New Warriors #2

Review by Randall Smith

Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Marcus To
Colors: David Turiel

The High Evolutionary's Back (And he's attacking people with powers!)

      We get right back into the action with our yet to be named Inhuman crossing paths with Sun Girl in her defense of the Morlocks. The Evolutionaries (First appearance 2011's Giant Size X-Men) are relentless in their onslaught to purify the 'tainted'. A far cry from their former agenda to protect the inheritors of the earth, Homo Superior.
      The action swaps to Justice, Speedball, and Salem's Seven fending off their subset of the Evolutionaries, with more questions than answers. And shortly back to Kaine and Aracely facing off with the now named "Water Snake" (Thanks recap page!), with Aracely providing the win in her usual fashion. (Overwhelming god telepathy)
     Justice and Speedball hit Avengers tower in order to cross-reference X-Men record keeping, and get alerted to a new disaster. They now know the measure of their enemy and make the scene in time to provide the fully human Sun Girl and her new Inhuman ally much needed assistance.
      And in the hands of the High Evolutionary, Samuel Alexander is told they together may be the key to safeguarding humanity's future. 


         Everyone's signature apperances look spot on with their previous titles or appearances, and frankly, I love the way the artist handles expressions and facial differences. My only criticism is Jarvis's rendering. It just doesn't strike me as right. 
         A great amount of attention to continuity is paid, from facts involving the Evolutionaries, to Justice's former Avengers ties, even the panel showing the 'recording' of the X-Men versus the Evolutionaries shows everyone who was in that fight, and that Colossus was bald at the time thanks to being the avatar of Cyttorak.
        The flow of conversation between Justice and Speedball is as easygoing and familiar as two friends of that time period should be. "You know who was a mutant and not grim? Firest-" I chuckled out loud at that line.
         The team building is coming along, and it's not rushed. That said, I can't wait to re-read this as a trade, because waiting for each single issue has me antsy.

Recommendation: If you like Scarlet Spider and Aracely, if you like Speedball and Justice, or if you want a team book that isn't mired in big event planning, read this book!

Nova #14

Review by Randall Smith

Writer: Gerry Duggan
Penciler: David Baldeon
Inks: Terry Pallot
Colors: Chris Sotomayer

Chapter XIV: Road to Knowhere
       
                We resume fresh off the uniting of Beta Ray Bill and Sam Alexander to pursue the space pirate Skaarn. Right off the bat, our heroes are deep in space, saving lives, and Sam's looking (and acting) much more mature for his time spent in heroics. As an off-hand comment from Nova stirs an idea in Bill's head, the Korbanite champion recants a tale of days past, and a new story of Richard Ryder's heroism that brings things together. 
               And in a nod to continuity that makes me smile, they arrive at the former base of the Guardians of the Galaxy (amongst other galactic scoundrels), Knowhere, the station inside the empty head of a dead Celestial.
              Your typical pirate betrayals and hijinks ensue, and for a large portion of the issue, the titular watchdog of Knowhere is suspiciously absent. Between Sam's fight with a Warbringer robot, and a bit of subterfuge with Bill, his control over the Nova force is on-par with a well trained Rich, showcasing some all new tricks from what I presume is the Black Nova handbook. And as this issue closes, we have Cosmo! (I wish he was in the movie. I love that telepathic cosmonaut dog.)

            As far as the art, I'm wishy-washy. When I said Sam looked more mature in this issue, he was looking far older and muscular than usual. Unless he's hit some sort of cosmic growth spurt, he should be far leaner. He was last issue. Other than that, everything's quite spot on, and I can see Baldeon is very familiar with cosmic past.
            Now the writing is where I was ecstatic. To be fair, in this title's beginnings, I was very opposed to even giving it a shot. And thanks to the evolving team's work, it's really made great strides, and I can't espouse enough just how great of a job they're doing. Their use of Cosmo, and (Finally!) a Rich Ryder reference, even in flashback shows they haven't forgotten Nova Prime, or what previous cosmic writers have done. 

Reccomendation: A fine standalone, definitely a solid issue of this book.

Sector Podcast S1E1

Today Agents, we bring to you the premiere episode of Sector 3's podcast, starring Brian Howard and Randall Smith. Within we bring news of the week, including our thoughts on the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer's debut, John Romita Jr departing Marvel for DC, and Attack on Titan!

Also, we give our reviews of some of our stack pulls, including Nova #13, Avengers World #3, and New Warriors #1!

Listen below, or follow the link for a download. We will be setting up for iTunes, and rss feed support soon.


Download our Podcast! (Right-click, and "Save as")

Nova #12

Nova #12

Chapter XII: Help Wanted

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Penciler: Paco Medina

Inker: Juan Vlasco
 Price: $3.99

        The next phase in the journey of Sam Alexander picks up right where last issue left off, with Sam following the map of lights he was seeing, finding a deceased Nova's helmet, and a new antagonist. Cadvian and his 'psycho-magnetizing' abilities seem to be a nice new addition to the cosmic family. His bounty hunting code puts our Novaling off his radar completely, and not unkindly removes him from his ship.
         Sam also seems to be experiencing a lot of personal growth, from his resolve to leave a written record of his exploits for his family, to rushing into a space distress call. Finding a retrofitted Xandarian ship and the occupants using a departed Nova and the remaining charge in his helmet to keep it operational are intriguing concepts as well. 
        Of course, 'saving' the day for the inhabitits isn't always what it seems. Captain Skarrn is just as sketchy as the name and circumstances imply. Sam returns home to some scolding and French Toast, and meanwhile, we get a teaser of another Cosmic player we haven't heard from in some time.

Next month, the littlest Human Rocket crosses paths with the Annihilator Beta Ray Bill, and his mighty weapon Stormbreaker!

Verdict: A nice jumping-on point, early enough in the series that catching up to speed isn't too hard. Buy it!

Nova #11

Nova #11

Chapter XI: Pawn Takes Knight

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Penciler: Paco Medina

Inker: Juan Vlasco

Chapter XI: Pawn Takes Knight resumes from the results of last issue with Sam having been stricken 'blind' as he re-entered the earth's atmosphere after a rescue effort in space. The majority of the issue is mostly just a filler story, dealing more with Sam's civilian life than his Nova exploits.

That being said, we do get far more time with his supporting cast, fleshing out the relationships, and even possibly introducing a new cast member with Sam's 'encouraged' membership in the chess club. Amusingly enough, it's taken the change in writers from Jeph Loeb to Duggan to have Sam's writing and persona feel more like the Sam Alexander in the Loeb-influenced Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.

Despite my love of Medina's space visuals, and Sam's in-costume appearance, I do believe there's something to be said for the style he draws their civilian faces. There's just something about the aesthetic that doesn't quite appeal, especially the doctor, who's nose looks as if he's been in one bar fight too many. At the same time, it is a signature style, and he does well at showcasing differences in ethnicity from character to character. The art and writing team also showcases a good grasp on how schoolchildren act and carry themselves, as is evidenced by the body language and expressions at times of the background kids as well as the main cast.

The end half of the issue is back into space, and setting the stage for an all-new Nova nemesis, and deepening the mystery of what has happened to all other non-Annihilation Wave destroyed Novas. With New Warriors around the corner, things are heating up for the title with a nice standalone issue in this age of massive inter-connected story arcs and event comics. Compared to other series, Nova's a great jumping on book for newer readers, as you're given a pretty thorough crash course in Cosmic Marvel without it being overwhelming to new readers.

Rating: Worthwhile, especially if it's in a TPB as it's dependant on previous events in the series.