The Marvel Space Race Pt 1: Nova #1

Fresh off the back of LSCC, overspending, and casual banter with Kieron (Karen) Gillen, we've found ourselves climbing on board for the Marvel NOW intergalactic space-race with the reboot of Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy.

First off I should say that I liked to keep my feet firmly on earth's 616 ground (and various alt universes) - Much of my galaxy corps learnings have come from my blogging partner in crime. So I must say that these #1's were the perfect introduction to the Marvel Galaxy.

In Loeb and McGuinness' Nova reboot, the mantle is about to be passed on from Richard Ryder to one of Marvel's newest recruits, 15 year old Sam Alexander (Avengers vs X-Men, Ultimate Spiderman - the cartoon!). For a Nova newbie (kinda), it's great to start a fresh. Loeb is able to fill you in on the NovaCorp history through a clever sequence of 'tales' from Sam's 'no-good' dad Jessie - a former wearer of the helmet. A rather amusing twist is that within a world of mutants, Sentential's, Civil Wars and all sorts - Sam doesn't believe his dad's stories!

What I really love about this issue is that Loeb is able to make such a far-fetched story seem so far-fetched but within a realistic setting. For once, we get to see a glimpse of 'real life' outside of the world of aliens and super-powered people - where the character's aren't focused on the next bad guy or their newest costume, but real life issues. Sam's a teenager facing typical teenage problems, as well as he added stresses of family life. But of course, that's already about to change.

If the story has one downfall then it's that we've seen it so many times before. But Loeb and McGuinness really make this work. McGuinness' work is perfect for this series. It's clean, action filled and just stunning to look at, and inker and colorist Dexter Vines and Marte Gracia really help to bring this all together.

Nova is already shaping up to be a great tale. It's so slick and already fun. It'll be great to see where they take this once Sam has established his powers. Even if it is just a story about growth, it's definitely one to make the SamAlex haterz give it read!

What Would Doom Do?
FIND OUT IN PART II!! (tomorrow)