In my opinion, Marvel NOW! has been a smash hit. The quality of the content has been phenomenal, and in retrospect it makes me sad to think of DC’s NEW 52. There were some gems to be gleaned from those 52 new titles, but Marvel has managed to best them at their own game with essentially the same core writers and artists. At the moment, they seem to have that small publisher feel, but with the backing of a large one.
The reboot of Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy were the series I was most looking forward to and their respective creative teams didn’t let me down. Nova #1 is a fresh take on the title character and its artists have filledNova’s glossy pages with classic science fiction art that I have been missing since I was a child.
Nova #1 centers around Sam Alexander.Sam leads a life that not many would be envious of--he is the laughing stock of his school due to his father’s janitorial position and repeated drunkenness. Sam believes that his father’s bedtime tales of the Nova Corpsand his adventures are fabricated, but whatSam doesn’t realize is that the Corps is real and the root of his dad’s depression and irresponsibility. His dad’s fantastic tales of heroism, talking raccoons, and deep space battles are all true, and it isn’t until his father goes missing and the Guardians of the Galaxy come a calling that Sam begins to believe in his dad’s tales.
Jeph Loeb spins a classic science fiction tale that bridges the prior Nova volumes with a logical, new character that is obviously destined to be the new Nova. Ed McGuinnesscompliments Loeb’s story perfectly by creating a ‘Last Starfighter’ vibe to the series. His facial expressions are incredibly appropriate to the characters he is recreating; they are not overly complicated, but they always seem to convey the proper emotion of the character within every panel. Also, to note, the coloration (Marte Gracia) and inking (Dexter Vines) are particularly vibrant, which add to the nostalgic, classic sci-fi tone to the artwork.
Not only does the story modernize Nova, the artwork and inking tie it to its roots, creating a stellar transition from the past to the present. I can’t recommend the Nova series enough. Nova #1 receives five-out-of-five stars.
(SOURCE: Review: Nova #1 (2013))
Post a Comment