Nova #4 – Review

By: Jeph Loeb (Writer), Ed McGuinness (Penciler), Dexter Vines (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne (Letterer)

Review: It’s a mystery to me quite how this happened, but Nova is undoubtedly the best cosmic book Marvel currently publish – this issue seals it. I never expected that from Loeb. I thought this’d be a big, dumb, brash piece of fluff – and it is, I guess – but it’s also filled with the fun of sci-fi, of explosions in space, of weird aliens aboard even weirder ships. Guardians of the Galaxy could learn a lot from this.

This issue starts with out with Sam Alexander, AKA Nova, apparently unconscious, left drifting through space at the mercy of the incoming Chitauri armada. Just as they’re about to scoop him up he blasts away with a glib cry (“Suckers!”) and weaves through the Alien hordes before crashing into the mothership: “All I have to do is find the generator or the power core or the thingy thing that runs this beast – and problem solved – Nova style.”

Instead of finding his target he runs straight into a tech-augmented Titus – the big cuddly-wubbly White Tiger and ex-Nova who used to be Sam’s Dad’s brother-in-arms. Except he has a gun for an arm now because all cats are @ssholes. He’s also got a serious jones for Nova blood, claiming that Sam’s Dad left him to die way back when (see the flashback story featured in Nova #1). Since then he’s untapped the secrets of a Rigellian Recorder (a sly nod to the events currently unspooling over in Kieron Gillen’s Iron Man) and built himself an Ultimate Nullifier. Sam steals it and boosts back to Earth thinking he’s saved the day; in reality he’s just brought trouble home with him.

It’s a refreshingly straightforward story. Sure, there are underlying themes of parental neglect and abandonment but the main focus is on sci-fi adventuring and the thrill of seeing an enthusiastic kid – rather than a seasoned super-hero – mix it up among the stars. He’s cocky, but funny with it…and this coming from someone who uniformly hates on precocious teens. I’m usually just as unimpressed with any forced elements of synergy between the Marvel Movieverse and the comics, but I don’t even mind the Chitauri’s presence here. As punching bags they work just as well as any other and they do come pre-assembled with a pretty neat visual design fresh from the Avengers movie (making them Ryan Meinerding creations if I’m not mistaken).

And consider this: Sam Alexander, at this stage, has far more reason to stay Earthbound than either Iron Man or the Guardians, his comrades in the Cosmic Marvel line-up. Then how come it feels like this series has spent more time in outer space than any of the others? It’s undoubtedly Loeb understanding a simple truth: if you’re picking up a cosmic book, you actually want to see most of the action take place in the cosmos. Just because the drama started on Earth doesn’t mean it has to dwell there.

Perhaps the art team dictated some of the emphasis on space action though – it is, after all, the best setting for McGuinness, Vines and Gracia’s double-page spreads and splashes. They fill them with big, bold, beautiful art, the dynamic panels and floating gutters emphasizing all the lovingly crafted details that make-up the imposing Titus and the frenetic scenes of Nova action. Gracia’s colors are a big part of that too; I’ve noticed recently that she almost works best when her colours shine brightly against dark, heated, inky backgrounds, so putting her on a space book was a masterstroke. The only weakness? Albert Deschesne’s Predator-like font used for the Chitauri dialogue. At first glance it’s pretty difficult to read, and I found that in some instances it almost made the book look badly printed; a move over to the iPad found that the problem there remained much the same. Nothing game-breaking but still worth noting.

Conclusion: Striving towards top-billing on Marvel’s admittedly meagre Cosmic line-up, Nova continues to gather an impressive amount of momentum. It’s got a likeable lead cast in a revenge story with a twist, all set against a backdrop of bold, boisterous action. Sam Alexander may not change the world but I’m having a great time watching him save it.

Grade: B+