Inhuman 2, Ms. Marvel 4

Inhuman 2
Soule (w) and Madureira (a) and Gracia (c) and Cowles (l)

With new Inhuman, or Nuhuman, Dante and sister Gabby successfully in the fold (though they're certainly hesitant about this new life), Medusa moves on to other business, such as securing more of fallen Attilan and staking a claim in the new world. With the help of Captain America, she defends a piece of Atillan from AIM attackers and then broadcasts and announcement to the world, saying that over the Hudson is their place now and that Nuhumans are welcome to join. As her day winds down, one more person comes to meet with her, a possible Inhuman named Lineage, who claims he knows why Black Bolt did what he did and that she's messing things up.

This is something of a tough book to write, and not just because of the production problems it suffered early on. Soule is tasked with getting readers up to speed on the Inhumans as a whole and all these new threats and new challenges. Still, he has to try to develop characters like Medusa, Gorgon, the doctor Vinatos, Dante, and Gabby, not to mention Lash (from last issue) and now Lineage. There are a lot of balls in the air right now and Soule is doing what he can to keep them there or catch them. There are certainly some bumps in this book but by and large it's a worthwhile read. Joe Mad's art is pretty spectacular and his fight art is stunning. Hopefully the book will be a little more engaging when all our players are in place.

Total Score: 4/5


Ms. Marvel 4
G.W. Wilson (w) and Alphona (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

Bruno's younger brother Vick fled after accidentally shooting Kamala, still shifted to look like Captain Marvel. Bruno calls an ambulance but Kamala reverts to her regular self which, on top of showing Bruno who she is, heals her. It's not a perfect heal, as if she switches back to Captain Marvel she's still wounded, but she's able to safely stay Kamala. She and Bruno talk about the trouble Vick is in and Kamala vows to help him. She goes home and assembles a costume then she and Bruno meet at the shady house that Vick has been going to, home of, perhaps, new villain the Inventor. A newly outfitted Kamala busts in calling herself Ms. Marvel and takes out, with some difficulty, the robots guarding the place before finding Vick and finding herself face-to-face with the Inventor.

One of the things that has made this book so compelling from the start (and it's something that I think NOVA has hit on a few time in its run) is that it's fresh. You can feel the youth in this book, regardless if the book is actually created by younger people or not. What I mean to say is that this book (and at times in NOVA, mostly during Wells' and Duggan's runs) does a pretty good job putting a realistic kid in these situations. Kamala is fresh and fun and, though she's clearly smart and good, she's undoubtedly still a teenager. It doesn't feel like "this person is writing a teenager!" for the majority of the book. Instead, it feels like simply a compelling young woman. Adrian Alphona's art can't be left out of this. Though G. Willow Wilson is writing a solid Kamala, Alphona's art grounds this series in a way, to such a degree, that very few artists can do. Overall just a really fun and interesting book that feels like it has places to go.

Total Score: 5/5