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.

The Thanos Imperative #1 – Review

By: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Jay David Ramos (color artist)

Canadian comic book reviewers maintain bold opinions, despite Memorial Day in the US! News at 11.

The Story: The forces of the Cancerverse (the universe where Death was defeated and life reigns uninterrupted) spew through the rift, into our universe, ripping through the strongest Kree defenses. At the same time, Thanos, a psycho so dangerous that sometimes Death throws him back, seems to be the key to facing the invasion. And, it only gets worse….

What’s Good: Sepulveda’s art, paired with Ramos’ color work, is awesome. Marvel has lined up a great art team that has delivered the goods. Rocket Raccoon looks positively feral as he stares down Thanos (with a threat to keep him alive!), while the space battle around the extrusion at the Fault is worth poring over for a good few minutes. My reading experience slowed even more to watch Gladiator fight one of the invaders head on. The villains are creepy and disturbing, and the Silver Surfer is distant and regal while staring at the same thing I was: the streamers of power spilling through the Fault like prominences on a star. Brilliant, brilliant work (no pun intended). I could go on about the art, but I don’t want to short-change the writing in the review.

Abnett and Lanning are quickly becoming two of my favorite writers. They have been delivering solid, surprising, cosmic-scale adventures in the Marvel U for years. They juggle tension, humor, death, epic invasions and personal losses in as deft a manner as any of the best writers of comics today. I’m not a huge Inhumans fan, but watching Medusa and her entourage react to the invasion had me fascinated. I loved the character moments between Richard and Robbie (and Namorita). I was riveted by all of the Thanos moments, and how different Guardians managed him, or filled their pants with bricks. The panel devoted to Thanos and Drax deserves a bit of a writing award for the freshness of the scene and the desperate, paradoxical longing that Abentt and Lanning have managed to soak into both characters. And I can’t miss mentioning the nods that Abnett and Lanning always seem to give to past classics, like the last-minute arrival of the Cancerverse Defenders.

Nova #31 – Review

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Andrea DiVito (artist), Bruno Hang (colorist)

Some Thoughts Before the Review: Being a die-hard, loyal Green Lantern fan, it goes without saying that I love a good space story.  It’s with some bewilderment though that I confess I’ve never been a huge fan of Marvel’s space faring heroes.  Sure, I devoured Infinity Gauntlet like everyone else, but haven’t touched this corner of the Marvel Universe until I started hearing good things about their Annihilation storyline.  That feedback, coupled with Abnett’s amazing storytelling, has persuaded me to pay closer attention to Marvel’s cosmic comics.

The Story: In the wake of the “War of Kings”, Nova pursues Darkhawk, his friend and alleged assassin, to the outworld Shard in search of answers regarding his involvement in the murder of the Shi’ar Empress Lilandra.

The Good: I can honestly say I was not expecting to like Nova as much as I did, but this issue made me hungry for more of Marvel’s cosmic continuity (yes, I know I’m abusing the alliteration here, but it’s so much fun I can’t resist!).  I first came to Abnett’s work through his efforts for Black Library’s Warhammer 40k games and books, and easily consider him to be one of the finest writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.  Why it’s taken me this long to get into his comics is beyond me but I’m glad I finally did.  Abnett crafts intelligent, dynamic stories that boldly venture into the unexplored corners of Marvel’s universe and create a new mythology from the ground up.  Through his care, Richard Rider is one of the most engaging characters in Marvel right now.  A young man of unimaginable power, he is tasked with protecting not a city, a country, or even a world, but the entire universe, and in this issue you really feel the weight of that burden as Nova must continue building the ranks of his Nova Corp even as he attempts to apprehend the friend who has been branded a galactic assassin.  This issue walks a fine tightrope between being rich in continuity and accessible to the new reader like me, and that is a damn rare quality to find in a comic.

The Not So Good: If it looks like the art in this issue was utterly breathtaking, take a look again and you’ll realize it was Hang’s brilliant colors that you were really admiring.  DiVito’s art was lifeless and not very interesting to look at, seeming to exist only to give Hang a chance to make it look better than it deserves to be through his beautiful palette.  The confrontation(s) between Nova and Darkhawk were also strangely anticlimactic, with a whole lot of nothing actually happening once you stopped to think about it.

Conclusion: Stellar writing and a richly-developed universe has convinced me that Nova is entertainment worth following.

Grade:  C+

-Tony Rakittke