Nova #6 – Review

By: Zeb Wells (Writer), Paco Medina (Penciler), Juan Vlasco (Inker), David Curiel (Colorist), Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne

Review: This is Nova all grown up, in a way; Jeph Loeb’s inaugural story arc has finished, and this is the first issue where Sam Alexander has been handled by another writer. Loeb actually did a pretty great job introducing the character and Zeb Wells is an almost pitch-perfect replacement. He’s writes a liekable smartass well, and Sam’s definitely that, though he’s also got a fairly well developed personal life where he’s rendered a bit softer, more insecure. It’s the latter that Wells focuses on for his first time behind the wheel, and while the action gets knocked down a gear as a result it’s still well worth a read.

This issue begins with Sam returning home after helping the X-Men take down Dark Scott in Avengers Vs. X-Men #12. That happened (in the context of this book) a month after Nova #5, which means the events seen here are, what, 6-9 months old? No matter, as there’s not much that occurs here that alters wider continuity. It’s mainly a tour through the important parts of any fourteen year old’s life – the home, school, family, friends and (for all too many of us) bullies that make up the day-to-day.

Nova #5 – Review

By: Jeph Loeb (Writer), Ed McGuinness (Penciler), Dexter Vines & Ed McGuinness (Inkers), Edgar Delgado (Colorist)

Review: A strange thing has happened. I think I’ve actually enjoyed a Jeph Loeb comic book. I don’t know if the events over in Age of Ultron somehow impacted on our own universe, but something is definitely up. This is not the natural order of things.

After reading Nova #5 – the finale to Loeb’s scene-setting inaugural story arc – I’ve been surprised to come away with a keen affection for its eponymous hero. He’s young, headstrong and cocky, three character traits that usually leave me feeling cold. But Loeb’s vision for Sam Alexander is fuelled by an infectious sense of energy and an emphasis on a certain Silver Age approach to superheroics (one that’s proved rewarding for Waid’s Daredevil and Fraction’s Hawkeye); these heroes enjoy the day job. There are tensions and tribulations outside of the mask but freedom and escapism behind it. Sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and watch a superhero have a good time.

Iron Man #11 – Review

By: Kieron Gillen (Writer), Dale Eaglesham (Artist), Guru eFX (Colorist), VC’s Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

Review: I guess I’m not alone in finding video games about as addictive as comic books; if you draw a Venn diagram that converges the two, the crossover segment’s probably pretty damn huge. Recently it’s been fun watching from the sidelines as the fanboys wade in against Microsoft, the XBone’s DRM measures inciting a feverous backlash from a community who, by all accounts, are happy with the way things are. They don’t need these needless alterations screwing up their hobby. Gamers have DRM; comic fans have retcons. And Iron Man totes a retcon so massive that it may see several readers toss their copies to the floor in despair.

In this issue we’re really getting into the meat of Gillen’s The Secret Origin of Tony Stark. The hints have been heavy, but there’s now no getting around it. Tony Stark – heroic Avenger, genius and billionaire party boy – is no ordinary human. Never was. Everything he’s achieved up to this point has been at least partly down to the modifications 451 made to his genetic structure while he was in utero. He used to be the frail mortal who’s tenacity and ingenuity alone allowed him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Norse Gods and Super-Soldiers… but now he shares that success with the cosmic tampering of 451, the Rigellian Recorder who’s coming to play something of a key role in most of Marvel’s cosmic books.

Guardians of the Galaxy #2 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Steve McNiven & Sara Pichelli (Penciler), John Dell, Mark Morales, Steve McNiven & Sara Pichelli (Inkers), Justin Ponsor (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Something about Guardians of the Galaxy still seems a little…off. It’s definitely an enjoyable read but Bendis doesn’t quite seem as at home with space opera as he does with the more earthbound drama of books like All New X-Men, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man or (and I know this is a bone of contention) Age of Ultron. A big hint lies in that this, his first story arc, is centred entirely around Earth and its position of Universal importance. 2008’s GOTG crew never set foot on Earth once and was no poorer for it. The much maligned Green Lantern movie could barely slip the surly bonds of Earth and look how that turned out. When you’ve got an  entire universe at your disposal – a limitless expanse of planets and alien cultures for your cast to explore – ditching your characters on Terran soil at the first opportunity ends up feeling a little uninspired.

Nova #1 – Review

By: Jeph Loeb (Writer), Ed McGuinness (Artist), Dexter Vines (Inker), Marte Gracia (Colorist), Albert Deschesne (Letterer)

The Review: I was bracing myself to maul this book. Even the physical act of purchasing it elicited a heavy sigh; there is simply no fun in handing over hard-earned money for something you feel in your gut you’re going to hate. Sadly, this is the main response my nervous system has developed to anything with the name ‘Jeph Loeb’ attached to it over the last few years. I’ve read things of his I’ve enjoyed, sure – you can’t really deny the quality of most of his Batman work or his Marvel ‘Colour’ titles – but most of his recent output has been, in my eyes, unabashedly poor.  In some cases, like Hulk or X-Sanction, I actually felt like he was trying to see how far he could push his audience, using them as a test group in a heinous experiment to seek out that magic ‘so bad it’s good’ sweet spot. Problem is, when you fall short of that target, you just get ‘bad’. Yet Marvel continues to put their faith in him, and perhaps no more so than with Nova, being as it is an integral part of the company’s Cosmic restructuring.

FF #7 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Greg Tocchini (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Rus Wooton (letters)

The Story: The return of Black Bolt from the fault is detailed.

What’s Good:  Really, the best thing I can say about this issue of FF is that it’s not as bad as the last one.

For starters, it’s far more intelligible.  It’s easier to tell just what the hell is happening, especially given that there are fewer flashbacks and less Supremor babbling.   Ultimately, Hickman tells a much clearer story this month, and also one that’s a lot of more relevant.  We get something a prophecy and a hint of things to come courtesy of Supremor that actually manages to tantalize more than it confuses.  At the very least, the ending of this issue ties right back to where we left off in FF before it became an Inhumans comic, which should ground it a bit more for a lot of readers.

And hey, you know what?  Black Bolt is a total badass, in case you didn’t already know.  Hickman makes really awesome use of his uber-powerful voice and has a firm handle on how best to use the character’s concept, with his words being few but powerful in content as well as tectonic force.

The Mighty Thor #4 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Olivier Coipel (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Laura Martin (colors), and Joe Sabino (letters)

The Story: The Asgardians go to war with Galactus, as the big purple guy takes on Odin in a battle of wills.  Also, Volstagg takes on the slavering hordes of Broxton.

What’s Good: If there’s one thing that comic books as a medium lends itself well to, it’s “awesomeness.”  By awesomeness, I don’t mean mere positive quality.  Rather, I’m referring to the jaw-droppingly ludicrous that can be described in no other way, things that are so massive that they beggar belief.

With issues like this, it seems that Matt Fraction is very in tune with this when it comes to his Mighty Thor comic.  I mean seriously, this month, we have Thor and the Warriors Three, dressed in space marine armor, battling the Silver Surfer, “cosmic demons,” and Galactus in freaking space.  The very fact that Fraction doesn’t do anything criminally wrong in his dialogue or storytelling pretty much means this issue is a win due to its concept alone.  The space battle is so massively epic that at some points, you’ve just gotta sit back and enjoy it.

A lot of this is also due to the efforts of Olivier Coipel.  I feel like I’m saying this every month, but this really is Coipel’s best outing thus far.  His Galactus is awesome, his actions sequences are mind-boggling in scale and speed, his characters are likable, and he even does really nifty work in altering his style a bit when depicting flashback sequences, shifting from bombastic space opera to dark fantasy mystery.

Fraction also finds space for other stuff as well, not satisfied with awesome space battling.  We get quality Volstagg comedy, full of the usual hot air and exaggerations that have made the big guy such an easy fan favorite.  There’s Kid Loki’s well-meaning scheming as well, and frankly, Kid Loki has been a winner of a character since his creation.  He also is a fantastic straight man next to Volstagg’s bluster.

I also really enjoyed Galactus and Odin’s mental struggle.  The flashbacks initiated in Odin’s mind were creepy and ominous, and the way Galactus took shape in the All-Father’s mind was pretty cool and subtle, while also giving the whole thing a tinge of horror comic goodness.

FF #6 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Greg Tocchini (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story: The birth of Black Bolt is revealed.

What’s Good:  There are some really bold literary themes in this one and some of its certainly really, really cool.  As we delve into the birth of Black Bolt, Hickman makes allusions to Jesus Christ, comparing the births between the two.  One simply can’t help but make the messianic connections when a Zordon-looking supreme intelligence called Supremo orders mass murder to eliminate a soon-to-be-awakened threat in Black Bolt.  Pile that up with all the epic talk of destiny and such, and it’s quite striking.

As Supremo compiles data, he also confers with a religious figure about the prophesied troublemaker, and it’s a nice intersection of faith/religion and science.  The result is a discussion that leads to an end that feels like a hybrid of the two that could only really occur in a science fiction comic book.  Certainly, between this and the religious allegory, Hickman delivers a rather high-brow, literary feel to the issue.

What’s Not So Good:  That said, this comic almost completely alienated me.  It is in every way a Marvels cosmic issue and does not feel at all like a Future Foundation or Fantastic Four-related book.  Certainly, no member of the Future Foundation is even referred to, but the real problem is that the events of this issue are so far distanced to those of the story that we’ve been reading so far, that it ends up being almost incomprehensible.