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Marvel Graphic Novel #39
The Inhumans
Book by Nocenti, Ann, Blevins, Bret, Williamson, Al
72 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1988
80 people want to read
About the author
Ann Nocenti
735 books117 followersAnn Nocenti is most noted as an editor for Marvel Comics, for whom she edited New Mutants and The Uncanny X-Men. She made her comics writing debut on a brief run of Spider-Woman (#47-50) and subsequently wrote a long run of Daredevil (1st series) #236-291 (minus #237) from 1986 to 1991, directly following on from Frank Miller's definitive Born Again storyline. She also wrote the 1986 Longshot limited series for Marvel, and in the same year produced the Someplace Strange graphic novel in collaboration with artist John Bolton. She wrote "the Inhumans Graphic Novel" in 1988. In 1993, she wrote the 16-issue run of Kid Eternity for the DC Comics imprint Vertigo.
In Incredible Hulk #291, published in September 1983 (cover date January 1984), Ann Nocenti made a cameo appearance, talking to Dr. Bruce Banner, in a history written by Bill Mantlo, drawn by Sal Buscema and inked by Carlos Garzón and Joe Sinnot. That time Ann Nocenti was Assistant Editor for Larry Hama on Incredible Hulk and X-Men.
She is noted for her left-wing political views which, particularly during her run on Daredevil, caused some controversy among some fans who didn't agree with her politics.
She created several popular characters, including Typhoid Mary, Blackheart, Longshot and Mojo, and wrote the 1998 X-Men novel Prisoner X.
Although Nocenti left comic books in the '90s after the industry sales collapsed, she later returned to the field, penning stories such as 2004's Batman & Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows.
In Ultimate X-Men, a reimagination of the X-Men comic, the character Longshot, who was invented by her, has the civil name Arthur Centino. His last name, Centino, is an anagram of Nocenti and a homage to Nocenti. The name Arthur is for the co-creator of Longshot Arthur Adams who was Ann Nocenti's artist on the Longshot Mini Series.
She edited High Times magazine for one year (2004) under the name Annie Nocenti and is the former editor of the screenwriting magazine Scenario.
In Incredible Hulk #291, published in September 1983 (cover date January 1984), Ann Nocenti made a cameo appearance, talking to Dr. Bruce Banner, in a history written by Bill Mantlo, drawn by Sal Buscema and inked by Carlos Garzón and Joe Sinnot. That time Ann Nocenti was Assistant Editor for Larry Hama on Incredible Hulk and X-Men.
She is noted for her left-wing political views which, particularly during her run on Daredevil, caused some controversy among some fans who didn't agree with her politics.
She created several popular characters, including Typhoid Mary, Blackheart, Longshot and Mojo, and wrote the 1998 X-Men novel Prisoner X.
Although Nocenti left comic books in the '90s after the industry sales collapsed, she later returned to the field, penning stories such as 2004's Batman & Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows.
In Ultimate X-Men, a reimagination of the X-Men comic, the character Longshot, who was invented by her, has the civil name Arthur Centino. His last name, Centino, is an anagram of Nocenti and a homage to Nocenti. The name Arthur is for the co-creator of Longshot Arthur Adams who was Ann Nocenti's artist on the Longshot Mini Series.
She edited High Times magazine for one year (2004) under the name Annie Nocenti and is the former editor of the screenwriting magazine Scenario.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 25, 2017
I feel like I just read through an acid trip. A very unimaginative acid trip. The best thing about this was that it served as a reminder of why I prefer to avoid comics written before the 90s.
August 24, 2016
In the 1980s, “deconstructivism” was the big word in super hero comics. Instead of building super heroes up, let’s tear them down. Ask “what if super heroes were real?” and introduce realistic moral relativism to a genre known for pure morality plays. Deconstructivist super hero tales often pointed out absurdities and logical fallacies of hallowed tropes. Sometimes, they made you question why certain characters appealed to you in the first place.
This Inhumans “graphic novel” (In this instance, a term used by Marvel to describe magazine-sized comics printed on slick, glossy paper) appeared in 1988, two years after WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS made darkness and deconstructivism “all the rage.” We see hallmarks of the movement here.
As every Marvelite knows, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Inhumans in FANTASTIC FOUR. They were a hidden race of genetically-engineered super beings, residing in “the Great Refuge.” Lee and Kirby portrayed the Great Refuge as an idyllic place. Now, in 1988, Ann Nocenti shows us why we’re stupid and naïve to buy into such fantasies. Lee and Kirby briefly referenced a ruling Inhumans “genetic council.” With what activities would such a council logically be concerned? Nocenti’s answer is “eugenics,” and she shows how the council has ultimate approval over all Inhumans marriages and births. Contrary to what Lee and Kirby showed you, it seems that the Refuge is actually a place where young people assigned to unwanted marriages often commit suicide. One such suicide opens the story and you immediately know that we’re not in for a jolly good time.
Queen Medusa has a surprise for her husband, King Black Bolt. She’s pregnant. Surely, the Genetic Council will allow her to keep her unborn child. They don’t. Medusa flees to Earth (The Great Refuge had moved to the moon a few years prior to this story.). Black Bolt, the “wise-but-silent” king who often served as the Inhumans’ moral center in previous tales, refuses to support his wife and effectively abandons her. The rest of the Inhuman royal family follows her to Earth. We see Gorgon as a thick, pig-head idiot, Karnak as a pseudo intellectual snob, and Triton as an alienated angst-ridden malcontent. The female characters – Medusa, her sister Crystal and a new character named Minxi – do fare better under Nocenti,who largely treats them more sympathetically than the men.
A case can be made for Nocenti’s defense. She has some genuinely good ideas here. Certainly, abortion and women’s reproductive rights are issues almost completely ignored in the super hero genre, and I give her kudos for daring to tackle them. Despite some instances of what I’d call character assassination (even if the characters in question are fictional), she does give the individual Inhumans more depth than they had had before. …and truthfully, she isn’t completely unsympathetic to them. Each of Nocenti’s Inhumans is tortured in one way or another , and that’s even true when they engage in difficult-to-defend behavior.
That aside, I admittedly don’t care for Nocenti’s style. She seems to feel that every scene and every bit of dialogue has to have special meaning. Every character becomes a philosopher at one point or another and spouts poetic, philosophic thoughts. In fact, the characters and the narrative both tend to ramble, and there’s some blatantly obvious symbolism. Ultimately, Nocenti’s a writer with a lot of good ideas who can’t seem to focus and stick to the ones that best serve her story.
I’ll give higher praise to the art. Brett Blevins gives us the muscular super heroes that we like to see but also really excels here at facial expressions. His work serves the emotional story well, and I especially like how he imbued the mute Black Bolt with some genuine feeling. Renowned classic artist Al Williamson provides inks, and certainly, it’s hard to go wrong there.
Regardless, I can’t recommend this book. It’s a dreary read with an unsatisfying conclusion (one that I won’t spoil), and - like Nocenti’s 1980s DAREDEVIL run, come to think of it - I found it more than a little pretentious.
My ranking: 4/10
This Inhumans “graphic novel” (In this instance, a term used by Marvel to describe magazine-sized comics printed on slick, glossy paper) appeared in 1988, two years after WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS made darkness and deconstructivism “all the rage.” We see hallmarks of the movement here.
As every Marvelite knows, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Inhumans in FANTASTIC FOUR. They were a hidden race of genetically-engineered super beings, residing in “the Great Refuge.” Lee and Kirby portrayed the Great Refuge as an idyllic place. Now, in 1988, Ann Nocenti shows us why we’re stupid and naïve to buy into such fantasies. Lee and Kirby briefly referenced a ruling Inhumans “genetic council.” With what activities would such a council logically be concerned? Nocenti’s answer is “eugenics,” and she shows how the council has ultimate approval over all Inhumans marriages and births. Contrary to what Lee and Kirby showed you, it seems that the Refuge is actually a place where young people assigned to unwanted marriages often commit suicide. One such suicide opens the story and you immediately know that we’re not in for a jolly good time.
Queen Medusa has a surprise for her husband, King Black Bolt. She’s pregnant. Surely, the Genetic Council will allow her to keep her unborn child. They don’t. Medusa flees to Earth (The Great Refuge had moved to the moon a few years prior to this story.). Black Bolt, the “wise-but-silent” king who often served as the Inhumans’ moral center in previous tales, refuses to support his wife and effectively abandons her. The rest of the Inhuman royal family follows her to Earth. We see Gorgon as a thick, pig-head idiot, Karnak as a pseudo intellectual snob, and Triton as an alienated angst-ridden malcontent. The female characters – Medusa, her sister Crystal and a new character named Minxi – do fare better under Nocenti,who largely treats them more sympathetically than the men.
A case can be made for Nocenti’s defense. She has some genuinely good ideas here. Certainly, abortion and women’s reproductive rights are issues almost completely ignored in the super hero genre, and I give her kudos for daring to tackle them. Despite some instances of what I’d call character assassination (even if the characters in question are fictional), she does give the individual Inhumans more depth than they had had before. …and truthfully, she isn’t completely unsympathetic to them. Each of Nocenti’s Inhumans is tortured in one way or another , and that’s even true when they engage in difficult-to-defend behavior.
That aside, I admittedly don’t care for Nocenti’s style. She seems to feel that every scene and every bit of dialogue has to have special meaning. Every character becomes a philosopher at one point or another and spouts poetic, philosophic thoughts. In fact, the characters and the narrative both tend to ramble, and there’s some blatantly obvious symbolism. Ultimately, Nocenti’s a writer with a lot of good ideas who can’t seem to focus and stick to the ones that best serve her story.
I’ll give higher praise to the art. Brett Blevins gives us the muscular super heroes that we like to see but also really excels here at facial expressions. His work serves the emotional story well, and I especially like how he imbued the mute Black Bolt with some genuine feeling. Renowned classic artist Al Williamson provides inks, and certainly, it’s hard to go wrong there.
Regardless, I can’t recommend this book. It’s a dreary read with an unsatisfying conclusion (one that I won’t spoil), and - like Nocenti’s 1980s DAREDEVIL run, come to think of it - I found it more than a little pretentious.
My ranking: 4/10
January 13, 2017
Another overly ambitious graphic novel - way too much going on for the number of pages. Lots of narrative elements get glossed over or are not even explained at all. A bit disappointing.
December 12, 2018
Great, great craft: especially ink art over Bret Blevins by the late, great Al Williamson.
Mildly recommended, especially if you love the Inhumans and writer Ann Nocenti.
Mildly recommended, especially if you love the Inhumans and writer Ann Nocenti.
May 21, 2021
It is full of smart dialogue and well orchestrated action but the plot itself just doesn't work that well. The themes of environmental abuse and the woman's right to pregnancy above all are too forced.
Just to get some intimacy with her husband, see seduces him into a pregnancy which desperately endangers EVERYBODY. So her case falls on my deaf ears. If she had been taken advantage of I would certainly feel for her but she put all in danger on her own whim then expected them to take on her mistake at their peril. Nobody else wants a time-bomb baby.
Then we travel to the Midwest for the environmental abuse angle just which gets too weird and hard to understand why Anne did what she did with the subject.
There is no real ending. It's sequel tailored but one was never sewn on.
The art is excellent despite them having to censor themselves for prudish Marvel. You can see it in erased areonips and clothing painted on but without any trimming. I thought the "Marvel Graphic Novels" imprint was beyond that...
Just to get some intimacy with her husband, see seduces him into a pregnancy which desperately endangers EVERYBODY. So her case falls on my deaf ears. If she had been taken advantage of I would certainly feel for her but she put all in danger on her own whim then expected them to take on her mistake at their peril. Nobody else wants a time-bomb baby.
Then we travel to the Midwest for the environmental abuse angle just which gets too weird and hard to understand why Anne did what she did with the subject.
There is no real ending. It's sequel tailored but one was never sewn on.
The art is excellent despite them having to censor themselves for prudish Marvel. You can see it in erased areonips and clothing painted on but without any trimming. I thought the "Marvel Graphic Novels" imprint was beyond that...
July 16, 2024
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
I went into this GN with no real expectations. All I knew was that there was going to be a baby involved.
I really liked how there were these questions of why certain laws were still followed when they’re more of a hindrance to society.
I did not like how flip-floppy Karnak’s opinions were.
This whole story revolves around the Council marrying their citizens off to breed stronger Inhumans. Why then did they allow Black Bolt and Medusa to marry? Why were the couple not told the Council was against them having children?
‘Mad’ Max is thrown into the mix but was he really necessary? How he convinces Medusa to return home could’ve been done by the family that followed her to Earth. I did like his reasoning was kept within the boundaries of his established character.
When things like how much time has passed is not stated, the story can get a little confusing. It sort of mentions that the baby grew fast in utero but did that just mean the time went by faster than Medusa expected or was it like two weeks and the foetus was done cooking, you know?
In any case, I find it hard to believe that a baby, who was born either the previous day or a couple weeks prior, would be able to crawl around.
Things are left quite ambiguous; what is the Council going to do with the baby? What will the baby do if it is threatened?
I went into this GN with no real expectations. All I knew was that there was going to be a baby involved.
I really liked how there were these questions of why certain laws were still followed when they’re more of a hindrance to society.
I did not like how flip-floppy Karnak’s opinions were.
This whole story revolves around the Council marrying their citizens off to breed stronger Inhumans. Why then did they allow Black Bolt and Medusa to marry? Why were the couple not told the Council was against them having children?
‘Mad’ Max is thrown into the mix but was he really necessary? How he convinces Medusa to return home could’ve been done by the family that followed her to Earth. I did like his reasoning was kept within the boundaries of his established character.
When things like how much time has passed is not stated, the story can get a little confusing. It sort of mentions that the baby grew fast in utero but did that just mean the time went by faster than Medusa expected or was it like two weeks and the foetus was done cooking, you know?
In any case, I find it hard to believe that a baby, who was born either the previous day or a couple weeks prior, would be able to crawl around.
Things are left quite ambiguous; what is the Council going to do with the baby? What will the baby do if it is threatened?
January 24, 2019
Non un granché questa GN della Nocenti. Per buona parte è colpa delle argomentazioni tipiche dell'autrice, di un moralistico abbastanza stucchevole nell'affrontare temi quali i tabù tribali (e gli Inumani sono una tribù, molto chiusa alle novità ed estremamente conservatrice) o la condizione della donna. I disegni di Blevins poi non mi sono mai piaciuti, e li trovo inadatti, cosa anomala in quanto il suo stile tendente al grottesco in teoria dovrebbe ben sposarsi con i personaggi. Invece mi delude ancora.
December 30, 2018
Apprezzo tanto Ann Nocenti, ma qui “ha fatto il passo più lungo della gamba”. Buone idee di partenza, ma raccontate maluccio e con un finale così così.
Disegni nella media; come al solito si salva Al Williamson.
Disegni nella media; come al solito si salva Al Williamson.
June 14, 2017
This is just boring.
May 15, 2015
This was a 2.5. The going on about the "rules" without really elaborating got old. i wanted them to explore the eugenics angle more as it was more fascinating than the "messing with nature" story. I feel like they could have done so much better, but alas.
June 23, 2013
I thought this book would be better, and I grew weary of Noncenti's preaching about abortion.
September 16, 2013
Highlights Nocenti's ability to make even the most boring characters interesting. It was also probably the first super hero comic about a woman's right to choose. Amazing.
February 9, 2016
Good Inhumans story. Nice art and story. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews