All right, it is early Saturday morning here at the Bunker. We got the Café Bustelo brewing and the tostada ready to eat. It is time to review some comics. Nova has been a character I have liked since I was a kid. Mainly, because I found the design of his costume pretty cool. Nova #1 was all right. Nothing amazing, but it was entertaining. Let’s check out Nova #2.
Creative Team
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciler: Kev Walker
Inker: Rick Magyar
Art Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Total Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The issue starts with Drax asking Nova to help him and his friend, some human girl named Cammi, find a ship to get off this dead planet. Initially, Nova declines saying that he is too dangerous to be around. The Overmind re-establishes contact with Nova and tells him to keep his emotions in check from now on. Overmind then tells Nova that Drax is an individual flagged as a known mass murdered. Overmind tells Nova to leave Drax and focus on his primary mission. Nova asks Drax if he is any relation to Drax the Destroyer. Drax says “No.” Nova decides to help Drax and Cammi find a ship.
We shift to the team in a sub base looking for a ship when they are attacked by aliens. Drax fights them off and saves the team. Nova is too afraid to use his powers since he thinks he will loose control of them. Drax starts yapping at Nova about why he didn’t use his powers at the same time as the Overmind yammering at Nova trying to get his attention. Nova is sick of both of them and takes off his helmet and throws it to Drax and tells the two of them to sort it out between each other. Drax puts the helmet on and has a discussion with the Overmind. Drax then gives the helmet back to Nova and tells him that he can help Nova control the Nova Force.
Our team finally finds a ship. They blast off and Nova uses the Nova Force to open a stargate for them to jump through. Drax tells Nova that he will not lose control because if he does then Drax will kill him. Nova responds incredulously that this is how Drax helps him? Drax says “Yeah. Is it working?” Our team makes the jump through the stargate and appears 9 light years from Xandar. Unfortunately, the ship has lost all power and enters gravity-capture of the planet Nycos Aristedes and is dropping fast. Suddenly, Quasar appears and saves the ship from crashing. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: I was never a big fan of Abnett and Lanning’s run on the Legion of Super Heroes. I pretty much felt that they butchered the title toward the end. I mean, you know you did a horrid job when DC looks at what you have done and says, “Um, yeah, so we are going to have to re-boot the entire continuity and just re-start from the beginning.” That isn’t a good sign. So, it was hard for me to start reading Nova knowing that they were the writers.
Having said that, I think that Abnett and Lanning have done a nice job on this mini-series. The strength of their writing has been their sense of humor in an otherwise dark storyline. They have also crafted very entertaining dialogue to read. The snappy banter between Drax, Nova and the Overmind is great. And with a story as dark as this one, humor is a definite must to keep the title from being too much of a drudge to read.
My favorite scene has to be where Nova throws Drax the helmet and tells him to sort it out with the Overmind. Well done. As a matter of fact, the dialogue between all the characters in this issue was excellent. It made the story a fun read.
Abnett and Lanning did a nice job fleshing out both Drax and Nova in this issue. The reader got to get more insight into both characters, especially Nova. I really like how Abnett and Lanning are portraying Nova in this mini-series. They have a good feel for his character and personality.
The Bad: My complaint with the writing on Nova #2 is that it felt like a wasted issue. Basically, nothing at all happened in this issue. The team banded together and found a ship and left Xandar. The big hook at the end was the appearance of Quasar. That’s it. This issue really de-railed the pace of this mini-series. When you only have a 4 issue mini-series, you can’t have a “wasted” issue like this one.
Now to the artwork. I’m just not a fan of Walker and Magyar’s art. I don’t know if it is the pencils or the inking. I think it is a combination of both. Walker’s facial expression seem limited to either shock or rage. That’s it. Overall, the artwork lacks detail and looks very sloppy. That could be due to Magyar’s inking. At any rate, Nova could really benefit from much stronger artwork.
Nova isn’t a bad mini-series, but it isn’t great. It is a fun little read but not much is going on. If you are a fan of Nova then you will enjoy this mini-series. If you aren’t a big fan of Nova, then you probably are better off saving your money and getting another comic book instead.
