Nova is a new ongoing series that is part of the Marvel Now
run of titles. It sees the mysterious return of Richard Rider back to the
Marvel Universe, who has been presumed dead after battling Thanos in a parallel
universe during the events of Annihilation. He was the last of the Nova corps
until the 15 year old Sam Alexander took on the helm as the last Nova,
following in the footsteps of his father who was part of the Black Nova Unit.
Now there are two Novas still in existence and they will seemingly be working together
as the series unfolds.
It was written by Jeff Loveness and Ramon Perez, illustrated
by Ramon Perez, colored by Ian Herring, and lettered by Albert Duchesne. The
cover was also done by Perez, with variant covers from Francesco Mattina and
John Tyler Christopher. The initial story in this issue introduces both
characters and gives readers a taste of what is going on with them and what
their personas are. It successfully blends elements of comedy, downright silliness,
action, and horror into one tale, which will most likely be necessary to
balance out the darker tones that will be present. Alexander is such a fun
character that has the comedic side of Spider-Man and Tony Stark, while also being
this unlikely bumbling superhero. He and Rider should make for an interesting pair.
The artwork is excellent. Perez has an interesting style,
offering up detailed backgrounds, good facial expressions, and dynamic action
scenes and poses. He defers lots of shading at times for Herring’s colors to
stands out, but there are some highly detailed and shaded parts that are really
nice. The color choices by Herring are outstanding, choosing for the colors to
be more muted and toned down. This decision is important because it should help
with the darker elements and themes that will most likely appear in this
series.
This is going to be an interesting series to keep an eye on.
It was a highly entertaining first and I am looking forward to finding out what
happens next. The combination of these polar opposite characters makes for a
unique pairing and should balance out the humor and the really dark horror that
is present. This is highly recommended and you should definitely check it out.
