Written by: Charles Soule
Art by: Pepe Larraz
Publisher: Marvel
Black Bolt, Maximus, Medusa, and now…Frank? Charles Soule’s Inhuman just gets better and better with it’s ever expanding cast of characters.
Inhuman feels like a book where anything can happen. It hearkens back to a Jack Kirby era of comic books, where pure imagination, queens with sentient hair, hypno-guns, and secret societies are the mere cusp of the eccentricities found on every page. While it was a title that struggled to find it’s footing early on, Soule (with help from Ryan Stegman) continues to push the envelop on how far he can take these incredibly interesting outsiders on their own respective journeys of self discovery. One of the best characters in this series is Detective Frank McGee, who is reluctantly titled by the Inhuman’s as Nur. Frank, while constantly feeling out of place in his new, Attilan surroundings, nonetheless steps into the shows of becoming a true hero in this issue, handling the situations presented to him in a refreshing air of gruffness and ruggedness.
While any issue without the brilliant Ryan Stegman is akin to having to wait for Christmas excruciatingly between issues, newcomer Pepe Larraz does not falter in the slightest. Larraz’s pencils hearken to the wild fluidity found in Stegman’s pencils but still allow his own personal brilliance to shine. One of this best aspects as an artist lie in his panel layouts. An often overlooked part of the duties of an artist, Larraz’s layouts move the story forward in a pulsating, constant, and ever-interesting way. It’s almost hard to have both of these wonderful artists on this title as both continue to put forth their best work and it now remains a hard choice to pick between the two! Truly, we live in a great time to be a fan of comic books. Not to discredit Stegman this week, his cover, purely depicting the internal struggle of Black Bolt as his brother Maximus manipulates his way into his mind, is a perfect piece of artwork. This cover completely sells the plot of this story without depicting a single word, displaying a true lesson in restraint and storytelling without faltering. It’s truly beautiful and a great companion piece to last month’s issue, as well. Let’s hope Stegman continues to pay homage to the great Greg Capullo as the wonderful covers are truly a treat for the eyes.
Inhuman #8 is a great issue in a series that only continues to gain more traction issue to issue. Soule is the perfect writer for this series, embedding his scripts with humor, character, treachery, danger, and most of all, heart. This remains one of my favorite titles month to month and here’s hoping the streak continues to persevere.
