Silent War #1 (of 6)

Writer: David Hine
Artist: Frazer Irving
Letterer: Joe Caramanga


In this sequel to last year’s Son of M the consequences of Black Bolt’s declaration of war upon humanity are revealed. With the source of their powers, the Terrigen Crystals, stolen and held by the Office of National Emergency, Black Bolt sends a group of Inhumans to deliver a warning to humanity. But when their show of force goes awry dozens of civilians are killed and the war kicks into high gear.

Having never read the Son of M series I can’t say that I was all that interested in reading Silent War. Then I noticed that Frazer Irving was the series’ artist and, being a big fan of his work, decided to give the book a shot. I’m certainly glad I did as this first issue represents some of Irving’s best work to date and features a heck of a good story to boot. One need not have read a single issue of Son of M to pick up and understand this story, a very rare and welcome surprise.

The reasons behind Black Bolt’s declaration of war, the events that lead to the unintentional escalation of the conflict and the consequences of that escalation are all well thought out and flow completely naturally. Things go from bad to worse in just a few pages and the way the characters deal with the situation seems completely understandable, unlike the random chain of events that make up the mess that is Marvel’s biggest event, Civil War. Perhaps David Hine, the writer of Silent War, should have been the one to helm the company’s other “War” series.

But I digress. This first issue of Silent War is top-notch stuff and surely means big changes are coming for the Inhumans (and likely the rest of the Marvel Universe as a result) and fans of these characters should definitely pick up this series. And if you’re not a fan of the Inhumans then pick up the book anyway, if not for the interesting story, then for the amazing artwork.
 

Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance preview books for review purposes.

Comic Review Index