Nova Vol. 1 – Review

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Sean Chen, Scott Hanna & Brian Denham (artists)

The Marvel universe (by which I mean that vast expanse of space in which Silver Surfer, Galactus, and Ego run around in as opposed to the Marvel Universe, the corporate umbrella that we gather all of the company’s intellectual properties under when we talk about them) has never been an especially interesting setting to tell stories in.  Weird, right?  I mean, this is space we’re talking about, the final frontier.  An endless, ethereal, expanse of limitless potential and imagination where anything can happen.  And yet, despite the wealth of stories that can be told here, Marvel writers have seemed reluctant to do anything with it.  The last time I ever got excited about a Marvel space story was when “The Infinity Gauntlet” came out, and that was eighteen years ago.

Fast forward to 2006 when I began reading  positive fan feedback and critical praise for “Annihilation” a storyline designed to revitalize Marvel’s cosmic franchise.  The story certainly sounded worthwhile, but I wasn’t quite convinced to invest the time and money to collect it.

And then I found out Dan Abnett was involved with the story.

I’d known and been a huge fan of Abnett’s work through his involvement with Black Library’s series of Warhammer 40,000 books (any Gaunt’s Ghosts fans out there?) and it was on the strength of his writing there that I was willing to take another chance on Marvel’s final frontier.  I’m glad I did, because there is new life and abundant imagination to be found here, and nowhere is that more apparent than on Marvel’s flagship space title, Nova.

This inaugral volume collects the first seven issues of the title and spins directly out of the events of Annihilation: Conquest, the sequel to the 2006 crossover.  Following the devastation of the Annihilation Wave, the galaxy has been torn asunder and left in a broken, fragile, and highly volatile state.  There was a time when the Nova Corps was around to maintain law and order, but that time has come and gone and the Nova Corps is all but dead, with only Richard Rider left standing as their sole representative, one man to protect an entire galaxy.  It’s a burden no one person should have to carry, and yet Rider does because he knows it’s the right thing to do and that he’s the only one capable of doing it.

Against this backdrop of one man pushing himself to the limit in order to do the right thing, Abnett and Lanning craft a series of explosive, entertaining stories that are deeply rooted in the continuity established by the Annihilation crossovers, and yet immediately accessible to new readers.  What I most like about this volume, and about the new landscape of Marvel’s universe, is that it is such a fully-realized continuity and fully divorced from mainstream Marvel.

For those of you who, like me, have had enough of mediocre crossovers like ‘Dark Reign’, you have here the opportunity to get your Marvel fix with an excellent comic that has absolutely nothing to do with Norman Osborn for a change.  Abnett imbues this graphic novel with a skilled blend of action, imagination, and pathos that frankly shames anything being turned in by Marvel’s ‘terrestrial’ writers, and if you’re looking for a change of pace in your comics then I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you.  This is damn good stuff to read, and I have a feeling it’ll just keep getting better.

Grade:  A

-Tony Rakittke

 

NEWS: Wildstorm to publish “The X-Files #5″

People have gone missing in the Badlands for centuries. Now, a fresh spate of disappearances is linked to the possible serial killer “Dante,” who claims he is inspired by demons from hell. While Scully assumes the suspect is either lying or deranged, Mulder follows legends of the Hollow Earth to a labyrinth of subterranean tunnels – just as Dante escapes custody and heads for home.

Written by Doug Moench; Art & Cover by Brian Denham. 32pg. – Color – $3.50 US – On Sale March 18, 2009

NEWS: Wildstorm to publish “The X-Files #4″

Scully and Mulder are the targets of a killer from the Tong Underworld who is about to reignite a centuries-old gang war. If Mulder and Scully can’t figure out how this devious criminal can be in multiple places at the same time, San Francisco will erupt in a bloodbath!

Written by Marv Wolfman; Art by Brian Denham; Cover by Jim Daly and Tim Bradstreet. 32pg. – Color – $3.50 US – On Sale February 18, 2009

NEWS: Wildstorm to publish “The X-Files #3”

Mulder and Scully are sent to San Francisco to investigate a series of murders happening simultaneously throughout the city. But, according to fingerprints and DNA, all are being perpetrated by the same killer. As their investigation takes them into the unknown mysteries of the Chinese underworld, they learn that instead of being the hunters, they have become the hunted.

Written by Marv Wolfman; Art by Brian Denham; Cover by Jim Daly and Tim Bradstreet. 32pg. – Color – $3.50 US – On Sale January 21, 2009

NEWS: Wildstorm to publish “The X-Files #2”

Mulder and Scully race to uncover the truth about the apparent suicide of a government scientist. All evidence points to it being nothing more than a case of one man choosing to end his own life, but Mulder is convinced the evidence isn’t revealing everything. For Agent Fox Mulder, uncovering the truth is literally a case of life or death.

From show writer Frank Spotnitz, art by Brian Denham, cover by Tony Shasteen. 32pg. – Color – $3.50 US – On Sale December 17, 2008

Looks like we are not getting a variant cover for this one. And Why only Mulder on the cover? I need my Scully fix.

NEWS: Wildstorm to publish The X-Files #1 (of 7)

Search for the truth inside this new miniseries based on the hit FOX television show! A research scientist, recently agitated by paranoid fears, is found dead in his suburban D.C. apartment. His sister refuses to accept the coroner’s ruling that his death was suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Federal investigator Scully discovers forensic details that would seem to defy rational explanation and when her partner Agent Mulder learns the scientist was working on a top-secret project for a government contractor, Mulder becomes agitated by his own paranoid fears, which eerily parallels the behavior that led to the scientist’s death!

From show writer Frank Spotnitz, art by Brian Denham, cover by Tony Shasteen; variant cover by Russell Walks. 32pg. – Color – $3.50 US – On Sale November 19, 2008

The X-Files Special #0 – Review

By Frank Spotnitz (writer), Brian Denham (art), Kelsey Shannon (colors)

Like the forthcoming movie, I expected this book to be pure crap. It’s not that I hate The X-Files – quite the opposite – I love the series. Well, I love seasons 1-5, anyway. Anything that came after that was crap, in my opinion, so you’ll have to excuse my pessimism. Much to my surprise, this book is actually “not horrible”. There are some serious issues I have with the book, but all-in-all, I think many people will be pleasantly surprised with Frank Spotnitz’s offering.

The first thing that struck me was the look of Mulder and Scully. No, I’m not talking about the obvious photo tracing job by Brian Denham (which sticks out like a sore thumb), but rather how young they look. At the end of the issue, it’s said that these stories will be taking place between Seasons 2-5, and honestly, that makes the most sense – the show hadn’t spiraled out of control yet. But as a comic that could have tied into the movie or serve as a good primer (it even sports a cover that replicates the movie’s poster), this reversal in time feels like a missed opportunity.

The story itself starts off in a very creepy way, and the colors by Kelsey Shannon go a very long way in creating a foreboding atmosphere. (I’m purposely not spoiling any of the story because I know most of the people reading this review are going to buy this book anyway.) From there, the plot begins to unravel as Mulder adds the facts and makes his deductions. Scully doesn’t do much except for her normal analytical stuff (she examines a dead body) and skeptic routine. What’s jarring about this story is the awful expository dialogue provided by Mulder on more than one occasion. I think it’s safe to say that fans of The X-Files aren’t idiots. So why are we being treated as such? Not everything has to be spoon fed, and frankly, this pisses me off.

Luckily, the story is well paced and entertaining enough to (almost) overlook these problems. If you don’t mind blatant photo tracing, you’ll also love Brian Denham’s art which can be quite good at times. The last page says to be continued in X-Files #1 – but there’s no word on when that’s going to come out. And at this point in time, the soonest we’ll see it is November 2008 (or later). Why so long? For a good debut issue, this isn’t the right way to maintain your readership. Why do fans of this show continued to be jerked around? (Grade: B-)

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

My complaint against previous X-Files comics were that Mulder and Scully weren’t drawn with the likeness of the actors. So the fact that the characters here are photo-traced is a plus for me. I really want to see Mulder and Scully’s likeness well represented in these pages – not some doodles that resemble them. That said, there are some panels that look overly stretched and they look bad on the page. Regardless of this, Brian Denham does a great job.

The dialogue can’t get any better than what we get here. It’s written by Frank Spotnitz, so he knows the characters by heart – how they talk and their mannerisms. I definitely could hear their voices in my head (I’m not crazy, by the way) as I read the story. Most of the elements that we’ve grown to love from the TV series are accurately reproduced.

There are several little details with the art that only die hard fans will catch, and because of that this first issue made a great impression on me. I’m happy to have new X-Files stories to look forward. (Grade: B+)

– Daniel Yanez

FIRST LOOK: The X-Files Special #0

EW.com got an exclusive first look for the new comic book. Check it out at their website.

Also, don’t forget to check our giveaway for a chance to win a copy of this comic!

Written by Frank Spotnitz; Art by Brian Denham. It will have a Photo cover and a Variant Cover by Brian Denham. 40pg., Color, $2.99 US. On Sale July 23, 2008.

“The X-Files Special #0” – Comic GIVEAWAY!!!

We are giving away a copy of the “X-Files Special #0” comic to five lucky winners. If you’ll like to be included in the giveaway, just post a comment below telling us which of the stories from the original Topps comic did you like the most (or hated). If you haven’t read any, no problem, you can still post a comment. Email addresses are hidden, so no need to worry about privacy and we will never spam you or contact you for any other reason than to notify the winners. Giveaway is open to anyone in the world. The contest will be open until the end of July (the comic comes out on July 23rd) and winners will be chosen from a random integer generator. Winners will be emailed, and will have 72 hours to respond or be disqualified.

The hit motion picture and television franchise returns to comics! With July’s release of the brand-new X-Files blockbuster, WildStorm joins Mulder and Scully in a previously untold story from the film’s cowriter and producer Frank Spotnitz! Don’t miss this supernatural epic so large it will leave you screaming for more!

Written by Frank Spotnitz; Art by Brian Denham. It will have a Photo cover and a Variant Cover by Brian Denham. 40pg., Color, $2.99 US. On Sale July 23, 2008.

WINNERS
Annah FM – Ontario, Canada
Juanma – Murcia, Spain
Romelwen – Buenos Aires, Argentina
aaron – Tennessee, US
David Boyington – California, US

NEWS: Wildstorm to publish “The X-Files Special”

The hit motion picture and television franchise returns to comics! With July’s release of the brand-new X-Files blockbuster, WildStorm joins Mulder and Scully in a previously untold story from the film’s cowriter and producer Frank Spotnitz! Don’t miss this supernatural epic so large it will leave you screaming for more!

Written by Frank Spotnitz; Art by Brian Denham. It will have a Photo cover and a Variant Cover by Brian Denham. 40pg., Color, $2.99 US. On Sale July 23, 2008.

Please go to Brian Denham’s website to check his skills on Iron Man. I believe he’ll do a great job on The X-Files.

X-FILES SPECIAL #0 GIVEAWAY!!!
We are giving away 5 issues of the comic. For more info check this link! Good Luck!