Royals, Vol. 1: Beyond Inhuman

Royals (Collected Editions)

by Al Ewing, Ryan Sook (Illustrator), Jonboy Meyers (Illustrator)

A myth from the future. A quest to the stars. A legend written across galaxies. Guided by the other-dimensional Kree warrior called Marvel Boy, the Inhuman Royal Family departs on an odyssey across all creation! Their mission: to search for lost secrets - and the last hope of their people! The knowledge the Royals seek could change the course of Inhuman destiny, but it cannot be attained without cost...for at the end of days, the Last Inhuman tells the tale of how seven left Earth for the stars, but only six returned! And sure enough, as the Royal Family exit the solar system, they head straight into trouble - an oncoming Chitauri invasion of Earth! Plus, Black Bolt reveals something that could end their mission before it even starts. The Inhuman "ResurrXion" begins here!
COLLECTING: ROYALS 1-5, INHUMANS PRIME 1

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2017

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not a fan of how Marvel's been trying to shove the Inhumans down our throats for the last couple of years but I have to say that I quite enjoyed this particular Inhumans book and am interested to see where it's going.

It helps that the Inhumans are off in space; it makes this feel like one of Marvel's old 'cosmic' books, in a good way. I've really enjoyed Al Ewings 'cosmic' shenanigans on The Ultimates books, so I'm hoping there'll be some crossover elements between these two books.

It also gets points from me for being a quest-type adventure; I can't resist a good quest!

The one thing I'm not so enamoured with is the artwork; it's not terrible, but it's not really to my tastes. I've seen in the solicits for the next volume that an artist I really like is replacing the art team who drew this volume, so I'm pleased about that. I'm hoping the next volume knocks it up a notch and really takes this book to the next level.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the terrigen on Earth is gone, meaning the current generation of Inhumans will be the last. The Inhumans are resigned to this fact until Marvel Boy,

a Kree from another dimension, comes along promising he can help the Inhumans find out who they truly are by heading to the Kree home world of Hala.

Beyond Inhuman has terrible artwork, well maybe it isn't terrible but it's cartoony and not in a great way. Now that I got that out I find myself intrigued. The dual storyline of the present and the distant future with the last Inhuman has left me curious to find out more. The remaining aspects of the storyline seem to simply build up the tension for what will happen next. The story did a good enough job to make me want to know how the tale ends.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, Ewing got me interested in an Inhumans book. First time for everything I guess. He does a great job of bringing in old plot lines and characters dating back to War of Kings and Grant Morrison's Marvel Boy. I can't say a care a lot about the story set 5,000 years from now but I'm sure it'll all tie together at some point.

I thought the art in the book was terrible. Jonboy Meyers designed some ridiculous looking costumes. Just stick with the classic looks, thank you. Meyers jumped ship after an issue and a half and Thony Silas isn't any better. Both of them draw these swirling, busy, chaotic pages that I can't make heads or tails of.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I actually enjoyed a Inhuman comic. This is also the first Al Ewing series I truly enjoyed. Go figure huh?

Madusa decides it's time to leave earth. After the events of Inhumans vs X-men (Which I guess gotta read to understand it all) the Inhumans are not going to be made anymore. They destroyed the mist that was killing mutants and they decide it's time to head into space to find a new human. Just the main core though, Madusa, Black Bolt, and a few others. However, once they get to space, twist and turns begin to happen. People aren't who they appear to be, a old villain comes to say Hi, and people begin to figure out just what everyone else is up to.

Good: I really enjoyed the character interaction here. The best parts are when they are just sitting around shooting the shit. Watching the past reveal itself about black bolt and his "family" was great. I also enjoyed the ending as it sets up so many fun possibilities.

Bad: I didn't love the art direction. Sometimes it looked badass, and I loved designs at times, but the fights are hard to follow at points and the flashback art was pretty bad. I also thought the Chitari were a joke here and kind of wasted a issue just to show a character pull off a new power.

Overall though this was a blast. From start to finish I had a good time reading it. A few bumps here and there and art that could be better aside, the story is there, and I'll keep reading. A 3.5 out of 5.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for cosmic stories, and this one is no exception. The art here is seems very anime inspired, with the females all looking like dainty teenagers and a lot of the guys looking like giant muscle-bound monsters. It really works for the story that they are telling here, though. With the over-the-top art, spaceships, lasers, and super powers, it almost feels like it is a Saturday morning cartoon.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lorde gets it.

I like to revisit the Inhumans every other year or so just to remind myself how dank this crew really is.


Well sorry your Koolaid-dyed highness but it's true!

This one is written by Al Ewing and I have sincerely been enjoying his work a lot these past years, this time is no exception but the fact that not even Ewing can make me care about these characters means it plateaus at 3-stars still.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
No, not the Lorde song, this one's about the Inhuman Royal Family as they head off across the universe to solve the problems that Terrigenesis have inflicted upon the world. Medusa, Black Bolt (but not really), Crystal, Gorgon, Swain, Flint, and Noh-Varr/Marvel Boy are off on an epic quest that will take them to the ruins of Hala and beyond in this opening story.

I make it no secret that I love Al Ewing's writing. It seems to be a British writer thing (I see you Kieron Gillen), but using past continuity to tell a present story without contradicting itself or alienating readers who haven't read said continuity stories is something I really love, and Ewing turns his hand to it masterfully here, as the events of Infinity, Black Vortex, and more all echo through this arc as the Inhumans discover a traitor in their midst, a forboding prophecy, and a big green talking head. Yes, really. It's great fun, and both suitably paced and full of action and speechifying in equal measure.

I also love Jonboy Meyers' artwork, but he seems to have a phobia of sticking around on books. This makes the second book in two years that he's done all the design work for, drawn two issues of, and then disappeared from. Not that Thony Silas isn't a good replacement, but when Meyers is advertised as series artist and then leaves after two issues, it kind of puts me off trying his other books too, which is a shame.

The Inhumans have just gotten off of a solid run by Charles Soule, and now it looks like Ewing is setting up to follow it in style.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soule has some success early in his Inhumans run, when he was able to tell a compelling political tale. But, he never managed to evoke Kirby's sense of cosmic wonder, and Ewing does, bringing this title up to the next level.

First thing to love? The core plots of the story. That the Inhumans are looking for the secret of terrigenesis and that something spectacular is happening 5000 years in the future. There's our cosmic wonder!

Second thing to love? A great respect for continuity. The Inhumans Prime special picks up (and quickly divests itself of) the final plot threads from Soule's run, while later on we get a return to War of King era plots that have been too long ignored.

Third thing to love? Ewing gets these characters. Mind you, they haven't all gotten strong attention so far, but the ones who do are great. I especially love Ewing's take on "Marvel Boy", which really seems to get his pulpish powers in a way that most post-Morrison authors haven't.

Fourth thing to love? Issue #3. A rather magnificent look at the relationship between Black Bolt and Maximus that may literally be one of the best inhuman issues ever.

The volume also improves the further that Ewing gets into it. The early issues are just good, but from issue #3 onward, we move to great.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the strongest of the Inhuman books Marvel has put out since Secret Wars. I liked having the Royals together again, and Swain, Flint, and Noh Varr keep things new enough to avoid excessive nostalgia in the storytelling. In fact, unlike nearly every Inhuman story ever, this story--despite its flashbacks in spots to Maximus and Blackbolt's pas--avoided being about who the Inhumans were. I'm hoping that it continues that way. I was annoyed enough by a single aspect Maximus's removal of Blackbolt from the comic: I find Blackbolt endlessly fascinating and was very disappointed to find out he'd been removed. but what's done right here is more than enough.

I also loved the art when it ws on. It was good the whole time but there were moments when it was gorgeous and I thought I was looking a Joe Mad book. Joe Madureira was one of my all time favorite comics artists, and seeing work clearly influenced by him--even effectively riffing on his style at its best--was a nice.

[C. Varn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still struggling to find a niche

Al Ewing tries to wrap up a saga of the Inhumans, a favorite of mine that gets chronically misused in the Marvel universe. After trying to have them substitute for the X-men in what largely seemed like a misguided MCU-driven decision, various writers have struggled to get them to align correctly and to get a clear tone for the Inhuman's book. The multidimensional nature of the plot here doesn't so much help. The art is remarkably inconsistent although enjoyable at points.

[Joana · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Black Bolt and absolutely loving it, I decided to read this parallel series, and honestly it wasn't as good... The story wasn't what I was expecting and wanting, and I'm still not sold on Inhumans that aren't Medusa or Black Bolt (even Medusa, I don't like here as much as in other comics...)
The Ronan the Accuser issues were really good!! Those I LOVED and the emotions in the characters were so beautiful (especially Gorgon, that made me like him a lot). Also having previously only known Ronan from MCU, he's so much bigger and scarier in this comic, so different... (the Piemaker is definitely not scary...)
Definitely not the best, but still with its high moments, and I'll definitely read the next volume :D

[Jena · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 - Story is circling around the 3 star range, but I had to dock a star for some art so awful it was genuinely hard to follow the story.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an okay book. Event after it goes into space. But it has no life to it. I guess it's because I don't care about anyone in the book. And there is backstory which generally I like. And I guess if the backstory left me liking any of the characters it would have helped. But the story was fine, and the art and the plot.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the classic Inhumans and a few new ones go off into space to see if they can recreate the Terrigen mists. They encounter Chitauri and Ronan the Accuser.

The writing and art are okay.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

With all the terrigen gone, the Inhumans have no future. So Noh-Varr aka Marvel Boy gathers up a group of them (mainly the ex-royal family) and they venture off to space to find some cure or magic item or who knows what. Most everything has gone wrong for the family, honestly. Black Bolt and Maximus have some stuff happening, Medusa is ill, Gorgon can barely move without hurting his back, and Crystal is... well, Crystal is great, but that's just who she is. Oh and Flint is here, being a confused young adult not knowing his purpose. And Swain is doing... something or other, I guess.

I like how Al Ewing ties together a lot of Marvel's cosmic history for these characters. He draws off of the Reign of Kings/DnA cosmic saga for the Inhumans, Morrison's Marvel Boy mini-series, Young Avengers, the Black Vortex, Soule's Nuhumans saga... all of it comes together at once. Each character has their own weaknessses and guilts that get addressed as they come face-to-face with their failures and limitations.

It always bugs me when a series can't commit to one artist for their first arc. For the first half you get Jonboy Meyers, with some art that looks straight out of the late 90s/early 2000s (not in a great way). Then you get Thony Silas whose art in comparison is better, but also doesn't have the same energy to it. The tone starts to shift and there's no narrative reason for it, it just does.

I like what Ewing is doing with all this cosmic sci-fi stuff but there are just some elements of the story I'm not getting (I don't care about all the 'future timeline' stuff). I like his approach to the characters, I love how he's using Maximus, Medusa, and Crystal, and hell event Flint gets a moment of baddassery that he sure as hell deserves. But I can't tell where the actual plot is going (or whether I'm onboard with it) and that coupled with the art drops this book further down my likes. Still, it's got some more promising ideas and moments than most of the 2010s Inhumans books, so that's exciting.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the events of Inhumans vs X-Men, the Terrigen mist is effectively gone leaving the Inhumans with no way of creating new Inhumans.

I picked this book up because 1 - I like Al Ewing's writing and look forward to what he can do with these characters and 2 - I desperately want to like the Inhumans more than I do. I've always been an X-Men fan, and the Inhumans - while quite derivative - seem like a cool offshoot of mutants with the added flair of royalty in their story. But all the books I've read of them have been... "just ok" to "good" at best. And unfortunately, this one in it's introductory volume, is more on the "just ok" side.

So Marvel boy shows up again to bring hope to the Inhumans and convinces them to leave Earth and go to Hala to see about finding a way to make more Inhumans. During their trip, a villain is revealed and more problems are introduced. It is an interesting storyline with a good setup, but Ewing has a lot of moments that are kind of baffling. Like Medusa agreeing to Marvel boys space adventure is kind of out of the blue and more than half reckless. And the introduction and resolution to Ronan felt very forced to me.

Overall, not the best intro volume, but I'm gonna give it another shot to see where Ewing takes it from here.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not exactly what I was expecting, however I really enjoyed it. I didn't quiet get what was going on, but it was an interesting story that I look forward to reading the next installment to see how more of the story unfolds. Where is Black Bolt? What is going to happen to Medusa? How does Ronan fit into this story. After watching the show on ABC I am even more curious than I was before about the Inhumans, especially all going on with Agents Of SHIELD. In this story you think that it is over and there is just a little bit more after that. The only down thing I will say about this story is that I wish that there was more of an intro to kind of explain where were are starting at. Not everyone knows the Inhumans story, or is familiar with it.

[Adan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, it’s Noh-Varr! I love Noh-Varr! After the third (fourth?) super-hero war in recent memory, most of the Inhuman royal family (which is no longer royal thanks to another monarchical society going all democratic) go into space with Noh-Varr to find more terrigen. I actually enjoyed the Inhumans Prime one-shot more than the series itself, but that might be mostly due to Ryan Sook’s art being vastly superior to either of the two series artists (who seem to just be pointier Joe Mads). The story is interesting enough that I want to see what happens next, but I’m gonna be honest: I’m here for Noh-Varr.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this shows how much "Inhumans" and "Mutants" have become interchangeable the past few years. Still, this was a surprisingly readable space adventure as the Inhumans go hunting for terrigen on the Kree homeworld and run into assorted problems. Clunky in some of the character bits but overall I enjoyed it.

[Giorgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.5]
Alcuni spunti interessanti per il nuovo inizio degli Inumani. Temo che il problema di questo volume, per chi come me è tutto sommato un neofita dell'universo fumettistico Marvel, sia la presenza di alcuni personaggi esterni, che finiscono per complicarne le premesse.
Un inizio che può essere il preludio a una buona narrazione, e di cui attendo gli sviluppi.

[Roman Colombo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inhumans on a space adventure!I'm really excited to follow the Royal Inhuman family as they search for a way to bring back Terrigenesis. Ewing makes the team really interesting too. The art was also a lot of fun, even if Medusa looked 12.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a four.

There are some really cool ideas and I liked the funky first artist.

None of the characters really grabbed me (well the character who isn't really there I felt sorry for and Swain has some potential) and duty out weighing love isn't a favourite theme of mine.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know what? I'll bite.

This is really just more of the same Inhumans story that's been going on. It's not new.

And a few characters (Medusa!) make decisions that they simply would not make. But I like the tone. And I want to see where this goes.

[Ma'Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not a fan of this art style, which reminds me of Rob Liefeld + an early '00s Disney HD cartoon, but Al Ewing's story and writing makes me actually interested in getting to know these various characters whose histories I am not familiar with.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new direction, very cosmic for the Inhumans. I actually like the change and the focus on a smaller group.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story and loved the art! Super fun and interesting!

[Sebastian Song · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Inhumans are on a voyage to find their origins and the story is not half bad. Only time will tell if it evolves into a classic.

[Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story.

The art here is amazing.

There is a back and forth timeline story being told which also sprinkles in historical events of each Inhuman on this mission.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't as good as I hoped.
The potential is still trapped there somewhere...

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful