{"id":33221,"date":"2025-07-01T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T08:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33221"},"modified":"2025-06-30T16:47:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T16:47:22","slug":"inhumans-beware-the-inhumans-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/07\/01\/inhumans-beware-the-inhumans-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Inhumans: Beware the Inhumans"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Stan Lee<\/strong> & Jack Kirby<\/strong>, Roy Thomas<\/strong>, Archie Goodwin<\/strong>, Gary Friedrich<\/strong>, Gerry Conway<\/strong>, Arnold Drake<\/strong>, Neal Adams<\/strong>, Gene Colan<\/strong>, Marie Severin<\/strong>, John Romita<\/strong>, Mike Sekowsky<\/strong>, Tom Sutton<\/strong>, Joe Sinnott<\/strong>, Vince Colletta<\/strong>, Syd Shores<\/strong>, Chic Stone<\/strong>, John Verpoorten<\/strong>, Bill Everett<\/strong>, Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, Tom Palmer<\/strong>, Barry Windsor-Smith<\/strong> & various (Marvel)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-1081-5 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times. <\/em><\/p>\n

Debuting in 1965 and conceived as yet another incredible lost civilisation during Stan Lee & Jack Kirby\u2019s most fertile and productive creative period, The Inhumans <\/strong>are a subspecies of incredibly disparate (mostly) humanoid beings genetically altered in Earth\u2019s pre-history. They consequently evolve into a technologically-advanced civilisation far ahead of and apart from emergent Homo Sapiens. The self-declared Inhumans isolated themselves from the world and barbarous dawn-age humans, first on an island and latterly in a hidden valley in the Himalayas, residing in a fabulous city named Attilan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The mark of Inhuman citizenship is immersion in mutative Terrigen Mists<\/em> which further enhance and transform individuals into radically unique and frequently super-powered beings. Inhumans are necessarily obsessed with genetic structure and heritage, worshipping the ruling Royal Family<\/em> as the rationalist equivalent of mortal gods.<\/p>\n

This compilation cumulatively spans July 1968 to January 1972, re-presenting early appearances (in whole or in part) from Marvel Super-Heroes<\/strong> #15, Incredible<\/strong> Hulk Annual<\/strong> #1, Fantastic Four<\/strong> #81-83, 95, 99 and 105, Amazing Adventures<\/strong> #1-10, Avengers<\/strong> #95, plus moments of spoofish light-relief from Not Brand Echh<\/strong> #12.<\/p>\n

The Royal Family of Attilan<\/em> are the hereditary aristocracy of a hidden race of paranormal beings. They comprise king Black Bolt<\/strong>, his paramour\/cousin\/eventual wife Medusa<\/strong>, aquatic Triton<\/em>, bellicose Gorgon<\/em> and subtle martial arts master Karnak<\/em>, leading and representing a veritable horde of weirdly wonderful characters. Black Bolt, one of the most powerful beings on Earth, possesses phenomenal abilities but is afflicted with an uncontrollable vocal condition that makes his softest whisper a planet-shattering sonic explosion. Thus, he must never utter a sound…
\n\"\"
\nIn 1967 a proposed Inhumans solo series was canned before completion, with the initial episode retooled and published in try-out vehicle Marvel Super-Heroes<\/strong>. Written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Gene Colan & Vince Colletta, \u2018Let the Silence Shatter!\u2019<\/em> appeared in #15 (July 1968), revealing how the villainous Sandman<\/em> and Trapster<\/em> are enticed into reforming the Frightful Four after The Wizard<\/em> promises Medusa a means to control Black Bolt\u2019s deadly sonic affliction in return for her criminal services. As usual, the double-dealing mastermind betrays his unwilling accomplice, but again underestimates her abilities and intellect, resulting in another humiliating defeat…<\/p>\n

Cover-dated October, The Incredible Hulk Annual<\/strong> #1 was one of the best comics of 1968. Behind an iconic Steranko cover, Gary Friedrich, Marie Severin & Syd Shores (with lots of last-minute inking assistance) delivered a passionate, tense and melodramatic parable of alienation that nevertheless was one of the most action-stuffed fight fests ever seen.<\/p>\n

In 51 titanic pages \u2018A Refuge Divided!\u2019<\/em> saw the tragic lonely Jade Juggernaut stumble upon the hidden Great Refuge of genetic outsiders. The Inhumans – recovering from a recent failed coup by new creations Falcona<\/em>, Leonus<\/em>, Aireo<\/em>, Timberius<\/em>, Stallior<\/em>, Nebulo<\/em> and their secret backer (the king\u2019s brother\u00a0Maximus the Mad<\/em>) – are distracted by the Hulk\u2019s arrival and suspicion, and short tempers result in chaos. The band of super-rebels start the fight but it\u2019s the immensely powerful Black Bolt who eventually battles the green giant to a standstill…<\/p>\n

This is the vicarious thrill taken to its ultimate, and still one of the very best non-Lee-Kirby tales of that period.
\n\"\"
\nMedusa\u2019s little sister Crystal<\/em> – and her giant teleporting dog Lockjaw<\/em> – were the most visible Inhumans at that time. As girlfriend of Human Torch<\/strong> Johnny Storm<\/em>, she was a regular in Fantastic Four<\/strong> and took a greater role once Susan Richards<\/em> fell pregnant. In FF<\/strong> #81, with Sue a new mother, Crystal elects herself the first new official member of the FF and promptly shows her mettle by pulverizing incorrigible glutton-for-punishment The Wizard in the all-action romp \u2018Enter… the Exquisite Elemental!\u2019<\/em> (Lee, Kirby & Joe Sinnott).<\/p>\n

In the next two issues, as Susan is side-lined to tend her newborn son, Crystal\u2019s turbulent past and fractious family connections reassert themselves when cousin Maximus again attempts to conquer mortal humanity. \u2018The Mark of… the Madman!\u2019<\/em> sees the quirky quartet invade hidden Inhuman enclave Attilan to aid the imprisoned Royal Family and overcome an entire race of hypnotically subjugated super-beings before uniting to trounce the insane despot in the concluding \u2018Shall Man Survive?\u2019<\/em>
\n\"\"
\nExcerpted pages from FF <\/strong>#95 then reveal how, in the middle of a frantic battle against a super-assassin, Crystal is astoundingly abducted by her own family before the reason why is revealed in #99. All this time heartsick Johnny has been getting crazier and more despondent. He finally snaps, invading the Inhumans\u2019 hidden home with the intention of reuniting with his lost love at all costs. Of course, everything escalates when \u2018The Torch Goes Wild!\u2019<\/em> and his rapidly following comrades find themselves in the battle of their lives…<\/p>\n

Two months later, bi-monthly \u201csplit-book\u201d Amazing Adventures<\/strong> launched with an August 1970 cover-date and The Inhumans<\/strong> sharing the pages with a new Black Widow<\/strong> solo series. The big news however was that Jack Kirby was both writing and illustrating \u2018The Inhumans!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Inked by Chic Stone, the first episode saw the Great Refuge targeted by atomic missiles apparently fired by the Inhumans\u2019 greatest allies, prompting a retaliatory attack on the Baxter Building and pitting \u2018Friend Against Friend!\u2019<\/em> However, even as the battle raged Black Bolt was taking covert action against the suspected true culprits…<\/p>\n

AA<\/strong> #3 sees our uncanny outcasts as \u2018Pawns of the Mandarin\u2019<\/em> when the devilish plotter dupes the Royal Family into uncovering a long-buried mega-powerful ancient artefact. He is, however, ultimately unable to cope with their power and teamwork in the concluding chapter \u2018With These Rings I Thee Kill!\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Intercepting the flow but chronologically crucial, the first half of Fantastic Four<\/strong> #105 (December 1970) follows. Crafted by Stan Lee, John Romita & John Verpoorten, \u2018The Monster in the Streets!\u2019<\/em> reveals Crystal is being slowly poisoned by the constantly increasing pollutants in Earth\u2019s air and must leave Johnny for the hermetically pure atmosphere of Attilan…<\/p>\n

Back in Amazing Adventures<\/strong> #5 (March 1971), a radical change of tone and mood materialised as the currently on-fire creative team of Roy Thomas & Neal Adams took over the strip following Kirby\u2019s shocking defection from Marvel to DC Comics. Inked by Tom Palmer, \u2018His Brother\u2019s Keeper\u2019<\/em> then sees Maximus finally employ a long-dormant power – mind-control – to erase Black Bolt\u2019s memory and seize control of the Great Refuge.<\/p>\n

The real problem, however, is that at the moment the Mad One strikes, Black Bolt is in San Francisco on a secret mission. When the mind-wave strikes, the silent stranger forgets everything and as a little boy offers assistance, \u2018Hell on Earth!\u2019<\/em> (inked by John Verpoorten) begins as a simple mumbled whisper shatters the entire docks and all the vessels moored there…<\/p>\n

As Triton, Gorgon, Karnak and Medusa flee the now utterly entranced and enslaved Refuge in search of Black Bolt, \u2018An Evening\u2019s Wait for Death!\u2019<\/em> finds little Joey<\/em> and a still-bewildered Bolt captured by a radical black activist determined to use the Inhuman\u2019s shattering power to raze the city\u2019s foul ghettoes.<\/p>\n

A tense confrontation with police in the streets draws storm god Thor<\/strong> into the conflict during \u2018An Hour for Thunder!\u2019<\/em>, but when the blood and dust settles it appears Black Bolt is dead…<\/p>\n

Gerry Conway, Mike Sekowsky & Bill Everett assumed storytelling duties with #9 as The Inhumans colonised the entire book. Finally reaching America after an epic odyssey, the Royal Cousins\u2019 search for their king is interrupted when they are targeted by a cult of mutants.<\/p>\n

\u2018…And the Madness of Magneto!\u2019<\/em> shows amnesiac Black Bolt in the clutches of the Master of Magnetism. He needs the usurped king\u2019s abilities to help him steal a new artificial element. All too soon though, \u2018In His Hands… the World!\u2019 <\/em>(inked by Frank Giacoia) proves that with his memory restored nothing and no one can long make the mightiest Inhuman a slave…<\/p>\n

The series abruptly terminated there. Amazing Adventures<\/strong> #11 featured a new treatment of graduate X-Man Hank McCoy<\/em> who rode the trend for monster heroes by accidentally transforming himself into a furry purple Beast<\/strong>. The Inhumans simply dropped out of sight until Thomas & Adams wove their dangling plot threads into the monumental epic unfolding from June 1971 to March 1972 in The Avengers<\/strong> #89-97.
\n\"\"
\nAt that time Thomas\u2019 bold experiment was rightly considered the most ambitious saga in Marvel\u2019s brief history: an astounding saga of tremendous scope which dumped Earth into a cosmic war the likes of which comics fans had never before seen. The Kree\/Skrull War<\/strong> set the template for all multi-part crossovers and publishing events ever since. It began when, in the distant Kree Empire, the ruling Supreme Intelligence is overthrown by his chief enforcer Ronan the Accuser<\/em>. The rebellion results in humanity learning aliens are among them, and public opinion turns against superheroes for concealing the threat of alien incursions…<\/p>\n

A powerful allegory of the Anti-Communist Witch-hunts of the 1950s, the epic sees riots in American streets and a political demagogue capitalising on the crisis. Subpoenaed by the authorities, castigated by friends and public, the Avengers are ordered to disband.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately omitted here, issue #94 entangles the Inhumans in the mix, disclosing that their advanced science and powers are the result of Kree genetic meddling in the depths of prehistory. With intergalactic war beginning, Black Bolt missing and his madly malign brother Maximus in charge, the Kree now come calling in their ancient markers…<\/p>\n

Wrapping up the graphic thrills for this volume, \u2018Something Inhuman This Way Comes…!\u2019<\/em> (Avengers<\/strong> #95, January 1972) coalesces scattered story strands as aquatic adventurer Triton aids the Avengers against government-piloted Mandroids<\/em> before beseeching the beleaguered heroes to help find his missing monarch and rescue his Inhuman brethren from the press-ganging Kree…<\/p>\n

Just so you can sleep tonight, after bombastically so doing, the Avengers head into space to liberate their kidnapped comrades and save Earth from becoming collateral damage in the impending cosmos-shaking clash between Kree and Skrulls \u00a0– a much-collected tale you\u2019d be crazy to miss…
\n\"\"
\nAppended with Barry Windsor-Smith\u2019s Medusa pin-up from Marvel Collectors\u2019 Item Classics<\/strong> #21, original art by Colan & Adams, a rejected Severin cover and house ads for the Inhumans\u2019 debut, the cosmic drama is latterly leavened with some snappy comedy vignettes.<\/p>\n

Originating in Not Brand Echh<\/strong> #12 (February 1969) \u2018Unhumans to Get Own Comic Book\u2019<\/em> – by Arnold Drake, Thomas & Sutton – and \u2018My Search for True Love\u2019<\/em> by Drake & Sutton detail and depict how other artists might render the series – with contenders including faux icons bOb (Gnatman & Rotten) Krane, Chester (Dig Tracing) Ghoul and Charles (Good Ol\u2019 Charlie…) Schlitz, before following lovelorn Medoozy<\/em> as she dumps her taciturn man and searches for fulfilment amongst popular musical and movie stars of the era…<\/p>\n

These stories cemented the outsiders\u2019 place in the ever-expanding Marvel universe and helped the company to overtake all its competitors. Although making little lasting impact at the time they are still potent and innovative: as exciting and captivating now as they ever were. This is a must-have book for all fans of graphic narrative and followers of Marvel\u2019s next cinematic star vehicle.
\n\u00a9 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 2018 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Gary Friedrich, Gerry Conway, Arnold Drake, Neal Adams, Gene Colan, Marie Severin, John Romita, Mike Sekowsky, Tom Sutton, Joe Sinnott, Vince Colletta, Syd Shores, Chic Stone, John Verpoorten, Bill Everett, Frank Giacoia, Tom Palmer, Barry Windsor-Smith & various (Marvel) ISBN: 978-1-3029-1081-5 (TPB\/Digital edition) This book … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Inhumans: Beware the Inhumans”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[94,18,54,98,189,117,79,272,107,100,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avengers","category-captain-marvel","category-fantastic-four","category-hulk","category-inhumans","category-jack-kirby","category-marvel-superheroes","category-neal-adams","category-science-fiction","category-thor","category-x-men"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8DP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33228,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33221\/revisions\/33228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}