Marvel Comics Presents #96

The Nova story comes to an end. And just now, I remember what this story is about. Nova has been called to help a refuge train of ships from certain extinction. After a lot of destroyed ships, a dwindling population and a mutiny, the story ends with hope. But that level of hope is very small. I think only about 50 refugees survive this story. There were more survivors of the Resistance at the end of The Last Jedi than aliens left behind by Frankie Raye at the end of this.

I was a big fan of the Speedball one-and-done story. There's this cornball baddie named Class Clown. He's a cross between Groucho Marx and the X-Men villain, Arcade. And he's bound and determined to turn Speedball into the pariah of Robbie Baldwin's high school.

The Logan story still continues to impress. I think it's the best story of Wolverine in this entire MCP run. 

As for the Ghost Rider/Cable story, I really could be done with it. It's taking too long to end with the ending I have seen telegraphed for a good two or three previous chapters. Enough already!

3 great segments. One that I'm ready for it to be over with. A good read. Just not perfect.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #94

The current Wolverine story is so far (and by far) my favorite. While hiking in the Canadian wilderness, something has caused Logan to go into a deep slumber. While napping, he either relives a long-lost life experience or he is subjected to the experiences of someone else. In either case, Wolverine is now a fur trapper who was destined to die of exposure in a fierce blizzard. Instead, he's been rescued by members of the Blackfoot tribe. 

With the Blackfoot people, winter becomes spring. Logan impresses the chief with his prowess, falls in love with his daughter and takes on both a young apprentice as well as a rvial who also has sights on the chief's offspring. On the surface, everything looks ideal. But somewhere under the surface, something dark and evil lurks.

Lastly, I want to end with a look at the Wolverine cover by Sam Keith. This is an example of one of his just plain awful covers. What's with that hair? I'd ask why his clothes are such a mess but even in the wilderness story, his trapper duds are pretty thread bear. We almost had assless chaps if not for a stray strip of cloth! But the anatomy is all wrong. The hunting knife looks like it's set in front of a funhouse mirror. And that hair! really folks, this is a lousy cover.

An okay issue. Not perfect. But relatively enjoyable.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Firsts: The 1970s, Volume 3

The 1970s was my favorite time period for Marvel. Stan and Jack had finalized the groundwork for the creation of the Marvel universe. Now, more diverse and unusual characters were coming on the scene. Plus, we started getting true horror titles and movie/TV tie-ins added to the mix. Toys and film icons like Rom and Godzilla became albeit temporary canon as they interacted with Power Man, Doctor Strange and others. 

If the 1970s were such a big deal to me- why did I start with volume 3? That's easy. This was a gift. Until just recently, I didn't really even conceive of this book's existence. Sure I have a couple of Marvel Firsts from other decades. But until I got this as a gift, I didn't really have a plan in my head to get these records of my favorite decade of Marvel- until now!

This volume explores a number of new characters, first issues and first appearances. Some are good. Some are quite bad. 

The good include the first issue of She-Hulk, written by Stan Lee, the first ever What If... story, Jack Kirby's Machine Man, and Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel. I loved getting to re-read the first issue of Devil Dinosaur and Skull the Slayer is something I want to collect as an entire set. I was also interested in Omega: The Unknown about a strange kid and the link he has with a futuristic warrior. And who knew that Nova was so good?

Though thankfully there's not a lot; there is some stinkers here. The joining of the Champions make me wish that they had stayed apart. Ulysses Bloodstone's first appearance should have been his last. (It might be the case, as the character is killed at the end of the story.) 

And then we've got this Moon Knight story from the pages of the Hulk magazine. I do not know why people like this character so much. This story was terrible. Maybe the first B&W appearance of Moon Knight isn't the best introduction. It sure didn't win me over. 

There's also a couple of mixed-bag adventures here. Black Goliath's first issue was pretty good. But having known how much of his story later plays out in the pages of Marvel Two-In-One, I don't feel like I need to get those filler issues. Eternals was a good intro into the Kirby realm of Marvel gods. But I feel like I need more data in order to tell if I like the series or not. Then we have 3-D Man.

3-D Man was created by Roy Thomas and his 3-issue origin played out in the pages of Marvel Premiere. I'm trying to collect all of those series either through first runs or reprints. So, I need that 2nd and 3rd issue. But, I really hate the concept of a character that appears or disappears when somebody goes to sleep. I didn't like it with Captain Marvel and Rick Jones and I didn't like it with Sleepwalker. And I do not like it now. But I really liked the Cold War 1950s style of the book. 

A really awesome grab bag of late 1970s Marvel books. Some real money savers here. I need the rest of the series and I am talking about the books of the 60s, 80s and 90s too!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

What If...Annihilation (...Reached Earth?)

   Maybe this should have been part of my Annihilation Week event, but, to be honest, I didn't even remember I had this until a couple of days ago. In this alternate earth tale, Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave reach our planet because Drax failed in freeing Galactus and the Silver Surfer from his clutches.

    The invasion fleet arrives during the events of Civil War right when it appears that Captain America is about to kill Tony Stark. So when a giant bug crashes into the Empire State Building, the two opposing forces must put aside their past differences and fight together with Nova to save the planet and the rest of the universe from total destruction.

    Featuring a cast of hundreds (many of which die a gruesome death being swarmed by massively huge bugs), the real stars of this 'What If...' one-shot are the Inhumans and the Watcher, two players that don't even factor into either Annihilation or Civil War.

    The art was amazing and stunning. The story itself was just as good if not in some ways a little better than the last couple of issues of the actual Annihilation miniseries. About the only part of this book I didn't enjoy was the last couple of pages which seems to leave the story tragically open-ended. However, knowing Marvel's history of turning stories from 'What If...' into Universe-616 canon, I would be pleasantly surprised if someone one day turned XXXXXXXXXX into the next Nova. It would make for an exciting new story or even series.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out 10 stars

Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files One-Shot

 

This primer into the events of Annihilation is very cleverly crafted. It's designed as a monitor hooked up to the central computer of the Nova Corps. Written in the voice of the Worldmind computer of Xandar, each entry includes information about planet of origin, level of intergalactic threat, recommended methods of capture and rehabilitation, and personal history.
 
  Marvel usually has it's character histories published as supplements of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. While they provide lots of information, their published with extremely small print and have an almost anal-retentive level of detail can make the personal histories very exhausting to read. This was a refreshing change of pace.

  The only thing that I was not 100% happy with this book is the level of quality in some of the art. The handbooks are filled with lots of great art. Each entry boasts a portrait if the selection's topic and those pictures are clean, colorful, and all-new. That's not the case with this one-shot. Some portraits are just recycle covers or scenes from the various books covered in the omnibus. Some pics are from older titles and haven't been remastered at all. Maybe it's supposed to give it a more 'Wikipedia' type fell using different artworks but it's just not my cup of tea.

  Worth Consuming

 Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Annihilation #1-6 (Annihilation Week)

Variant Cover to Issue #1

 The battle is taken to Annihilus by a combined force of Kree, Skrull, heralds of Galactus, and assorted intergalactic rogues, lead by Richard Rider, the last Nova. The opening scene pits Nova's coalition against the bug warriors of the Negative Zone. That opening chapter was insane. It so very much seemed like a scene from 'Starship Troopers.' I'm starting to think that writer Keith Giffen always wanted to script a version of Robert A Heinlein's classic work.

  Well, Giffen got his wish.

   The plot thickens when Nova's army is stretched to its limits of survival when Annihilus and Thanos capture Galactus and the Silver Surfer and turn them into an ultimate weapon of destruction. When it's clear that the armies of the Negative Zone have their sights set on Earth as their next target, Nova and Drax the Destroyer will have to eliminate Annihilus and the Mad Titan separately or all of humanity (and a large majority of the Marvel Universe's superhero community) will become annihilated.

   Annihilation was worth the build up of several miniseries if only for that opening chapter I mentioned. The war scenes were stunning and action-packed, but I was enthralled by the scenes that lead up to the warfare. Those scenes were perfectly crafted and made me feel like there was a real war occurring. Giffen thought of everything.

    I was quite happy with the finale of this series but it's left open for a sequel (Note: there is a sequel to Annihilation called Annihilation: Conquest and I hope to come across it's omnibus library sometime soon.) The art for this series was very good and at times ultra-graphic.

If you love sci-fi then you'll love this book. However, it might surprise you to know that fans of traditional war epics will enjoy this series as well and you could enjoy this series without needing to read the prequels and not be too very lost about what's happened up till now.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Up Next: Annhilation: Heralds of Galactus

Annihilation: Nova #1-4 (Annihilation Week)

Cover to issue #1.

After the destruction of the Nova Corps, it's up to Nova to carry the torch- literally! As the last living Nova, it's Richard Rider's duty to absorb the Worldmind, the source of a Nova Corpsman's power and intelligence gathering. But there's a catch, the last Nova to fully absorb the Worldmind went crazy and destroyed worlds, allies, and innocents.

   Enter Drax the Destroyer, who along with Cami survives the first onslaught of the Annihilation wave. Drax has had years of experience learning to temper himself. If he didn't he'd go on a berserker rampage that would make Wolverine jealous. When the combined trio of Drax, Cami, and Richard Rider meet with a squadron of refugees stranded in the way of the wave of destruction of Annhilus, the escape plan will  be the last Nova's greatest test to see if Drax's training was successful or not.

    Another great chapter in the Annihilation crossover event. The art is much better than in the Prologue. The storyline is just as fresh and exciting and the duo of Drax and Cami are just the perfect comic relief for this book. With billions dying on almost every page, they really lighten the mood considerably. Be on the look out for the scene where Nova and Drax both have private conversations with the Worldmind. It's both informative and very, very funny.

    Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Up Next: Annihilation: Silver Surfer 1-4

Annihilation Prologue #1 (Annihilation Week)

  

   This jumbo sized special shows what all of the major players in the Annihilation storyline were doing the day Annihilus' annihilation wave hit ground zero and began its tear through the galaxy. Drax and Cami, Silver Surfer, Ronan the Accuser, and the Super-Skrull will all play a part in the road to the Annihilation in 4-issue mini-series of their own (technically, Drax's occurred prior, but hopefully, you get my drift.) The main star of this issue is Richard Rider, the Nova Corpsman of Earth and his fellow peacekeepers. They will be the first line of defense in protecting the universe from Annihilus.

    Nova is a superhero that I'm not very familiar with. I know he's a member of Spider-Man's SHIELD team on Ultimate Spider-Man on Marvel XD, but that's a cartoon. In the comics, I've had very little to do with Nova. It's not that I hate the character or anything. It's just that in all of my readings, I've probably come across the character twice, maybe three times. I just don't seem to either read stuff that he's a major character in or I've never really come across any Nova trades or back issues.

    In this issue, I learned quite a lot about the hero and his compatriots. First of all, the Nova Corps is a lot like the Green Lantern Corps. Novas do not seem to have any weaknesses as a Green Lantern's ring is powerless against the color yellow. Secondly, Novas have special powers imbued to them by the Worldmind, a sentient computer similar to Oa's great lantern. However, while a Green Lantern uses a ring to create anything that they can imagine, Novas have power blasts and literally turn into human rockets.
   Still, Nova Corps/ Green Lantern Corps. I'm very surprised that DC hasn't ever sued of the similarities between the two creations and that Marvel never came up with the idea to team the two groups up in a giant cosmic epic against Sinestro and Thanos. (BTW, if Marvel and DC decide to ever team-up these two teams, I claim a creative contributor credit!)

    A very good issue with great action, really smart plotting, funny dialogue, and amazing characters. However, the inking was quite poor. The first 5 pages were really well done but once we get to Nova and his fellow Corpsmen, something goes awry. It was almost as if the inker stop using India ink and went to magic markers. Even when the action really picks up, the art doesn't seem to improve. It's the only downside to an otherwise flawless book.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

UP Next: Annihilation: Nova #1-4