War of Kings #4

The craziest part of this issue is the last page. Leading up to that point, the book is filled with a lot of house-keeping and checkups on our principal players. We have Crystal and Ronan the Accuser discussing the Kree/Inhuman relationship. We get Vulcan and his advisors discussing the state of the Shi'Ar Empire. Gladiator and the Starjammers bring Lilandra back home so she can make a claim for her throne. And most importantly, we get Talon the Darkhawk showing up and pledging his service to Vulcan. Talon immediately makes a big impact on the conflict, bringing along Blastaar from issue 2 of the War of Kings: Ascension limited series. There is no sign of the Chris Powell red-visored DH, but I'm sure he's on the way. I am glad that Blastaar got involved, but it does seem like new factions shouldn't be coming into the book in issue 4 of a 6 issue series. The Guardians of the Galaxy are out of the story in the core mini, it seems. The biggest development is that last page cliffhanger. I wonder if DnA have the pull to actually have that character killed off. I would argue that while she is integral to quite a few stories, I don't think she actually has a single fan. I would say she's fair game to knock off. Certainly aspects of cosmic Marvel can be totally changed around if that person truly is dead.

While this wasn't as stellar as issues 1 or 3, this was about as good as issue 2. Very entertaining.

Paul Pelletier is awesome. I love how he's drawing the improving condition of Ronan the Accuser. I hope the big green jerk is back up for the finale. The bright colors really bring out the action in Pelletier's pencils.

Good