Though I'm not generally a fan of these characters, I have enjoyed past stories done with them (notably the Marvel Knights series from Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee), and I like McKeever's writing enough to give it a shot. As it turns out, this is a story that is hard to imagine being done with any other characters, as it plays up the strange, almost cruel nature of Inhumans society and their voluntary mutation and uses it to delve into the universal theme of life not living up to our expectations. The first issue introduces an interesting lead character who trained to be a warrior but who has found himself thrust into the role of an artist (a reversal from the cliche), an interesting situation that should take some of these characters to Earth and features some strong artwork from Matthew Clark and Nelson.
San, the narrator and main character of this piece, is a natural athlete from a family of warriors, and he has every intention of becoming a warrior like his father. Through the use of a futuristic/alien style game in the basic style of basketball, McKeever and Clark show off his athletic prowess, and through narration, we learn of his goals for the future and a little of the Inhuman society, which isn't really the perfect place for someone like San, who knows what he wants to do with his life. It's pretty clear, given the narration, that there's an unpleasant surprise coming for him when he enters the Terrigen mists and gets the mutations that are de rigeur for this society.
At its heart, Inhumans #1 is a story about disappointment, about life not turning out the way we want it to, and that's something everyone can relate to at one point or another. However, while the theme is universal, the story is one that could only take place in this highly unusual society, which stands out alongside the New Gods or Silver Surfer as some of those weird 60s concepts that would seem outdated and too bizarre but which still retain some of their resonance in the hands of the right creators. McKeever explores a boy who had every right to expect that he would become a warrior and who instead finds himself in just about the opposite position because of the Terrigen mists, and the notion of a mutation changing your life midstream is, if not unique to the Inhumans, certainly best suited to these characters.
I have to be honest, I was also not really anticipating this series because of the artwork of Matthew Clark. While I enjoyed much of his work, I found a lot of his storytelling on Felon, one of his more recent projects, confusing and hard to read. As it turns out, Clark's work here is beautiful and easy to read, with some nice active scenes in the low-gravity sports game, a good sense of both mystery and menace in the arrival of a shuttle from Earth and a vivid portrayal of San's inner pain when he expresses himself with his art. There are also some strange, twisted designs for the mutated forms of the Inhumans which help to bring an alien sensibility to the story.
Looking at the indicia, I see that this is the sixth go-round for the Inhumans, which has had any number of mini-series, graphic novels and short-lived ongoing series. Like Silver Surfer or Namor, these seem like early Marvel creations that are difficult to get a handle on in the long-term, and they're difficult to build a large enough audience around to sustain an ongoing series. However, these creators seem to have hit upon a new angle to explore, and the first issue certainly drew me in much more than I expected.
