In space, no one will hear you scream – review of the comic book “Inhumain”

My biggest comic weakness is science fiction, and it is very difficult for me to be objective about the titles that this genre develops. Certainly, one of them is Inhumain, published by Elemental. Does this title work qualitatively?

Shipwrecked, the island and the great unknown …

The comic tells the story of a research mission crew that crashes on an alien planet inhabited by strange creatures and … descendants of humanity. At first, everything seems to be idyllic, and the specific religion and rituals of the inhabitants of the planet are a bit bizarre, but it does not arouse much suspicion of the guests. Only lifting the veins of the secret turns out to be terrifying, and with each subsequent “level” the hope for rescue dies. The writers, Denis Bajram and Valérie Mangin, know when the reader should discover the next layers of the story together with the characters, and they play with the form, which effectively influences the reception. Even using complicated chemical terms or explaining biological phenomena does not sound like tracing paper from an encyclopedia, it only helps us understand the world we are about to read.

I’ve seen some reviewers have a problem with the finale, and I must honestly say it seems quite disappointing to me as well. I don’t know if the question of the open ending is the biggest problem of Inhumain, but solving the threads galloped too much and didn’t want to stop, a bit wasting the potential of the story built from the beginning.

Visually, there is nothing to cling to

The drawings, supervised by Thibaud De Rochebrune, are absolutely ravishing. Each space, plant or phenomenon that should be emphasized has a fantastic color scheme. We have no problem finding out what temperature, climate or mood prevail in individual rooms, and in science fiction, this is what builds the mood and scrupulously guide us through subsequent threads. I really have nothing to complain about in this aspect, what’s more, I would distinguish it from many other titles as a perfect example of how to design wonderful frames.

Inhumain defends itself in every way

Elemental published Inhumain in a hardback, taking great care of the reader’s perception. He also chose a title that will appeal not only to science fiction fans, but to comic book fans in general. I heartily recommend this title and I hope that the next ones will keep such a great level!