Comic Related - If It's Comic Related, You'll Find It Here!

Bill Gladman on the issue

What a great book. I mean even the cover on this thing is great. I know there's a lot of emphasis on cover art nowadays, to the point that many books out there have gone the path of having a real dynamic cover and then the interior work looks as though a fifth grader did it. And top it all off it's usually just a "super-hero poster pose" which has nothing to do with the story inside.

Not the case here. True the cover is drawn by an artist that is not the interior artist but it's a cover that really compliments the interior work without overshadowing it. It's dynamic and simple and does indeed have a lot to do with the story found within. And if you have been following the story as religiously as I have been, it's a very foreboding cover at that.

Nova has been flying high since the launch of this title shortly after the cosmic fallout of the Annihilation series thanks to a large part of the writing of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. This series has already lasted longer than any of the other three previous attempts at a Nova series and if things continue to go well for the book, in little over a year will have lasted longer than all three previous series combined.

Issue #35 sees the conclusion of Nova's latest battle with perhaps his greatest enemy, the Sphinx, who has taken advantage of the cosmic abnormality known as "The Fault" to bend the rules of reality enough to cause the impossible to occur. He stands on the threshold of once again becoming a living God of which even a being such as Galactus has had problems defeating in the past.

The only other person with enough power to stop the Sphinx is the Sphinx. That's right there's two this time around, as if one was wasn't bad enough. I told you in this pocket version of what passes as reality anything is possible. Both....Sphinx guys...abduct an army of Champions to fight for his cause and this is where Nova as well as other great characters such as Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Man-Wolf, and the original Bloodstone come into play.

The previous issues that led up to this conclusion were a little slow at times but the pay off with this book was stellar. So make sure you do yourself a favor and read the entire "Realm of Kings" storyline recently featured in Nova to get all the details. The artwork throughout by Mahmud A. Asrar (penciler) and Scott Hanna (one of the best inkers in the business) is just gorgeous.

Issue #35 is pretty fast paced and very intense. Reed Richards and Nova come to the conclusion that the Sphinx isn't the only person who can take advantage of the unique non-reality law of physics that the Fault provides and both teams of heroes and villains plucked out of their rightful place in time decide to join forces to defeat the greater threat.

I loved the fact that solution to surviving the war in this non-reality plain of existence and returning to their original spots in the time stream came from Reed over hearing a comment that Richard Rider (Nova...in case you didn't know) blurted out about the coming future. Good stuff in the DnA style of cosmic comic goodness!

An amazing last page as we learn that one of my favorite characters, and one of Richard's as well (Nova again....not the stretchy guy with the big brain) seems to have side stepped a very tragic fate and survived in Nova's present day life.

The last two lines of conversation in the book are just pure classic, they don't come much better than that.

DarkHawk: "Don't take this the wrong way, but this isn't right. This is going to come back and bite you on the ass."

Nova: "Don't take this the wrong way either...but I don't care."

Hot Shot of the Week is Nova #35
It's all Marvel.
It's all Cosmic.
It's all Good.

Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils: Mahmud A. Asrar
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: Bruno Hang
Letters: VC's Cory Petit
Cover: Brandon Peterson
Publisher: Marvel Comics

A REALM OF KINGS ISSUE!

In The Fault, where anything is possible and cosmic terrors are born, two eternal forces meet in shattering conflict-and Nova is caught right in the middle! With a fabulous cast of guest stars-including Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt and some jaw-dropping foes-the time-slipping saga of the Sphinx comes to its galaxy-shaking conclusion! Who will be the last man standing in the series that has CosmicBookNews.com raving: "With intriguing stories, captivating drama, high concepts, and bare knuckled action-NOVA is the best cosmic comic in the business."

Rated T

PRICE: $2.99
IN STORES: March 17, 2010