Black Bolt: Story Synopsis

Black Bolt awakens in a prison without the use of his powers or the knowledge of how he got there in Black Bolt Vol. 1: Hard Time.

When Black Bolt opens his eyes all he can see is his cell walls.  His mouth is covered so he can’t use his voice to blow a hole in the wall.  A voice comes over the speaker and says “name your crimes, repent your crimes.”  When Bolt doesn’t respond he is shocked to death.

However, Bolt wakes up and is asked to do the same thing and it results in the same outcome.  However, Bolt is a hero and a king this cage will not hold him. He breaks his shackles and makes his escape only to hear a child screaming.  Bolt comes across his first fellow prisoner, Blinky. However, Bolt is too late to save him.

After Blinky dies Bolt meets up with other fellow prisoners including Absorbing Man aka Crusher Creel, Metal Master, a ex-Skrull and oh course Blinky.  The team set into motion an escape plan, but a mystery unravels and the plan proves to be quite difficult.

Black Bolt Vol. 1: Hard Time was written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Christian Ward.  Marvel Comics published the volume in 2017.

Black Bolt

My Introduction To Black Bolt

I know very little about Black Bolt or the Inhumans.  I have never read an Inhuman comic before.  My only real interaction with Inhumans has been as guest character’s in other comics.  I was not a huge fan of Bolt going into this comic. However, with that being said this is an amazing comic.

The comic gives the reader enough detail to let them know who Bolt is and his powers without being bogged down by a ton of backstory.  Bolt is made very human and relatable. Whenever I have seen him in other comics he always seems very egotistical and pompous because he doesn’t speak.  This comic explores Bolt thinking about what a bad dad he has been to his son and all the remorse he has for his past deeds.

Black Bolt: Smart Character Choices

I think taking away his ability so he is able to speak was a very smart choice.  Since I have never read a Inhumans comic before I don’t know if this is a very common practice, but it helped this comic a lot.  Bolt can level cities with a single word and that is a lot of power and can end a fight in a moment.  Taking away that ability evens up the odds a lot and adds struggle and tension to the comic.

This comic has a lot of heart and I mean an amazing amount of heart. Crusher Creel is a bad guy, but it was interesting to see how he fell into that life and his remorse for his wrong doings.  It made me really like Creel and it will be hard to see him in other comics when he will be a straight-up bad guy. I know I will be saying “You don’t understand Thor he had an abusive father and his mom died when he was very young.”

Black Bolt

Lockjaw Is An Inhuman’s Best Friend

However, my favorite part of this comic was Bolt’s best friend his teleporting dog, Lockjaw.  He was there at Bolt’s birth and will probably be there at Bolt’s death. How could I not love this big old loving dog?

The pacing of this comic is perfect.  I never got bored and never knew what was going to happen next.  This is a great self-contained story for someone who knows nothing about Bolt or Inhumans.  The level of Marvel comics knowledge required for this comic is very low. If the reader knows who Thor is and knows what a Skrull is then they’re golden.

I recommend this to anyone looking to get into comics or wanting to get into the superhero side of comics.  This is an excellent starter comic.

Rating:

5/5

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