Marvel had its moments of cosmic greatness in 2010, as well. With the hugely successful Thanos Imperative, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning spearheaded Marvel’s cosmic realm, making it a very popular facet of the company.
In today’s installment of Touring the Cosmos, we will continue to look at the cosmic year in review, and preview some of what is coming up in 2011.
The Thanos Imperative
Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artists: Miguel Sepulveda and Jay David Ramos
Marvel’s cosmic event of the year was amazing by all means, but also meant the end for a few titles. Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy saw the end of their runs, with very little news for the future of DnA and Marvel cosmic.
That being said, The Thanos Imperative was epic. At first I was a bit hesitant, but eventually I totally bought the whole idea behind the cancerverse and Lord Mar-vell. Using Thanos as a foil to a herald of life is pure genius, and DnA really brought us a surefire staple story to Marvel’s cosmos. With fitting art and many great moments all packed into one tale, The Thanos Imperative is a must read for any cosmic fan.
Remember how I mentioned that there was a little news for the future of DnA and our great cosmic characters? Well read on to see what that news is!
Annihilators
Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Tan Eng Huat
Now I could speculate and drool over this all I want, but let’s see what Marvel.com has to say about this title:
Following the harrowing events of The Thanos Imperative, the Silver Surfer, Beta-Ray Bill, Quasar, Gladiator and Ronan the Accuser band together to fill the void left by the loss of Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy. For the duo collectively called DnA, this project represents a chance to check yet another box in building their impressive legacy as pioneers of Marvel’s final frontier.
“It’s another long term cosmic dream that we’ve tried to develop and move towards, and it’s finally happening,” says an excited Abnett of ANNIHILATORS. “It’s a new cosmic team and it’s all heavy hitters. It’s the ‘Cosmic Avengers’—as the fans called them—seen in Thanos Imperative. They’re probably the single most powerful Marvel team ever.” -Marvel.com
BOOM! Studios
2010 saw BOOM! Studios partnering with the great Stan Lee to bring readers three brand new titles and characters. The project is headed by Mark Waid, and consists of three different writer/artist combos for each title. Each title is great in itself, and here is a quick look at them.
The Traveler: Mark Waid and Chad Hardin combine to bring us this time-traveling tale about a man who protects seemingly random civilians from the Split-Second Men. Already full of amazing art and great character moments, hopefully The Traveler will reveal more mysteries and keep us coming back for more.
Starborn: Relative newcomers Chris Roberson and Khary Randolph bring us a very cosmic tale about a writer whose stories come to life. Only two issues deep, the dynamic art and action packed story hints at a relation to BOOM!’s other two titles.
Soldier Zero: The highest selling BOOM! comic to date, Soldier Zero will see a shift in creative teams. BOOM! Studios reported this about Soldier Zero:
BOOM! Studios’ all-time bestselling title STAN LEE’S SOLDIER ZERO gets a change of “DnA” as Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning take over from Paul Cornell on scripting duties beginning with SOLDIER ZERO #5. Super hot writing duo Abnett and Lanning will pick up and run with Cornell’s ongoing ideas and also inject plenty of their own.
“It was a lifelong ambition come true to work with Stan Lee, and I couldn’t be happier that such talented writers as Dan and Andy will be taking over from me on SOLDIER ZERO,” said Paul Cornell.
Other notable reads and previews:
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (BOOM! Studios) – Philip K. Dick created a sci-fi masterpiece, and BOOM! Studios brings it alive with this amazing rendition.
Phoenix (Ardden Entertainment) – The Atlas Resurrection Starts Here! Written by Jim Krueger, 
Phoenix is the story of a man on the run from aliens with a suit of incredible power.
Fantastic Four ( Marvel) – Marvel’s first family has always dabbled in cosmic adventures. With Galactus looking for answers and a death in the family, 2011 looks to be a big year for the FF.
S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel) – Not the most cosmic of books, S.H.I.E.L.D. deserves to be recognized because of Hickman’s stellar job of making this one of the most interesting reads on the shelves.
Mass Effect: Evolution (Dark Horse) – Mass Effect 2 was rated one of the best Xbox 360 games of all time, and the story of the Illusive Man is brought to light in this title by Dark Horse.
Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net
Looks like the action in space is definitely a lot better than what’s on the ground
Shield is a fantastic book. Hickman is doing things I didn’t think possible when I first read the preview for it last year. Kudos to him for that feat!