Nova, Volume 1 by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

This wonderful omnibus collects the first two volumes of Nova, and presents them as one continuous story. This works well, as the events of Annihilation—Conquest and Knowhere are very much two halves of the longer story. It is a fun introduction to the cosmic universe for those who missed Annihilation, and what seems to be a very handy prologue and companion to Annihilation: Conquest. The action and adventure is non-stop, but it never loses sight of the story or the characters. Based on this, and knowing Abnett and Lanning are heading up Annihilation: Conquest, I will make sure not to miss that event, or the continued tales of Nova in his own series, which picks up after Annihilation: Conquest in Nova, Volume 3: Secret Invasion. Take a look at the new series that is getting rave reviews from every comic reviewer out there.


8/10

Nova, Volume 1: Annihilation—Conquest by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

After I so thoroughly enjoyed all three volumes of Annihilation, I knew I wanted to keep reading the story being fleshed out in the cosmic Marvel universe. The next major ‘event’ is Annihilation: Conquest, but in between the two major sagas the ongoing series Nova cropped up, written by the duo responsible for writing Annihilation: Nova, Nova’s part in the original story. The new ongoing series follows Nova as he travels throughout the universe in an attempt to save it. The first 12 issues and the first annual are collected in Nova, Volume 1 (not to be confused with Nova, Volume 1: Annihilation—Conquest, which is only the first 7 issues), which covers everything from the end of the original Annihilation War up through Nova’s participation in the Second Annihilation War. Excited about the omnibus edition, I picked it up and dove in.

Nova, Volume 1: Annihilation—Conquest picks up after Annihilation, Book 3. Nova is now the sole member of the Nova Corps, a group of intergalactic peacekeepers and police officers. He overworks himself, seeking to stop all of the universes problems on his own, and returns to his home on Earth to recuperate. However, nothing is as it used to be. Finding himself no longer fitting in with his family, friends, or society, he has a final confrontation with Iron Man, and has to make a series of hard choices about his future. Nova heads off to help out a planet, and steps right into the path of the new Annihilation Wave, fighting both friendly and antagonistic forces in a struggle to stay alive, and avoid being infected by the alien Phalanx.

Abnett and Lanning have created a space opera that mixes both a solid science fictional background with a plot that stays true to both the character and the universe he lives in. Never does this come across as a “superhero story in space,” but as a story of a man deeply ingrained in his space-based ideals, who struggles to do what is right, finds he can’t go home again, and sets himself on the edge of a threat far too large for him to handle alone. The depth of character is well-wrought and fleshed out without taking away from the action, while the plot is rich, using said action to enrich it, rather than dominate or replace it.

This book is very accessible, not relying too heavily on the necessity of reading the three Annihilation books, although having read those will enrich your reading of this book. The cliffhanger ending sets things up for the next cosmic event, which is told both in the two Annihilation: Conquest books, as well as in Nova, Volume 2: Knowhere. I won’t be missing either of those.

8/10

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War by Roy Thomas

I spent quite a bit of time trying to get a real grasp of the cosmic milieu of the Marvel Universe, and hit on the major texts of the ‘90s (minus Operation: Galactic Storm, which is a two-volume tale to keep your eyes out for a review of on here). However, a lot of important events that set the foundation of the cosmic universe happened in the ‘70s, and I wanted to take a look at them as well. The two classic stories I wanted to make sure and not miss were the Kree/Skrull War storyline that ran through Avengers, and the Dark Phoenix Saga storyline that ran through X-Men. Combined, the two stories address all three of the major space empires in the universe, and looked like solid foundational reads, beyond being classics of the genre. The first one I took a look at was the Kree/Skrull storyline, collected in Avengers: Kree/Skrull War.


Beginning with a exiled Kree warrior on the run on Earth, snowballing into Kree attempt at annihilating humanity and a Skrull attempt at kidnapping Kree, “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” the Avengers, team together to fight political maneuvers to trap them in a conspiracy theory plot, save the Kree-spawned race of Inhumans, keep the exiled Kree Captain Marvel safe from the government and the Skrulls, and stop a war between the Kree and Skrull Empires, the two greatest space faring peoples in the Universe.

While this book does occasionally show its age, mainly with its art style and the exclamations (e.g. “Faaaaan-tastic!”), the story itself doesn’t feel out of place with today’s comics at all. While it has far more “reading” than action-oriented art that is seen today, it helped give the story a much broader sense of appeal. It did occasionally slow things down, but when things hit their head, the pace is breathtaking. Definitely a book that starts slow as it builds up to its real plot, but explodes when things start to get rolling.

Characterization of some of the characters isn’t fully-fleshed, due to this being a small segment of a very long and storied comic narrative, but it is very easy to quickly pick up who’s who, and where any tensions lie. The newer characters get a more exacting characterization, and when you don’t find out much, you can tell that it is on purpose, to retain the mystery.

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War is a classic. For today’s comic reader, you might find it a tad dated in parts, and a little slow going occasionally. The denouement is more than worth working through the slow beginning, though, and I encourage you to keep at it. A great starting point for those interested in the history of the cosmic realm explored in Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest, War of Kings, and the ongoing Realm of Kings.

7/10

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

Infinity Crusade, Volume 2 by Jim Starlin

The final volume of the Infinity Trilogy’s last part, and the last major epic (minus the less well-received Infinity Abyss and Thanos: The End, as well as a volume of the series Thanos, all of which are out of print and exorbitantly expensive on top of not seeming to hold up as well) of Jim Starlin before his parting ways with Marvel and moving to DC.

Jumping straight from the first volume of Infinity Crusade, this book begins with the “King Pip” segment that, for all intents and purposes, could have been completely excised from the tale without losing anything. However, after that, we move to the action part of the epic, in which Starlin shows his ability to, like in the prior books, have huge action scenes while still making a deep plot that moves along nicely. As this is the second part of one story, it is hard to do much of a plot recap/teaser, but this book is where everything hits the fan, the army of the Goddess fights with the “Infidels,” and the Goddess attempts to bring her universal Rapture to fruition.

Far better than the first segment, this second volume of Infinity Crusade shows off all of Starlin’s writing talents (after we shift past King Pip), and really brings to bear the philosophical quandary of needing to stop your good side from universal armageddon. The one downside to all of the Infinity Trilogy is that they are from a time when events such as these generally were meant to have no lasting impact, and so we see a lot of everything being returned to normal, as we did in the first two parts, but in this one Starlin includes one final twist that leaves you with more than a couple thoughts after the book is over. This half makes it worth slogging through the first part. A nice wrap-up to a trilogy of company-wide cosmic crossovers that set a standard for the things to come.

8/10

Infinity Crusade, Volume 1 by Jim Starlin

Many of you will recall the first two parts of the “Infinity Trilogy”—Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War—from a little while back here at Luke Reviews. It is finally time to wrap up this trilogy with Infinity Crusade, which is collected in two volumes due to the tale’s length. This will wrap up the background reading to get up to speed with the “cosmic comics” of Marvel, letting us jump on to the new stories being put out now, which will start up sooner rather than later with all three books of Annihilation.

The end of Infinity War was a definite cliff-hanger, where we finally learn what happened to the cosmic containment devices that the Magus was using. It is hinted at that, in opposition to the Magus, Adam Warlock’s male bad side, a then-unnamed female good side had stopped him. Infinity Crusade picks up with that idea, as we learn of this mysterious female good side of Warlock, calling herself the Goddess. She begins by casting Adam Warlock out of this dimension, and then scooping up the most religious-minded heroes and taking them away to a world of her own creating, Paradise Omega. From here, the tale splits three ways, as we follow the machinations of the Goddess and her quest to rid the universe of all evil no matter the cost, the heroes left behind who are trying to discover the kidnapper, and Adam Warlock, who is working behind the scenes to return to the universe and stop his good side.

More than either of the first two books, Infinity Crusade is much more obviously philosophical, with questions of faith thrown everywhere. One character questions the benefit of “too much faith,” while the main goal of the entire series is to stop someone whose goal is too extreme. The proposed “perfect” ruler would be very much one with equal good and bad, making the Goddess just as dangerous as the Magus. These underpinnings are certainly interesting fair.

The downside to this book comes in two prongs. First, as this story was initially told in three intermingling sources, much time is spent recounting minor details that the reader who reads the whole saga knows intimately already. Much more than either of the other volumes in the trilogy, this one has this excessive recounting that is unnecessary. The other down side is that, in the entirety of the first volume, there is almost no action. The entire first half is mostly people standing around talking, going over the same things repeatedly. The tale of Warlock was the most interesting, but with the quick approach of the wrap-up of his solo act and joining with the group, even his tale is starting to slow. While the build-up appears to be coming to an end, both of the other two books manage to integrate action and story-telling in a wonderful way, while this one flounders, and ends up doing little to nothing.

I have high hopes for the second volume, where it seems like things will come to a head, and which will make this first volume a necessary precursor, but I couldn’t help but feel that this prelude could have been so much more.

6/10

Infinity War by Jim Starlin

Wrapping up the Labor Day weekend cosmic graphic novel fest, I read through the second book in the so-called Infinity Trilogy, Infinity War. After the conclusion of Infinity Gauntlet, the universe has apparently returned to order, although we are soon to find out that a nasty surprise is on its way. Magus, the evil portion of Adam Warlock, was expelled when Warlock gained near omnipotence (along with the good of Warlock, the Goddess), as Warlock attempted to become a purely logical god-figure. This evil entity has returned in a big way, gathering together cosmic objects of extreme power, in the hopes of creating his own alternate universe to overlay the current one. Thanos discovers this plan, and alerts Warlock and company, while at the same time a spree of doppelganger attacks on heroes of Earth alert them to a pending threat. Once again, a universe-wide attack ensues, with the fate of eternity in the balance.

While not quite as deep as Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War still manages to be a huge amount of fun. It is faster-paced than Infinity Gauntlet, with more action and over the top cosmic mayhem. After the story of Infinity War, the book contains a number of short pieces that add a lot to the background of the story, with large amounts of solid characterization. It is odd that these are given out of chronological order, as they would have fit nicely between the chapters of the War, but they are still a fun and illuminating read. “The Island!” details what Warlock and his compatriots are up to prior to the Infinity War. “Interlude” takes place, as the name suggests, in the middle of the Infinity War. It builds the relationships between the characters, particularly that of Gamora with her adoptive father Thanos, and her non-love interest Warlock. “Old Wounds” once again focuses on Gamora, as she gives her point of view on a pivotal moment in the War, while “Self-Destructive Tendencies” follows Thanos’ battle with his own doppelganger, as well as his contemplations on supreme power, identity, and sacrifice. By far the deepest part of the book. “I, Thanos” is a four part tale of a hidden interaction between Thanos and Death that takes place during the exact same time as “Interlude.” There is a three page section that explains how the War effected the rest of the universe, and then the final tale, “Yule Memory,” which recounts a Christmas that Thanos and a young Gamora spent together.

All in all, yet another fun cosmic graphic novel at the hands of Jim Starlin. While this book signals a return to straightforward prose, keep an eye out for both volumes of the final part of the trilogy, Infinity Crusade, to appear sooner rather than later.

8/10

Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin

Carrying over from yesterday’s Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos (review), we see the beginning of what is sometimes called the Infinity Trilogy (Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War, and Infinity Crusade). Following directly from the events in Rebirth, Thanos is now omnipotent, and taking on the entire universe in a show of dominance, as part of his bid to win the cold heart of Mistress Death (death personified). Standing against him are the heroes of the universe, lead by a mysterious man who goes by the name of Warlock, of whom little is known, other than he used to run with the villain. Warlock leads the offensive against impossible odds, with the embodiment of Eternity itself in reserve in case he fails.

What follows is all out war on a universal scale. From heroic but futile attempts by the humans of Earth, to full scale battle between the man who wishes to be god and the gods of the universe (Chaos and Order, Love and Hate, Death, Eternity, etc.), the action is near constant, yet that is far from all that is portrayed in this epic onslaught. Ideas of religion and the meaning of being a god are weaved into the text, along with ideas on what it would mean to hold such power. The ecological and social disasters that humans perpetrate upon the Earth are also a part (as well as in Rebirth), and even the necessity of death makes an appearance. Far more than a tale of heroic beings stopping a nihilistic tyrant from taking the role of god, this tale is an in-depth look at the deeper meaning of controlling fate, and living life without the constant need for more.

A solid beginning to what looks to be a wonderful trilogy.

9/10

Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos by Jim Starlin

As readers from over the summer know, my guilty pleasure of late is an interest in the so-called “cosmic” graphic novels, particularly the ones coming out now as written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and the modern resurgence in their popularity. Yet, I felt that I should catch up on the story a bit, as these underused characters still have very extensive backstories. An earlier review at Luke Reviews for Annihilation Classic was the beginning of this history lesson, and this long labor day weekend gave me the opportunity to read a few more of the books that were fore-runners to what is out today. Much of these tales revolves around the character Thanos (so much so that these books—Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos, Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War, Infinity Crusade Volumes 1 & 2, Infinity Abyss, and Thanos: The End—are collectively known as the Thanos Chronicles), whose story doesn’t begin with the volume in question, but Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos still serves as a solid jumping-on point. Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos contains two main stories, as well as a very short addendum, and thus it will be reviewed on a story by story basis.

Rebirth of Thanos: The Silver Surfer (corny name, interesting character) falls upon the Temple of Death, where Death herself has decided that she needs a new champion. The Surfer gets to witness the rebirth, before being confronted by Death’s newest thrall, Thanos. We learn of Death’s desire to match the number of dead with the number of living, and the acting out of the plan: to kill 50% of all life in the entire universe. Thanos begins this task, and the Silver Surfer must stop him. A well-written, fun tale, with a villain that legitimately claims ecological and ethical reasons for his universe-wide genocide.

The Thanos Quest: After the events of Rebirth of Thanos, Thanos wishes to expedite the process of fulfilling Death’s desire (although the devious villain has more up his sleeve than at first it would seem), and searches out the Infinity Gems. These six precious stones each contain a power of an ancient, god-like entity, and when combined, give the bearer near-absolute power over all of reality. Another interesting tale that continues the trend of a complete, not totally evil villain. Thanos becomes a very human, very easy to relate to being, and his motive for his actions is one that is very easy to rationalize, making his evil even more dark.

The final bit is the short piece “The Final Flower!” which was also contained in Annihilation Classic, so quoting from that review:

“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.

All-in-all, this was a very fun read. Well worth the time and cost of admission, and a nice primer for the future tales in this universe. Of note: this book’s ending leads directly into Infinity Gauntlet, thus leaving you with a minor cliff-hanger. Be prepared to have Infinity Gauntlet on hand, as you won’t want to have to wait to find out what happens next.

9/10

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