Nova v1: Origin HC

Wow. Was I wrong about this comic!

I’m a huge Richard Rider fan, so this book was not going to be my speed, no matter what. Heck, I love Ed McGuinness’ artwork, but I knew that this wasn’t going to be a comic I could get behind, because I want more from Rich, not some new kid Sam Alexander.

Then I heard from some guys at my comic store that this was a pretty kid-friendly comic, so I decided to read it with my almost 9-year-old and my 6 six-year old daughters. Oh my lord, did they love it. They even requested to read new issues of Nova over new issues of Adventure Time, so you know they loved it.

The art is fantastic, as you’d expect. This thing looks like a cartoon come to life. And it functions as a great intro to cosmic Marvel, with Gamorra and Rocket Raccoon both showing up multiple times. I also like the way Jeph Loeb uses the Watcher. That guy is totally interfering now, he barely even hides it!

The villains are the Chitauri, the alien race from the Avengers film. McGuinness does a nice job keeping both the aliens and their “whale ships” looking on-model. That was another plus for my daughters; they felt they knew the villains already.

Loeb does a masterful job mixing in “normal” kid problems like school, parents, and siblings. Sam is a really well fleshed out character. Both of my girls are extremely taken with him. And that hopeful close to the book? Perfect. That’s what comics should be delivering.

And now my daughters are calling Sam “their Nova” and Rich is now “Dad’s Nova.” Oh my goodness, when did I get on the wrong side of history. (And Loeb, not even a shout out to old Richard Rider? C’mon now!)

This Nova for the next generation is GOOD!