review: Annihilation: Nova #1-3 (2006)

Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
Writer: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Artists: Kev Walker, Rick Magyar

Rating: 5/10

I'm strangely attracted to this series, and I don't know why. I guess it's a subconscious fondness for a character I haven't seen in a long time, but who I remember liking from my childhood. Kind of like hanging out with a dull grade-school friend, and having a good time purely based on the nostalgia value. Given that, I can't really recommend this book for anybody without a similar sentimental attachment.

It's not that it's a terrible read -- I actually like the Annihilation premise, and the execution is perfectly innocuous, cosmic superhero fun. But three-quarters of the way through this series, I still don't have a good idea what the point is, other than to showcase Nova for a while. On the one hand, it's almost refreshing to see an "event" that isn't just a bunch of shock-value gimmicks and contrivances, or isn't just an excuse to have crossovers in a gazillion titles, but on the other hand, something should happen. The story has to be more than just running around space for three issues. I fear that it's being setup to cram a whole bunch of stuff into the final issue, and ultimately, once it gets to the interesting stuff, it still won't be that interesting because it will be short-changed due to space constraints.

The art is decent. I've seen some complaints that it's crude or simplistic, but I disagree. The drawings may be a bit sparse at times, and the inking angular and blocky, but these are all stylistic issues, and I rather like the result. I don't want to place this into unwarranted company, but it reminds me a little of Mike Mignola. It's not on that level, and not that consistent, but it has character, and it's plenty capable of telling the story.

Overall, dumb fun for Nova fans, but not much to recommend it to anybody else. Even if this means Nova will start appearing in more regular titles, it's still probably not required reading, since everything here (at least so far), can be recapped in about three or four panels wherever he shows up.