Even when I was a little kid, I had zero interest in the whole cosmic aspect of comic book universes.  Green Lantern didn’t interest me, and I’d never even heard of a guy called Nova.  But years later, at the ripe age of 24, along comes this guy named Ron Richards, and he changed everything.

You see, Ron Richards is in this precarious place.  He holds a power over all of us and when he speaks, we listen.  And listen I did when he first laid down his perspective on Marvel’s own Nova.  So, I picked it up, enjoyed it, and have been obsessing over the series ever since.  But here’s where it gets interesting:  the writers of Nova are given a new series and it also happens to feature my favorite artist from the most recent Nova run.  So, predictably, I picked it up.   And I’ll be damned if it wasn’t one of the most fun books I read this week.

Let start off by saying that I’m completely ignorant of every aspect of this series.  I didn’t read any of the Annihilation titles and most of these characters I have never heard of until today.  And yet, I still had an absolute blast reading it.  It’s big, crazy sci-fi done right.  It’s smart, funny, fast paced, but not so out there that readers are completely lost as to what’s going on.  And each of these characters seems to have a distinct personality, which is shown through little vignettes that take place during the mission.  This same technique was used by Fraction in his series The Order, and it works really nicely here.  It gives the readers a chance to get to know the characters while keeping the action tight and fast paced.

I’m thinking that my ignorance to this whole thing is possibly adding to my enjoyment.  While I feel this fanboy pull to look these people up, I fight it, knowing that these creators will bring a great spin to these characters, and I have confidence that they will deliver on their take with these people.  The whole cosmic aspect of the book has allowed the creators to use a tapestry of settings and stories, and I’m looking forward to where it is heading.  Frankly, I’m down with cosmic Marvel now.

Enough can’t be said about Pettelier’s pencils that hasn’t been said already.  They are simply gorgeous.  They’re filled with motion and purpose, and he is able to capture something’s grandosity without needing a whole page to do it.  The characters are all distinct, and all of the movements are fluid and natural.  Not once did I feel the need to relook at the art to the make sense of what was going on.  It was simply wonderful, and I’m happy to see that he’ll be on this book regularly (even though I miss him from the pages of Nova).

If you happen to dig sci-fi stuff at all, I really encourage you give this book a whirl.  Abnett and Lanning are really crafting some amazingly fun stories that’s sure to please any fan of the genre.  And even if it’s not really your thing, just remember:  it used to not be my thing either.