Black Bolt #7

Writer: Saladin Ahmed

Artist: Frazer Irving

Before Reading:

Black Bolt hits a transition issue as Black Bolt finds himself freed from the prison that he and his friend had been living in for the first arc. I am not sure how this is Black Bolt's first ongoing series, but this book is very unique in its approach to the character. I know it has been said before, but Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward somehow make Black Bolt compelling, expressive, and important without the Inhuman king ever saying a word.

I highly recommend this series. What it has accomplished with The Absorbing Man alone is enough for me to recommend this series. This is one of the better comics being published by marvel at the moment. With this being a transition issue before the next arc, now is a good time go buy the back issues and catch up on this awesome series. Last issue saw Black Bolt having escaped the prison and is heading to Earth.

During Reading:

Black Bolt and his young friend (and former prison mate) Blinky are headed to Earth. Blinky is a young psychic creature from a far out alien race. We learn throughout the issue that Blinky has dreams and she actually manifests these visions in a somewhat physical manner while sleeping. This makes for a lot of creativity and some interesting characters in the book. LockJaw also makes an apperaence and we get to see how Black Bolt has really warmed up to the Blinky character. After the last arc, this issue leaves us with a small tease of some confrontation that is still to come.

After Reading:
Black Bolt #7 is a great example of how to write a transition (sometimes known as a filler) issue. We get some good narration on the Inhuman King's thoughts and it is pretty compelling stuff. The story picks up right after the events of last issue and while fans await the next arc, this issue takes us on the actual journey through space with the characters of this book. It was very cool getting to know more about Blinky. This issue did a really good job of explaining some of her backstory along with her powers and abilities.

The art is handled by Frazer Irving and it is a pretty good fit for this type of issue. I feel like you either love Irving's stuff or hate it. He doesn't do a ton (if at all at time) of background and detail work, but he does make his characters, especially the nightmare vision manifestations that she brings about in the book. Frazer is a great Horror type artist and it really is some pretty surreal stuff that he draws here. Regular artist Christian Ward has established the identity for this series, but Frazer does a nice job with what he is given here.

This series is telling a pretty unique and interesting story. This issue in particular gets to have a little bit of freedom to play around with before the next arc, and the creative team puts that freedom to use with a solid issue.

7.5/10

Blinky can manifest some terrifying stuff from her dreams!