Beau Tidwell
Apr 10, 2008, 08:56 pm
<a href=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0408/NOVA012_col.jpg" target="_blank"><img src=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0408/NOVA012_colt.jpg" alt="Nova #12" hspace=10 align=left></a> Reviewer: Beau Tidwell, comixfanbeau@gmail.com
Story Title: Inheritance
“This meat thing has a request.”
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciler: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Rick Magyar
Colorist: Guru eFX
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artist: Alex Maleev
Assistant Editor: Lauren Sankovitch
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
So, this is what all the fuss is about!
After missing out on ANNIHILATION and its sequel, ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST, I’ve finally been drawn into Marvel’s born-again cosmic corner by the former New Mutant known as Warlock, of all people. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out the latest star-spanning renaissance from the House of Ideas is exactly as good as everyone’s been saying.
For those of you who were similarly left out of the loop, here’s the short version: Lost in the shuffle of CIVIL WAR and the endless DAYs of Spidey, the sci-fi side of the Marvel Universe has been given a major overhaul in the last two years, largely under the aegis of Andy Schmitt’s brainchild ANNIHILATION, a series which saw nearly every corner of the 616 space-opera playground polished off and revamped just in time to be ripped to bits by Annihilus and his buggy Negative Zone pals. The sequel, slated to wrap up next week with issue #6, finds former X-Men baddies The Phalanx threatening the survivors. Assimilate or die.
And that’s where Warlock comes in. As a mutant member of the Technarcy, the alien race that spawned the Phalanx, his re-emergence makes sense in the larger scheme Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are laying out. When last we saw the character, he was literally skipping off into the sunset at the end of an ill-fated mini-series spun off the “M-Tech” line some many, many years ago. Time has passed, dust has settled, and the “bleech” factor of a failed solo book has died away— leaving Abnett and Lanning a clear run at the best possible sort of character rehabilitation. Stripped of a lot of the barnacles he accumulated in the late 90’s (don’t mention Douglock, seriously: don’t EVER mention Douglock …) and restored to his essential character and appearance, the quirky character is given a great opportunity to shine. The end of the issue seems to leave the door open for further appearances, and I’ll be the first to say I’m eager to see more. (Provided, of course, that he survives the big finale in ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #6. But hey, if Rocket Racoon can come out of all of this as a key player in a new team book, why not ‘Lock?)
So, Warlock dragged me into the book, but what about the title character? Simply put, NOVA has never been more bad-ass. Abnett and Lanning, along with penciler Paul Pelletier, turn in an outstanding performance with a fast-paced, literally action-packed showdown between the Human Rocket and a full-grown Technarch. Even empowered as he is by the full energies of the Nova Corps (nobody tell Geoff Johns…), there’s still no way Nova should win that fight. And he doesn’t— but he does manage to stay alive long enough for a new ally to save the day. As an added bonus, he finds a neat little way to get cured of the Phalanx incursion that he’s been fighting off for the last few issues or so, and ends the story with a full tank, ready to charge into the end of the crossover.
My only gripes with this issue are fairly nit-picky, because taken as a whole, it’s a very well-done book. The aforementioned “cure” for Nova’s infection seems a little too convenient, and the magical plot device that saves him from the monster Technarch seems to come out of nowhere. If you’ve read the previous issue (and I did), there’s some context— but on its own merits, this issue doesn’t make it very clear what exactly Nova and his friends did, or how they were able to do it.
Overall though, this was a fun read. Great art from Paul Pelletier, who continues to improve by leaps and bounds and deserves a LOT more acclaim than he gets, and a reliably pulse-pounding cosmic smackdown to get the juices flowing going into the big finale. That aspect in particular deserves praise, as in some ways this issue was a big set-up for the finale of a big crossover mini-series I’m not even reading— and it still stands strongly as its own thing. Extremely rare for a Marvel book these days, and all the more praiseworthy for the creative team’s success balancing a lot of characters, about a gajillion subplots, and— oh yeah— a big angry space monster. This is a comic that loves being a comic book, and it’s one I’m highly recommending.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg
Story Title: Inheritance
“This meat thing has a request.”
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciler: Paul Pelletier
Inker: Rick Magyar
Colorist: Guru eFX
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artist: Alex Maleev
Assistant Editor: Lauren Sankovitch
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
So, this is what all the fuss is about!
After missing out on ANNIHILATION and its sequel, ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST, I’ve finally been drawn into Marvel’s born-again cosmic corner by the former New Mutant known as Warlock, of all people. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out the latest star-spanning renaissance from the House of Ideas is exactly as good as everyone’s been saying.
For those of you who were similarly left out of the loop, here’s the short version: Lost in the shuffle of CIVIL WAR and the endless DAYs of Spidey, the sci-fi side of the Marvel Universe has been given a major overhaul in the last two years, largely under the aegis of Andy Schmitt’s brainchild ANNIHILATION, a series which saw nearly every corner of the 616 space-opera playground polished off and revamped just in time to be ripped to bits by Annihilus and his buggy Negative Zone pals. The sequel, slated to wrap up next week with issue #6, finds former X-Men baddies The Phalanx threatening the survivors. Assimilate or die.
And that’s where Warlock comes in. As a mutant member of the Technarcy, the alien race that spawned the Phalanx, his re-emergence makes sense in the larger scheme Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are laying out. When last we saw the character, he was literally skipping off into the sunset at the end of an ill-fated mini-series spun off the “M-Tech” line some many, many years ago. Time has passed, dust has settled, and the “bleech” factor of a failed solo book has died away— leaving Abnett and Lanning a clear run at the best possible sort of character rehabilitation. Stripped of a lot of the barnacles he accumulated in the late 90’s (don’t mention Douglock, seriously: don’t EVER mention Douglock …) and restored to his essential character and appearance, the quirky character is given a great opportunity to shine. The end of the issue seems to leave the door open for further appearances, and I’ll be the first to say I’m eager to see more. (Provided, of course, that he survives the big finale in ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #6. But hey, if Rocket Racoon can come out of all of this as a key player in a new team book, why not ‘Lock?)
So, Warlock dragged me into the book, but what about the title character? Simply put, NOVA has never been more bad-ass. Abnett and Lanning, along with penciler Paul Pelletier, turn in an outstanding performance with a fast-paced, literally action-packed showdown between the Human Rocket and a full-grown Technarch. Even empowered as he is by the full energies of the Nova Corps (nobody tell Geoff Johns…), there’s still no way Nova should win that fight. And he doesn’t— but he does manage to stay alive long enough for a new ally to save the day. As an added bonus, he finds a neat little way to get cured of the Phalanx incursion that he’s been fighting off for the last few issues or so, and ends the story with a full tank, ready to charge into the end of the crossover.
My only gripes with this issue are fairly nit-picky, because taken as a whole, it’s a very well-done book. The aforementioned “cure” for Nova’s infection seems a little too convenient, and the magical plot device that saves him from the monster Technarch seems to come out of nowhere. If you’ve read the previous issue (and I did), there’s some context— but on its own merits, this issue doesn’t make it very clear what exactly Nova and his friends did, or how they were able to do it.
Overall though, this was a fun read. Great art from Paul Pelletier, who continues to improve by leaps and bounds and deserves a LOT more acclaim than he gets, and a reliably pulse-pounding cosmic smackdown to get the juices flowing going into the big finale. That aspect in particular deserves praise, as in some ways this issue was a big set-up for the finale of a big crossover mini-series I’m not even reading— and it still stands strongly as its own thing. Extremely rare for a Marvel book these days, and all the more praiseworthy for the creative team’s success balancing a lot of characters, about a gajillion subplots, and— oh yeah— a big angry space monster. This is a comic that loves being a comic book, and it’s one I’m highly recommending.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg