s ever done. I’m seriously blown away by it. Maybe it has something to do with colorist extraordinaire Jordie Bellaire (unintentional, yet badass rhyme), but it’s otherworldly.

It’s going to take a lot of work to silence the giggles whenever the Inhumans are mentioned, but Death of The Inhumans by Cates, Olivetti, and Bellaire is a HUGE leap in the right direction.