Marvel is promises to go cosmic in 2013, so what better time to look back and see if any of the classic cosmic trades are worth checking out? Tradewaiter breaks away from the traditional one-book review to give you a rundown of Marvel’s best (and worst) cosmic sagas!
Thanos’ ongoing series was taken away from Jim Starlin so fast, his last issue solicited his next plotline. Instead, we got a bold new direction from Keith Giffen which introduced new concepts and characters to Cosmic Marvel. Thanos visits an intergalactic prison and teams with Gladiator and Starlord against the Beyonder. While respecting previous stories with subtle nods and references, this is an introductory collection which quickly gets a reader up to speed without being overly expository. Often forgotten and not billed as such, “Thanos: Samaritan” is where the Annihilation War really begins.
Annihilation
When “Thanos” was cancelled, Giffen moved on to a Drax the Destroyer miniseries. The character was an odd pick to lead a solo title, but Giffen used these four issues to reform the character into something much more compelling than he had been. The beautifully illustrated mini is included in the first “Annihilation” book, which also includes the “Nova” mini where Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning got their first crack at the character. The second book follows Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, and Ronan (the weakest of the three stories, but still good). The third is the big payoff for the event: while Earth’s mightiest heroes were busy squabbling over their secret identities in some “Civil War” nonsense, Nova was busy leading the resistance against an army out to destroy the universe. After the mediocre cosmic stories Marvel put out earlier in the decade, Giffen crafted an epic putting the Marvel Universe back on the map, and should be in every Marvel fan’s collection.
Nova
While “Annihilation” is a standalone story, it’s the nature of the industry to continue the tale. Abnett and Lanning return to “Nova” and continue developing the changes Giffen brought to the galaxies. This is a great character story with a varied and compelling supporting cast, but be warned: five of the six volumes of this series are direct tie-ins to event books. It can be read separately, but there will be very obvious moments where you’ll know you missed something big. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. In most cases, the story just gets too big for one book. Just keep it in mind if you’re thinking of trying the series.
Planet Hulk
When Greg Pak began his “Hulk” run, the titular monster was launched into space and landed on an exciting planet Sakarr. Pak builds the whole world up from nothing, complete with political intrigue, violent back stories, and mythology. The story is just as interesting for the story it gives us as for what it leaves untold. These open-ended parts of the collection are what give the story depth and invite the reader to think about it long after the final page. While this particular trade is highly recommended, bear in mind it has a bit of cliffhanger ending which leads to “World War Hulk” and beyond, which slowly declines in quality.
Annihilation: Conquest
The first big event “Nova” crossed into was a direct sequel to “Annihilation”. Like its predecessor, it featured mini-series tie-ins of varying quality (Starlord great, Quasar ok, Wraith weak) which were collected in one book, and the event proper collect in the second. This story is smaller in scope than “Annihilation”, focusing only on the Kree Empire as it’s conquered by the Phalanx and Ultron. This series requires more knowledge of Cosmic Marvel, particularly the High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock. This title suffered from being forced into the “Annihilation” mold instead of being its own thing, but it’s still a high-quality story.
Guardians of the Galaxy
When the conquest was over, Marvel had a big group of heroes left over and said to themselves, “What now?” The answer was to give Abnett and Lanning another book. Like “Nova”, this series was almost continuously weaving from one event to the next. Unlike “Nova,” which was fairly straight-forward, “Guardians” featured time-travel, alternate realities, and the embodiments of abstractions. It also assumes you know a few things about Adam Warlock and his schizophrenia. The series is quite a bit of fun, as the writing duo proves they can write a group just as well as they write a solo adventure.
X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire
Meanwhile, some X-Men are doing things in space, too. Written by Ed Brubaker, this twelve-issue saga is a star-spanning follow-up to “Deadly Genesis.” What’s that? You didn’t read “Deadly Genesis?” That’s ok. This book’ll catch you up real quick before jumping into a spaceship and flying to a distant galaxy. Featuring characters new and old, Brubaker weaves a story which is as emotional as it is far-reaching. With plenty of twists, turns, and humor, this book should be in everyone’s collection.
X-Men: Emperor Vulcan
If you haven’t read “Rise and Fall” yet, don’t read the title of this mini-series. It’s a spoiler. Sorry. Anyway, this is a neat story which delves deeper into the history of the Shi’ar empire. In addition to a fun side story exploring the new status quo, there are also subplots getting various characters in place for the next big thing. Christopher Yost matches the voices of characters introduced by Brubaker perfectly, making this a fitting sequel and a good read.
Skaar: Son of Hulk
“Planet Hulk” essentially shut the door on Sakarr, but it proved so popular Marvel decided to go back and make some more money off of it. The first six issues were written by Pak, and the next twelve by Paul Jenkins. Failing to recapture the magic of “Planet Hulk,” the series took popular elements from the original, like the Silver Savage, and shoehorned them into the plot. The ambiguous mythology gets fully explained. The various deaths are undone so popular characters can return. Worst of all, the plot is meandering and works hard to seem deep, while never actually getting there. Pass. For the love of all good cosmic books, pass.
War of Kings
In a very fluid way, the plots from the X-Men books and the plots from “Nova” and “GotG” come together seamlessly for another event: Shi’ar vs Kree, round 2! It was only fifteen years ago these two empires clashed in “Galactic Storm,” and now they’re at it again. This bloated storyline is collected in six trades: “Road to War of Kings,” “War of Kings,” “War of Kings: Warriors”, “Nova” vol 5, and “GotG” vol 2 and 3. When they were being published, each title covered a different aspect of the war, instead of being “War of Kings part whatever.” As collections though, you’ll either have to jump back and forth between trades or read the whole war from different points of view four times.
Realm of Kings
This trade is less of an event, and more of a brand, like “Dark Reign” after “Secret Invasion.” It collects various one-shots and minis set in the aftermath of the war, and features some great character moments in both the “Inhumans” and “Imperial Guard” chapters. Parts of this book are also essential if you’re reading either “Nova” or “GotG” (but really, who’s only reading one of them?), or if you want to read the next big story:
Thanos Imperative
After two years of build up, the big threat hinted at in “Guardians of the Galaxy” #1 finally arrives. And, despite the ominous title, it’s not Thanos! Unlike the previous, balloon-like events, this one is wonderfully compacted into eight issues with zero tie-ins. There are some odd choices (like Drax’s clothing), but it’s a strong conclusion to the web Abnett and Lanning built in the Marvel Universe. It features lots of big names with beautifully drawn scenes, and is a terrific finale to their space opera. That is, of course, assuming you don’t read the last few pages, which lead into…
Annihilators
This four issue mini acts as a coda to the “Thanos Imperative,” where Starlord’s dream of a team who can actually be effective finally comes true. While featuring a strong group of heroes, Quasar makes an odd choice for team leader. He’s not nearly as confident or powerful as his teammates, and his self-doubting inner monologue will make you doubt him too, and an underdog story is only compelling if you think he’ll win. The real weakness of this series is the art. Tan Eng Haut did a Silver Surfer mini once before, and I saw his work there described by another reviewer as being like “Haut ripping out your eyeballs and urinating in the sockets.” While this may not be quite that bad, it is horribly awkward. I believe he’s the only artist ever who drew ears on the Silver Surfer, or depicted Ronan’s headdress as a hard helmet. This one’s a browse.
Annihilators: Earthfall
The final miniseries before Marvel took cosmic in a new direction. The Annihilators have to travel to Earth because if the alien threat holed up anywhere else, the Annihilators couldn’t fight and then team up with the Avengers. The Avengers, by the way, have so little personality in this collection they’re roles could easily be interchangeable. Throw in a threat which isn’t very threatening and a science-babble deus ex machine, and you have a very weak conclusion to one of the better runs of Cosmic Marvel. Don’t even browse, just walk away if you see it on the shelf.
