Cosmic war stories aren't usually my thing. I find that the tech speak and stilted dialogue (to convey alien mannerisms) make it impossible to relate to the characters or circumstances. Given that perception of the genre in general, I approached this opening salvo of Marvel's latest event with some trepidation. Alas, I didn't give writer Keith Giffen enough credit, and given the stellar (no pun intended) performance he did with the plot and scripts on Drax the Destroyer, I should have had more faith in him. He turns in another spectacular job with this comic book, transforming a hokey Silver Age villain into the horrific monstrosity he was meant to be. This thoroughly accessible script is all the more enjoyable because it's brought to life by an unlikely but surprisingly effective pairing of artists.
On the edge of the universe lies the Crunch Ernergy Cascade, which not only serves as a power source for countless alien cultures but a death-row prison facility for the worst criminals reality has to offer. At least, the Cascade used to lie on the edge of the universe. Now it's just a massive scattering of debris, decimated by a powerful invasion force made up of insect-like ships. Word of the disaster spreads quickly, and the Nova Corps, including Earthman Richard Rider, mobilizes to face the continued advance of the mysterious interstellar army.
Scott Kolins boasts an exaggerated but dynamic style, conveying motion incredibly well. Ariel Olivetti's work looks more like painted comic art, striving for realism with static, dramatic poses. One would expect that these two artists's styles wouldn't mesh well together, but one would be wrong. Their combined efforts on this introductory comic is stunning. they convey the energy, impossibility and massive scale of the cosmic warfare incredibly well, but their work on the characters really clicks too. Despite the array of alien races we meet here, the artists still manage to bring humanity to all of the characters, and that's vital if the story is going to draw the reader in.
Giffen is to be commended he delivering such an accessible script. He fills the reader in on who Nova is and on Drax's new status quo. He sums up Ronan the Accuser quite well and presents the character in a noble light while maintaining links to his past depictions. I also the complexity of what's going on. Each of the heroes that will be featured in the spinoff limited series has his own thing going on. Nova is more involved in the main conflict, while the Super-Skrull is more occupied with matters of espionage, it seems.
When the villain of this book appeared in other Marvel comics, I was never all that taken with the character. He always struck me as a rather generic monster as opposed to any kind of an ultimate threat, even though we were always told that's what he was meant to be. Warren Ellis played with the character concept not long ago in Ultimate Fantastic Four, and while I enjoyed those stories, it was more for Ellis's convincing sci-fi and the character interaction than the conflict with the bad guy. In this book, Keith Giffen allows the character to finally live up to his name. The villain exudes the menace he should. He seems unstoppable. He seems like a genuine threat on a cosmic scale. 8/10
