Inhumans: Attilan Rising #3

Writer – Charles Soule
Artist – John Timms
Inker – Roberto Poggi
Colours – Frank D’Armata

Whispers of Defiance, the third chapter of Attilan Rising is a book that is packed full of action from cover to cover as the resistance battles Medusa’s forces on two fronts. In the Quiet Room, Frank McGee, Karnak and Matt Murdock face off against Auran while Black Bolt and his squad battle Medusa, Gorgon and their forces. It is fast and furious and the pace never lets up for a second making the book fly by in what seems like minutes. Out of all the titles being released during the Secret Wars event, this one seems to have more action than most. It is quite exciting to see our heroes in battle and strange to say the least to see some of them on the side of good and others on the side of Doom, fighting each other where before, everyone was on the same side. The most interesting thing that Charles Soule has done with the book is to have Black Bolt talk, something that has never really been done before except in the strangest of cases and never for very long. Another great thing to see is Auran back among the living, as she had passed in the previous series as well as some of the Nuhumans playing a prominent part in this one. While the Royal Family are the Inhumans that everyone cares about more than any other, the Nuhumans start to grow on you with every passing issue. The only problem that this book has is the lack of direction, as it is unknown at this point in time just where it is heading. We know there is a resistance and that they are against what Doom stands for and we know that Medusa stands with Doom, all of which has been explained in the three issues published so far. But what is the ultimate goal of the series, what does Black Bolt wish to do? That has not been made apparent yet, for even should he and his companions escape Medusa, what comes next? Not everything has to be spelled out of course, then there would be no need to read the books, but the fact of the matter is, for now, it is unclear as to where this title is heading. The writing is sharp, the art by John Timms is excellent and the story thus far has been exciting, but it would be nice to see a goal in mind at some point.

4 out of 5

Mercury Heat #1

Writer – Kieron Gillen
Artist – Omar Francia
Colours – Digikore Studios

Much like Kieron Gillen said in his afterward to this first book, Mercury Heat is a mishmash of ideas and genres, mainly being science-fiction, and thankfully, it works wonderfully. We are introduced to the main character immediately, named Luiza Bora, and she is something special. The reader starts to understand that almost immediately as every person who heads to Mercury is assigned a class, though what makes up those ratings and specifications has yet to be explained. Suffice it to say, Bora is ranked fairly high which means she is good at more than a few things. Almost right off the hop, Bora finds herself in some trouble in her new job as a cop and where she exhibits some superhuman-like abilities against a group of men who are trying to kill her. Why that is and what everything means is not explained as of yet, but knowing Gillen, we are sure to find out. This book marks Gillen’s second major series at Avatar, the first being Uber, and while this book is not as heavy in tone, it is almost just as bloody and is more of a pure science-fiction than the previously named series. The first issue is quite fascinating as it has introduced a lot of new and strange things which should make things interesting going forward and more than that, Luiza who is a very strong protagonist in more ways than one. The artwork by Omar Francia is quite good and the book has a great energy to it, especially as it starts off with some great action sequences and a mystery as well. As far as first issues go, Mercury Heat has done everything right and it will be a lot of fun to see where Gillen and Francia take the book from here on out.

4 out of 5