The surge of the Inhumans has been one of the biggest developments in the past year for Marvel comics, both inside of its own continuity as well in the wider use of the characters across other mediums.  While this series has not exactly been the centerpiece for the use of these characters, at times it could have been with its character first approach to the story telling as well as introducing new and intriguing characters and story lines.  This has all lead up to this annual, the first ever annual from Marvel to feature this team.  While the momentum for the heroes is strong, annuals are a poorly defined experience in comics.  Annuals perhaps work best to encapsulate what is best about the series, without necessarily forcing readers into the stories there.  In this case it is the latter which this issue focuses on, finishing up the first year’s worth of stories from the Inhumans, all on the eve of Secret Wars.

The various story lines are all wrapped up here, as Medusa is forced to face the sect of Inhumans who feel as though the Terrigen Mists are the sign of a greater power and that they have been abused.  At the same time Lineage has taken control of New Attilan and spills his new war against humanity directly and immediately into Kamala Khan’s back yard for a degree of revenge.

The action unfolds here almost too close to what would be expected, and with the series heading into Secret Wars, a rapid resolution is needed to get all the various plot points wrapped up in time for the series to head into the crossover with its full attention.  As in most cases of speeding through its own plots, this does a disservice to the series, which has taken the time to build characters, as opposed to racing by them.  While it is to the detriment of this issue, it still manages to succeed on enough levels as to earn a passing grade.  This is after all the same series that did so well so far in its dozen or so issues to establish these characters as never before in the Marvel universe.  Despite the rushed approach here, it is still easy to care about these characters because the creative team have made them approachable in previous issues, and thus while not the strongest issue thus far, this still fits well enough into the overall narrative.

Story: Charles Soule Art: Ryan Stegman
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read