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Fantastic Four (1998) (Single Issues) #51–54
Fantastic Four/Inhumans
The incredible Inhumans have long been allies to the Fantastic Four defending the earth, but what happens when they leave? And what awaits them when they come back?
Collects Inhumans (2000) #1-4, Fantastic Four (1997) #51-54.
Collects Inhumans (2000) #1-4, Fantastic Four (1997) #51-54.
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2004
5 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Karl Kesel
1,069 books42 followersKarl Kesel (Victor, New York) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio. In 2017, he started Panic Button Press with Tom Grummett to publish the creator-owned graphic novel Section Zero.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 4, 2015
Ronan the Accuser comes to claim the weapons his people made thousands of years ago, The Inhumans. This begins a long arduous journey for the Inhumans.
To say that Marvel makes it difficult to follow a comic book story is an understatement. I read the first half of this story a while ago and wasn't sure if the story was ever completed. Fortunately the internet clued me into the Inhumans tale continuing in the Fantastic Four so I was able to see the final results. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it answered some questions I had and also planted some seeds to what is happening now with the Inhumans.
To say that Marvel makes it difficult to follow a comic book story is an understatement. I read the first half of this story a while ago and wasn't sure if the story was ever completed. Fortunately the internet clued me into the Inhumans tale continuing in the Fantastic Four so I was able to see the final results. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it answered some questions I had and also planted some seeds to what is happening now with the Inhumans.
October 30, 2020
What a strange collection of stories. The Inhumans mini-series is this boring mess about the Kree coming back and claiming the inhumans as soldier-slaves so they can assassinate some space royalty. The Fantastic Four series is basically a cameo for the inhumans as they return to Earth while some not-quite-inhumans-but-technically-inhumans-kind-of-not-really-maybe try to use mind control powers to do evil stuff. I read this for the Inhumans stuff, but the Fantastic Four arc is the best thing in the volume. It's not great, but it's an enjoyable read with some fun dialogue by Karl Kesel and some good Mark Bagley art. The Inhumans mini-series, on the other hand, is this boring blue-grey mush of weird faces as they try to get you interested in big space politics while the inhumans themselves (who you're reading the series for) just stand around and do nothing.
It's hilarious that this book is so important. Here's how the inhumans wind up on the moon! Here's the birth of Valeria! Woo! But it's not a fun read. If anything, skip the Inhumans series and just read the Fantastic Four arc- it will explain whatever you missed in the four issues of Inhumans.
It's hilarious that this book is so important. Here's how the inhumans wind up on the moon! Here's the birth of Valeria! Woo! But it's not a fun read. If anything, skip the Inhumans series and just read the Fantastic Four arc- it will explain whatever you missed in the four issues of Inhumans.
August 8, 2014
I think this book would've been a lot better without the addition of the four issues of Fantastic Four. The Inhumans don't really play that big of a role in that story (which features the birth of Reed and Sue Richards' daughter Valeria).
The four issues of the Inhumans limited series were much better, especially art-wise, with Lucas and Ladronn's very European artwork. To me, it was very reminiscent of Jean Giraud or Barry Windsor-Smith. The story was more interesting, but I'm betting your average comic book reader won't enjoy it, since there's a lot of text to read and it's considerably more compressed than most modern story arcs.
The Inhumans is a difficult title to write or even read some days, considering when they're based around Earth, stories are pretty much limited to Attilan or some interaction with the FF, and anything else is on a grand cosmic scale (which the limited series reprinted here approaches). And with current Marvel continuity thrusting the Inhumans into modern Earth society (in the Inhumanity crossover), thing will probably get more confusing than ever.
The four issues of the Inhumans limited series were much better, especially art-wise, with Lucas and Ladronn's very European artwork. To me, it was very reminiscent of Jean Giraud or Barry Windsor-Smith. The story was more interesting, but I'm betting your average comic book reader won't enjoy it, since there's a lot of text to read and it's considerably more compressed than most modern story arcs.
The Inhumans is a difficult title to write or even read some days, considering when they're based around Earth, stories are pretty much limited to Attilan or some interaction with the FF, and anything else is on a grand cosmic scale (which the limited series reprinted here approaches). And with current Marvel continuity thrusting the Inhumans into modern Earth society (in the Inhumanity crossover), thing will probably get more confusing than ever.
May 29, 2015
The Fantastic Four tend to bore me, and here they drag down the Inhumans with them, which is a shame. But oh, these issues contain the birth of Valeria Richards, so there's that.
November 7, 2019
This Inhumans mini-series is one of my favourite arcs in Marvel so far and it's largely because of José Ladrönn's art. He's an amazingly good penciller, incorporating lots of details and texture to the characters and backgrounds and has a great eye for panel composition. And he's mind-blowingly good with the use of colour; I really enjoyed the washed-out watercolour effect that aesthetically tied this world together. His style is specially well suited for this kind of space opera or epic sci-fi story. It reminded me a lot of Mœbius, whose art was the first one I remember falling in love with. No wonder both have worked with Jodorowsky.
The story itself plays with the consequences of the obscure origins of the Inhumans as one of the weapon races created by the Kree, as Ronan the Accuser goes back to Earth to enslave the Inhumans. Ronan, now a Kree exile, needs their help in a plot to assassinate Empress Lilandra Neramani of the Shi'ar. Lilandra is about to seal an agreement with the Spartoi to bring peace to a good sector of the galaxy, in detriment of the Kree and the Commercial Guilds, so Ronan wants to stop her at all costs. The plot could have been part of Star Wars, and I really enjoyed it, but it went beyond just a sci-fi adventure and tried to explore what makes a good king and how far we go to save the people we love. Admittedly, it was a bit limited in that exploration because it only had four issues to do so, but it was a more adult approach to what one normally finds in Marvel.
The Inhumans mini-series ends with the Royal Family in exile and with an uncertain future, so Carlos Pacheco finishes the story in four crossover issues of the Fantastic Four. The Inhumans go to the United Nations as refugees to ask for a place to settle in peace, but not everyone on Earth agrees with their plight. Their petition starts a series of demonstrations against them, with people saying "Inhumans go home" and "Earth for Earthlings". This arc read more like a normal Marvel comic, but it was an interesting take on racism and xenophobia that is even more relevant this year than when it was published. I could not help but think of Trump shouting at Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley to go back to their corrupt countries and people chanting "send them home". There is also talk about how building a defensive shield that separates us from the aliens is not a productive response to aliens coming to Earth illegally. That rigid planetary ideology sparks the creation of a fundamentalist group of people, the Hidden, half-Inhuman, half-human, who feel attacked and betrayed by both sides of the conflict. Of all unexpected things, Doctor Doom is the voice of reason in all this. This second mini-series is not as good as the Inhumans one, but still, highly recommended.
The story itself plays with the consequences of the obscure origins of the Inhumans as one of the weapon races created by the Kree, as Ronan the Accuser goes back to Earth to enslave the Inhumans. Ronan, now a Kree exile, needs their help in a plot to assassinate Empress Lilandra Neramani of the Shi'ar. Lilandra is about to seal an agreement with the Spartoi to bring peace to a good sector of the galaxy, in detriment of the Kree and the Commercial Guilds, so Ronan wants to stop her at all costs. The plot could have been part of Star Wars, and I really enjoyed it, but it went beyond just a sci-fi adventure and tried to explore what makes a good king and how far we go to save the people we love. Admittedly, it was a bit limited in that exploration because it only had four issues to do so, but it was a more adult approach to what one normally finds in Marvel.
The Inhumans mini-series ends with the Royal Family in exile and with an uncertain future, so Carlos Pacheco finishes the story in four crossover issues of the Fantastic Four. The Inhumans go to the United Nations as refugees to ask for a place to settle in peace, but not everyone on Earth agrees with their plight. Their petition starts a series of demonstrations against them, with people saying "Inhumans go home" and "Earth for Earthlings". This arc read more like a normal Marvel comic, but it was an interesting take on racism and xenophobia that is even more relevant this year than when it was published. I could not help but think of Trump shouting at Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley to go back to their corrupt countries and people chanting "send them home". There is also talk about how building a defensive shield that separates us from the aliens is not a productive response to aliens coming to Earth illegally. That rigid planetary ideology sparks the creation of a fundamentalist group of people, the Hidden, half-Inhuman, half-human, who feel attacked and betrayed by both sides of the conflict. Of all unexpected things, Doctor Doom is the voice of reason in all this. This second mini-series is not as good as the Inhumans one, but still, highly recommended.
September 27, 2020
This was a weird combination of two-story arcs that loosely connected to one another.
The first part is actually The Inhumans 4-issue mini-series, which had an interesting story premise but was hard to really dive into. We've had a lot of stories of the Kree reasserting dominance over the Inhumans here and there but this one was particularly effective initially. They turned the entire Inhuman race into what were essentially weapons and that was quite grim. The art style of this book was weird even before the Kree conquered the Inhumans with an odd appreciation for this techno-organic thing that I didn't fully understand. There was something disturbing about the art style but I think that worked to stress the literally inhuman nature of the Inhumans.
The second part ties to the then-ongoing Fantastic Four comic and had the Inhuman Royal Family seeking asylum on Earth after breaking free of Kree control. This bit felt a little clumsy since they also brought in some secret group of half-Inhumans that had somehow been subject to Nazi control. This had some potential for bigger things but in the end, it just sort of fizzled out with a half-decent ending and the Inhumans running out into the wild.
The first part is actually The Inhumans 4-issue mini-series, which had an interesting story premise but was hard to really dive into. We've had a lot of stories of the Kree reasserting dominance over the Inhumans here and there but this one was particularly effective initially. They turned the entire Inhuman race into what were essentially weapons and that was quite grim. The art style of this book was weird even before the Kree conquered the Inhumans with an odd appreciation for this techno-organic thing that I didn't fully understand. There was something disturbing about the art style but I think that worked to stress the literally inhuman nature of the Inhumans.
The second part ties to the then-ongoing Fantastic Four comic and had the Inhuman Royal Family seeking asylum on Earth after breaking free of Kree control. This bit felt a little clumsy since they also brought in some secret group of half-Inhumans that had somehow been subject to Nazi control. This had some potential for bigger things but in the end, it just sort of fizzled out with a half-decent ending and the Inhumans running out into the wild.
May 15, 2017
This was poor. I like grim, I like gritty, but the watercolours in The Inhumans were just washed-out looking and matched the fact that every single person in every single panel looked sad, all of the time. There was no palette here. The story itself was decent but the dialogue was awful. Stilted and dated. Full of characters talking about themselves in the third person, announcing or explaining their powers or intentions. All sorts of things that stopped being acceptable decades earlier. The Fantastic Four offered a splash of colour, both literally and figuratively, but nowhere near enough to redeem the collection. The FF issues are full of impressively daunting problems but they all seem to resolve themselves, half of them doing so offscreen as it were. I did, however, like the way they included a very xenophobic mob not only inside of the Baxter Building but all the way up to the U.N. That I was impressed by but, all in all, not worth anyone's time.
March 16, 2020
The first half attempts to be very art-y in its presentation but it just feels dark and hard to see. It's got a very bold and crazy story but it does't seem to fit. Like Star Lord's father is a young man? Is that right? Or was that Star-Lord?
Then, the Fantastic Four part of the story is pretty lighthearted and I don't remember how they ever really resolved all of this.
Then, the Fantastic Four part of the story is pretty lighthearted and I don't remember how they ever really resolved all of this.
February 1, 2026
Limitowana seria Inhumans bardzo przeciętna.
Kolejne cztery zeszyty Fantastycznej Czwórki świetne - to w sumie bezpośrednie konsekwencje wydarzeń z Inhumans, z pewnymi epokowymi dla całej serii momentami jak ciężki poród Sue odebrany przez arcywroga F4 - Dr Dooma, który w zamian za pomoc mógł nazwać córkę Richardsów. Tak F4 powiększyła się o Valerię Richards.
Zeszyty w antologii:
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #1
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #2
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #3
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #4
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #51
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #52
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #53
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #54
Kolejne cztery zeszyty Fantastycznej Czwórki świetne - to w sumie bezpośrednie konsekwencje wydarzeń z Inhumans, z pewnymi epokowymi dla całej serii momentami jak ciężki poród Sue odebrany przez arcywroga F4 - Dr Dooma, który w zamian za pomoc mógł nazwać córkę Richardsów. Tak F4 powiększyła się o Valerię Richards.
Zeszyty w antologii:
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #1
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #2
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #3
Inhumans (Vol. 3) #4
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #51
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #52
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #53
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #54
June 16, 2017
Monotone. That's her the Inhumans mini-series felt, both in the art and the narrative. Too bad because this came after such a power series.
As for the Fantastic Four issues, while the story was not that bad, the Inhumans kinda stood there while everything important happened elsewhere.
As for the Fantastic Four issues, while the story was not that bad, the Inhumans kinda stood there while everything important happened elsewhere.
June 5, 2018
The Inhumans are forced to obey Ronan and brought in to assasinate the Shi-ar empress. The second story is when they return to earth to ask for a place to stay while staying with the FF.
May 5, 2020
First half was decent. Second half was really good!
July 30, 2020
Inhumans #1-4, ☆☆☆
Fantastic Four #51-54, ☆☆☆
Fantastic Four #51-54, ☆☆☆
September 28, 2021
Really wants me to care about what's gonna happen to the Inhumans. As a rule, I don't care about what happens to the Inhumans. Pretty boring, to boot.
June 1, 2012
A decent story about prejudice and political intrigue involving how the inhumans are thought of on Earth. There's some really nice character moments, especially from Ben and surprisingly, Doom. A good read.
July 18, 2015
I liked the Fantastic Four half a lot more than the Inhumans half, which surprised me a little bit. Some of that was probably just that I enjoyed the brighter art, but I also don't find the older Inhumans quite as compelling as the younger ones from some of the newer runs.
January 11, 2013
I was quite confused for a while as this is my first foray into The Inhumans, but it came together in the end and I quite enjoyed it.
April 12, 2016
Se volete leggere la mia recensione, cliccate qui! http://ascwblog.blogspot.it/2016/04/i...
October 21, 2014
The Inhuman section of this is much better than the Fantastic 4 one. It was enjoyable enough to still warrant a 4 star rating.
September 28, 2015
The Inhumans mini series is fun in an inscrutable eurocomic way. The Fantastic Four issues are pretty bad with the exception of the Valeria Richards plot in the last issue.
July 1, 2016
I read the Inhumans half of the book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews