I have never been very interested in the Inhumans, a race of super-powered outcasts who live on the Moon. I have also managed to avoid most of this past year's Secret Invasion hoopla, which has seemed from the sidelines like a lot of overblown hype.

So you'd think I'd pass up an opportunity to review Secret Invasion: Inhumans, one of the many tie-in miniseries that fed into the hype. And normally you'd be right; I'm not sure why I bit on this on, although I suspect the strong art by Tom Raney is what lured me in.

I'm glad it did. This book supplies a strong story that manages largely to stand on its own; all you need to know coming in is that Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, has been killed, but the corpse has turned out to be a Skrull (shapeshifting alien invader) in disguise. So where is the real Black Bolt? That's where this book comes in. Medusa, the fiery-tressed Inhuman queen, is determined to find him, even if it means sacrificing the rest of her race. Her immediate family -- Gorgon, Karnak, Crystal, Triton and Lockjaw -- assist in her quest, even as Black Bolt's brother Maximus consolidates power and makes himself a tyrant over the Inhumans.

I doubt this book will convince me to seek out more of the vast Secret Invasion library ... but it might spark my interest in the further adventures of the Inhumans. And that's a pretty good trick.