Thanks to their involvement in ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and their own upcoming series that will kick off with an IMAX premiere next year, the Inhumans have been just about everywhere with Marvel branding on it lately. Though there may be a number of theories as to why this is so (many of which have to do with 20th Century Fox owning the rights to the X-Men), the truth is that they have always been part of the fabric of the Marvel Universe and their visibility has been upped recently due to the popularity of characters like Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl, and more. But now the Inhuman presence is about to get even larger in 2017 thanks to a number of new titles coming to your local comic shop courtesy of Marvel Comics.
In a recent press release from the House of Ideas, editor Will Moss revealed that three all-new series featuring prominent Inhuman characters would join the Marvel Comics line-up starting in April in the wake of the fallout from events such as ‘Civil War II’, ’Death of X’, and ‘Inhumans Vs X-Men’. The first book to hit shelves will be ‘Royals’ from ‘Ultimates’ and ‘New Avengers’ writer Al Ewing and former ‘Teen Titans: Rebirth’ artist Jonboy Meyers. Described as “epic and intimate all at once”, this series will see the Inhuman Royal Family abdicate the thrown and leave the destiny of the Inhumans on Earth to the next generation. From there, they will venture to the Kree homeworld and beyond to learn the origins of the Terrigen Mists to learn who they are as Inhumans and as people.
The second series will see Marvel continue the recent trend of bringing in some of the top writers from other fields of entertainment to play in the expansive sandbox that is the Marvel Universe. We’ve seen it with ‘The Atlantic’ national correspondent Ta-Nehisi Coates, ‘Agent Carter’ showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ co-screenwriter Nicole Perlman. But this time it’s Hugo Award Nominated novelist Saladin Ahmed joining the family as he helms a new series about the Inhuman monarch with a voice that could crack a planet simply titled ‘Black Bolt’. Joined by fan-favorite artist Christian Ward of ‘Ultimates’, Ahmed brings us a tale that finds the silent king imprisoned on the edges of the cosmos with the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. And though the prison is designed to hold threats like him, he must align himself with the murderers and thieves housed there in order to escape.
Finally, the real “crowd-pleaser” of the bunch will be ‘Secret Warriors’ from rising star creators Matthew Rosenberg and Javier Garron. After taking center stage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to Chloe Bennet’s portrayal of the character every week on ABC, True Believers are pretty used to seeing Agent Daisy Johnson as part of a team. But instead of Fitz, Simmons, Mack, and May, Quake will lead a group of Inhumans consisting of Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Inferno, Karnak, and a few other surprise team members in ‘Secret Warriors’. Although, this next generation of Inhumans tasked with keeping their race alive on Earth may be “the most dysfunctional superhero team out there”, which should take us on a rollercoaster of action and adventure.
By the looks of things, 2017 is shaping up to be the year of Inhumans across all formats. So in between seeing them on your TV and in a theater near you, will you be picking up these new books from your local comic shops next year? Let us know in the comments below.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
