Annihilators #1 – Review

By: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Tan Eng Huat (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), June Chung (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters), John Denning (assistant editor) & Bill Rosemann (editor)

Rocket Raccoon/Groot by: Abnett & Lanning (writers), Timothy Green, II (art), Nathan Fairbairn (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters), Rachel Pinnelas & Denning (assistant editors) & Rosemann (editor)

The Story: Quasar, Ronan, Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill, Silver Surfer & a Spaceknight (yes…a Spaceknight) team up to keep the Universe safe.  And….we catch up with everyone’s favorite spunky sentient Raccoon.

What’s Good: The mere premise of this book is kinda “Avengers in space”.  And it isn’t some weak team of heroes either.  Abnett & Lanning (DnA) have basically gathered together the most powerful cosmic beings in the Marvel U. on the premise that the Guardians of the Galaxy were a good concept, but simply not powerful enough to stop the truly massive threats.

There is a lot of “team’s first meeting” in this issue, but the real highlight for me is that one member of the Annihilators is an honest-to-goodness Galadorian Spaceknight.  Alas, it is not our favorite silvery Spaceknight hero from the early 1980’s: ROM.  ROM is still stuck in the trademark penalty box between Marvel and Parker Brothers, but the story of the Spaceknights and their mortal enemies, the Dire Wraiths, is a good one and worth exploring in the Marvel U.  Granted, Marvel has never completely abandoned the Spaceknight concept (there was a miniseries ~2000), but it is always good to have them back.

It was also a fun to catch up with Rocket Raccoon in a truly zany tale that shows Rocky in his post-Guardians phase pushing a mail-cart through a prairie dog warren of cubicles for some faceless cosmic corporation.  Sigh…he hates his job, it’s boring, his boss is a prick and then he get’s attacked by a very strange killer clown which causes him to want to track down his old buddy, Groot.  Fun abounds.

This is also a beefy issue.  So, we’re getting 38 pages of comics for your $4.99.

The art is very solid throughout.  Huat’s designs and layouts interpret the story very effectively and I really like Olazaba’s inks.  He shows a real commitment to shading with very fine lines and it gives the comics a very throwback feel.  Green’s art in the Rocket Raccoon story is much more comical and that not only fits the silly nature of the story, but it is usually a good choice with Rocky.  It is really hard to draw a “realistic” bipedal raccoon and not have it look like a monkey.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man #655 – A few people were pointing out how this story of loss and Peter resolving to do a better job has “been done before”, but I don’t think it has ever been done as well.  Slott and Martin do a masterful job telling a silent story of loss that combines with a fever dream sequence that cuts to the core of who Peter Parker is.  Runners-up: Fantastic Four #588 & Morning Glories #7.

Most Anticipated: Incognito: Bad Influences #4 – By the end of issue #3, the Brubaker/Phillips/Staples team had all of their game pieces out of the box, so I fully expect this issue to begin accelerating towards what should be a great conclusion to this series.

Other Picks: Sweet Tooth #19, Carbon Grey #1, Intrepids #1, Annihilators #1, Thunderbolts #154

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man #655 – This was a hugely difficult week to pick from, as there was just so, so much to like…even if I seem to be the only person  high on Iron Man 2.0 right now.  But there was so much goodness, between Action and Detective Comics and Fantastic Four among others.  Ultimately though, I’ve got to give it to ASM, with its mix of a silent, mourning component and a surreal dream sequence.  If anything, Marcos Martin tips the scales with his awesome artwork.

Most Anticipated: Secret Six #31 – This is the story I’ve been waiting for ever since the Six’s brilliant first story-arc.  Better still, it’s a three-parter, which means things’ll be compact and not at all dragged out.  I can’t wait to see where this goes.  As a side note, I’m also pretty happy that we get a thinner weak after the insanity of last week.

Other Picks: Powers #7, Sweet Tooth #19, Secret Warriors #25, Brightest Day #21, Green Lantern #63