COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Karnak: The Flaw In All Things
Amongst all the comic book characters out there, it’s harder to think of a group with more biologically given powers than the X-men. For many years they were the go-to group every time you wanted to train a hero with some ability they gained when they were children. So when Marvel announced that they were creating a new group, a new species if you will, many fans were apprehensive about how they would fit in, into this vast universe. Thus were born the Inhumans, a species that gained powers from a mystical source called the Terrigen Mist. Except for one member of the group, Karnak.
‘The Flaw in All Things’ sees Karnak, who is the Magister of a place called the Tower of Wisdom, being approached by none other than Agent Phil Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to help with one of their cases. It appears that a young man was abducted by a cult who state that the powers granted to him by the Terrigen Mist are worship-worthy. His parents state that when he was exposed to the Terrigen Mist, the only thing that happened was that he was cured of his allergies. Karnak gets down to investigating just why this boy is so special, whilst along the way dispatching many people into the afterlife in the most violent ways. Since Karnak is able to see the flaw in all things, he believes himself able to face this challenge and complete the mission, however, there may be more to the abducted boy than meets the eye and Karnak may just be going up against the hardest problem he’s ever faced.
I don’t need to do an analysis of this novel. I didn’t like it. I have very little knowledge of the Inhumans and after reading Black Bolt I thought to myself I had some idea of their capabilities. This guy has no powers, just a ridiculous level of knowledge but he’s obnoxious and in some parts of the novel, just a sadist. The novel had the potential to create some sort of character development for him, however, this never really transpires and he remains largely the character he was before. I did think the inclusion of Phil Coulson was a nice nod to the cinematic universe, but that didn’t take away from just how uncomfortable I felt reading it.
The artwork was okay, nothing special in my opinion. What I especially didn’t like was the way some of the characters were drawn. I may genuinely have nightmares about some of those panels. The covers were of an interesting style, but not to my liking. Fortunately, this was a one-off novel, however, it did leave me feeling a little annoyed that this is all I know of Karnak. Perhaps it would be worth reading some of the other novels that feature him!
Favourite Panel:
Yeah, he might as well be Satan
Favourite Character:
Well, I certainly didn’t like Karnak. That literally leaves me with Agent Coulson.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★
Artwork: ★★½
Enjoyability: ★★
Re-readability: ★½
Level: Advanced