Nova #3
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Cover: Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, & Marte Gracia
After running into a Watcher, Nova is made aware of a very serious galactic threat to the Earth. This threat is the main reason why Gamora and Rocket Raccoon have been sent here to train Sam. The two don’t have much time to get the new Nova up to speed, but whether he wants to or not, it’s time for Sam to step into his father’s helmet and be a hero.
Most of this issue moves pretty fast, and Loeb keeps a lot of if going by the numbers. Unfortunately this means that there are quite a few predictable and cliché moments in the story. What keeps this from being a totally bad thing is that the dialog and character interactions are fun and well worth taking the time to read. There is a sequence between Sam and his mom that Loeb nails completely, and it is one of the standout parts of the story. She seems to know what’s going on, but Loeb is going to let Sam be the one to come out with it at some point. Rocket Raccoon is the voice of brutal honesty in this series and it fits him just fine. Loeb also continues to effectively take Sam from the wild eyed kid that is excited about his new found abilities to the angst ridden teenager who still has a few daddy issues.
This is one great looking book thanks to McGuinness, Dexter Vines, and Marte Gracia. From the double page spreads to the fast paced action, everything syncs up and moves perfectly. Though it’s the small things like the transparency and light effects of the helmet that really impress. Just adding another depth of detail that helps make the overall picture more exciting. Especially with the last page.
Nova is great sci-fi fun and taps into the adventurous kid in all of us! So far Loeb and McGuinnes have done very well with starting this particular story arc, and even though certain events are aligning with the films it doesn’t seem forced. So if you haven’t done so already give this one a shot and have a bit of fun yourself!
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