Announced on Marvel.com, it looks like November is going to see another change in line-up to Marvel’s new hit “Nova” series, with Zeb Wells exiting to be replaced by Gerry Duggan. Paco Medina will stay on board and when Duggan will be the official new writer as of #10, following the conclusion of Wells’ five-issue arc.
This is inherently a strange announcement, and one I’m conflicted on. On the one hand, Duggan has been doing rather solid work for Marvel as seen in the pages of “Deadpool” which, while it had an admittedly rough start, has really come into its own in distinguishing itself from Daniel Way’s run and even slightly homaging Joe Kelly’s famous and landmark take on the character. On the other hand: what the heck? Whats with the creative switcheroos every five issues?
Random creative changes are not something new in the world of company-owned comics, but I think “Nova” surprised everyone when it launched not only as a best-seller but also as one of Marvel’s best new books. “Nova” worked in the same way that “Ultimate Spider-Man” worked, taking a classic character and redefining it for a brand new audience in a brand new setting for a brand new series of adventures; you could never have read a “Nova” comic in your life and you’d find yourself right at home in a series that was fun to read and had plenty of personality.
We’ve not really gotten to dig into what Wells and Medina had in store for the character yet, but it’s quite shocking to see that just when he’s getting started — especially when he’s really such a perfect fit for the character given his previous work — that he’s not going to be staying all that long. I don’t mean to imply anything sinister here, but it seems rather strange to see him exiting the book so quickly, and Marvel may plan to play it off as “part of the plan” to keep the book fresh and try something different (the announcement on their site does admittedly read: “Zeb Wells had agreed to come on [NOVA] for five issues after Jeph [Loeb] and his story was pretty big and setting up some huge pieces that are going to playing out here and in another book.”), but I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at the move.
Consistency is key, and the way things are looking for “Nova,” it seems that this title may have anything but in terms of the story. Lets just be thankful that Paco Medina isn’t going anywhere, because he and Juan Vlasco killed it on their first issue with Wells. A perfect follow-up to McGuinness initial arc.
Although, I do have to note: this is perhaps one of the few times I can think of in recent memory when a writer has left the book and not the artist. Interesting switch-up there.
Regardless, I can only hope for the best for this book. Sam Alexander quickly found a place for himself in the Marvel Universe and with fans, myself included, so here’s to fingers being crossed that the lack of consistency doesn’t hurt the book too much overall.
