Annihilation: Book Three by Keith Giffen, Christos N. Gage, and Stuart Moore

Following up the first two volumes of the Annihilation saga, we get to the explosive wrap up in Annihilation: Book Three. All of the four major story lines come crashing together, and the tale reaches an end, in the parts listed below:


Annihilation by Keith Giffen: The major event that everything was leading up to, Annihilation depicts the United Front, lead by Richard Rider (aka Nova), as they struggle against the seemingly endless onslaught of the Annihilation Wave. Gathering together a large cast of characters, including a number of the heralds of Galactus, Ronin the Accuser, Drax the Destroyer, and Peter Quill (Star-Lord), among many, many Kree and other characters, Nova’s forces are struggling to fight a losing battle. Even the surprise reappearance of a character thought dead doesn’t seem to have an effect. How can completely over-matched heroes turn the tides on an evil so powerful it could overthrow even Galactus? Everything is thrown into this story of epic space warfare, as huge armies on both sides and lots of big name characters go at it with the fate of the universe on the line. With plenty of twists, Annihilation is sure to satisfy any fan of Military Science Fiction.

Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus works as a sort of epilogue to the whole event, containing four short stories following four of Galactus’ heralds. Reviews of each story:

“Parasites” by Christos N. Gage: Terrax was under the control of Annihilus, but after the end of the war, his forced subservience is done, and he sets out, with Paibot and the Delinquent, to reclaim his honor and reputation as Terrax the Tamer. An entertaining but light tale that gives some closure to Terrax’s plot thread.

“Stardust: A Death of Hope” by Stuart Moore: Thought dead in the pages of Annihilation, Stardust turns out to be far harder to kill, and this tale gives much more detail on his origin than had been previously seen, as well as depicting Stardust’s return to his master. The weakest of the four stories, but still not bad, with a very interesting depiction of some very “alien” aliens.

“Afterburn” by Keith Giffen: The only herald whose fate was assured at the end of Annihilation, Firelord sets out to capture and execute members of the Centurions, Annihilus’ special army of super-powered beings, to serve justice against their war crimes. A well-conceived tale.

“Brother’s Keeper” by Keith Giffen: The final story is the most action-packed, with the Silver Surfer and Galactus facing Aegis and Tenebrous, wrapping up one of the last few remaining loose ends. The most exciting and fun piece of the four.

Annihilation: Nova Corps Files by Michael Hoskin, Anthony Flamini, Jeff Christiansen, Sean McQuaid, Ronald Byrd, Chris Biggs, Eric Engelhard, Chad Anderson, Stuart Vandal, Mike Raicht, and Mark O’English: A “data file” of all of the main players in Annihilation, this section gives their biographies as well as other pertinent information. By the end of the main storyline, some of the things in this section seem a little outdated (Annihilation: Nova Corps Files having been released before the conclusion of Annihilation originally before this collection), but it was still neat to get further information on where everyone came from before this story. A very in-depth and interesting source.

Annihilation: Book Three really closed things up on a huge, exciting, powerful conclusion, and built some major excitement for the continuations of the Marvel Cosmic milieu. After the conclusion of Annihilation, the ongoing series Nova begins, and leads directly into the Annihilation sequel, Annihilation: Conquest. That event in turn lead to the ongoing series Guardians of the Galaxy, and then things reach a head again in the major event War of Kings and its imminent sequel, Reign of Kings. All of these are things that Luke Reviews will definitely be checking out.

9/10

Annihilation: Book Two by Keith Giffen, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and Simon Furman

After the events depicted in “Annihilation Prologue” (which is found in Annihilation: Book One), the story of Annihilation broke into four major plot threads, each dealt with in a separate story. The first, Annihilation: Nova, was contained in Annihilation: Book One, while Annihilation: Book Two contains the other three, all leading up to the major storyline in Annihilation: Book Three.

Annihilation: Silver Surfer by Keith Giffen: As seen in “Annihilation Prologue,” the Silver Surfer felt an “infestation” in the universe, and went out searching to find its cause. However, he finds far more than that, bumping into Gabriel Air Walker, an Android friend of his, being murdered by men going by the name of Seekers. The Surfer uncovers a plot to hunt down all of the former heralds of the being known as Galactus, a hold-over from the universe that existed prior to the Big Bang that started ours. Giffen, the mastermind behind much of the Annihilation event, brings a compelling tale that ends on a number of mysterious, and brings a large cast of characters into the fold of the war that is to come. An interesting addition, if at times a little slow.

Annihilation: Super-Skrull by Javier Grillo-Marxuach: While undercover in “Annihilation Prologue,” Kl’rt, the Super-Skrull, heard of a device known as the Harvester of Sorrows, that was moving through the Skrull Empire, destroying planets and killing billions of Skrulls. However, Kl’rt is only moved to action due to the devices upcoming appearance at the world on which his son lives. After an escape from an evil warlord, Kl’rt sets out the save his son’s life. A well-told tale that had plenty of excitement and was full of twists.

Annihilation: Ronan by Simon Furman: Last seen being arrested by Kree forces in “Annihilation Prologue,” Ronan the Accuser was put on trial for treason, accused of using his duties as an Accuser (who acts as the complete judicial system, determining guilt, sentence, and execution of said sentence) to undermine the ruling house of the Kree, and is exiled. Ronan sets out to capture all who acted as witnesses against him, to find out the truth behind his false conviction. Yet, when arriving at a backwater planet, he finds that there is far more going on than just his revenge trip, and that the entire Kree Empire is in peril. Another well-done story, with an obviously lead-in to Annihilation.

Annihilation: Book Two does a solid job of taking the disparate tales first introduced in “Annihilation Prologue” and building upon them all until they are ready for the main event, building links that are just starting to show how they will draw all of these stories together. Both of the first two books build high levels of suspense and expectation for the final volume of this epic tale of war in space.

8/10

Annihilation: Book One by Keith Giffen and Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

After a huge investment into Marvel Comics’ “cosmic universe,” picking up copies of Annihilation Classic, Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos, Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War, Infinity Crusade, Volume 1, and Infinity Crusade, Volume 2, I was finally up to date and ready to dive into the three volume Annihilation series. Yet it was a far longer space of time before I finally, now, return as promised. Annihilation: Book One contains three stories:


Drax the Destroyer: Earth Fall by Keith Giffen: Working as a prologue to the Annihilation series as a whole, this story follows a downed space craft prisoner transport that had been in the process of taking a number of convicts to an interstellar jail set up for those never to be released. However, after the ship malfunctions, the craft crashes on Earth, near a small town in Alaska. On board are a number of notable characters, including Paibok (Power Skrull), the Blood Brothers, Lunatik, and Drax the Destroyer. Paibok leads a takeover of the nearby town of Coot’s Bluff, while Drax seems to begin to recover some of his lacking intelligence. Yet, as he returns to the town, he is murdered by Paibok. From there, it is a fight to see who can save Coot’s Bluff. I very well done and entertaining story.

“Annihilation Prologue” by Keith Giffen: While Drax the Destroyer: Earth Fall sets up the Annihilation event, it is “Annihilation Prologue” that jumps things from Earth into space, and brings a large number of cosmic characters together to face the epic threat of the Annihilation Wave, an alien force so strong that it is destroying everything in its path, and the Xandarian Nova Crops is next in its path. A solid set-up to the story that will now branch out into four separate tales before pulling together again for the main body of the story.

Annihilation: Nova by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning: The first tale to spin out of “Annihilation Prologue,” Annihilation: Nova follows Richard Rider, known as Nova, as he begins a quest in the aftermath of the Annihilation Wave hitting the Nova Corps. After meeting up with some characters that appeared in both of the previous two stories, he sets out across the universe, meeting up with Quasar and helping millions of refugees get out of the path of onslaught coming their way. Another solid story, with a conclusion that both wraps up the immediate story, but shows that there is still much to come.

In totality, Annihilation: Book One is an exciting beginning to the major cosmic event. You don’t get a larger portion of the meat of the story, as a big chunk of prefatory material, but it all sets up what has the potential to be one of the biggest and best stories in Marvel cosmic history, one that could rival even the Infinity Trilogy of Jim Starlin.

8/10

Annihilation Classic edited by Mark D. Beazley

I have found that the so-called “cosmic comics” of Marvel Comics have looked ever so neat, yet I hadn’t stepped into that world. They found a new resurgence of popularity with the Annihilation event, which spawned a number of new books. In preparation for jumping into these excellent-looking books, I am stepping back, and taking a look at what came before, starting with Annihilation Classic, a collection of early stories, many origin tales, of the characters that play a part in Marvel’s current cosmic epics. Below follows a story by story review, followed by the complete collection review.

“Apples & Origins” by Todd Dezago: A tale meant to combine humor and action, Bug chases Annihilus across both space and time, as he tries to prevent a universe-altering cataclysm. Dezago creates a light tale that is fun, but feels without substance.

“I Challenged…Groot! The Monster From Planet X” by Stan Lee & Larry Lieber: A very fun harkening back to the early science fiction comics published by Marvel, Leslie Evans stands up to the evil Groot, a tree monster from Planet X that plans to conquer the planet while stripping it of wood. It will be interesting to see how this bit character, who meets a very certain ending, works into Annihilation and beyond.

“Nova” by Marv Wolfman: The first of a number of origin stories, this one follows Rich Rider as he struggles with his life, and is blessed with a dying alien’s powers. This story actual deals with major issues like depression and bullying, and creates a character that is both exciting and intriguing.

“The Price of Power” by Mark Gruenwald: Another origin tale, Wendell Vaughn is a candidate for a high-level government position, but he lacks the killer’s edge, and doesn’t get what he had hoped. However, could his pacifist streak prove the salvation of his father, when he falls into the hands of terrorists? Another solid tale.

Rocket Raccoon by Bill Mantlo: The longest tale in the book by quite a bit, the story of Ranger Rocket Raccoon is far deeper than it initially seems. The light tale of anthropomorphized animals becomes one of global intrigue, economic war, and greed, all with the dark undertones of mental insanity. This story just got better as it went along, surprising me with its depth.

“The Saga of Star-Lord” by Doug Moench: A rather mystic tale of a man destined to be the protector of earth (a common theme in this book), this one loses itself a bit with its selfish character, but regains momentum at the end.

“The Final Flower!” by Scott Edelman: A very short tale with a science fictional bend to it at the end, well worth reading. If you changed the names of the main characters, and removed the pictures, this could have worked as a solid science fiction piece in any magazine today.

“And Men Shall Call Him…Warlock!” by Roy Thomas: A story that at times soared, and at others mired itself, this one just seemed to struggle with great things but fall short, which is a shame as the ideas were wonderful.

Overall, this book was a lot of fun, especially for its nostalgic look back to the past of comics, and the trends that saw the beginning of so many famous “cosmic” heroes. It felt odd that so many cosmic heroes fated to protect Earth never ran into each other before, but it is all a build up for when they do, which I can accept. This is a collection well-worth the price for fans of comics, especially of the “cosmic” variety, and a very nice primer to remind the veteran, and show the new reader, who all of these characters are.

8/10