Writer: MacKay
Artist: Lopez
Colorist: Iacono
Cover Artist: Cappucio & Rosenberg
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed herein are purely the opinions of the author of this article and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of CosmicBookNews. Timelord regularly reviewed the 2007 “Nova” and 2008 “Guardians of the Galaxy” series with his reviews directly sent to the books’ editors and creators. Timelord’s reviews have been quoted by Marvel in cover blurbs, press reviews, and solicits.
Warning: Contains some spoilers.
Well, it’s a wrap. As we all suspected, Marvel’s great cosmic purge has struck another cosmic title with Nova Centurion #6 being aptly titled, “Finale.”
I had hoped that with Nova waiting in the wings for some kind of MCU project, they would spare this title and use it for concept development and testing. But alas, no. That’s regrettable as this title was just building momentum and the cast of characters was just starting to gel.
Easily the best issue of the series, Rich really shined in this issue, reminding us of what makes him a superhero worthy of our respect and admiration as he deftly handled both of the big bads he faced using both brains and brawn to achieve victory. While the Giffen/DnA-written and Wolfman-written iterations are easily the best iterations of the Rider character, MacKay’s iteration of the character surpasses most of the other iterations over the past 50 years and repaired some of the damage done to the character by Bendis, Loeb, and others. It’s a shame that Marvel chose once again to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, just as they did with the DnA and Wolfman iterations.
As I’ve always said, Nova works best with a regular ensemble cast of characters and Pip, Aalbort, and Cammi were inspired choices for the ensemble. I liked it that MacKay relegated Quill to a rather minor supporting character role, resisting the temptation to allow a more popular character like Quill to outshine the title’s character, Nova. I also liked the wrap-up, suggesting that the team will stay together for more adventures. Hopefully, Marvel will just produce a few Nova mini-series and not let some writer in another series kill off these characters to make a cheap dramatic point (e.g., the unnecessary destruction of the Space Knights; the repeated unnecessary destruction of the entire Nova Corps, etc.).
The cover art was satisfying and engaging. The interior art was once again a mixed bag with some panels truly awe-inspiringly impressive and some mediocre at best. The colors were eye-catching throughout, often saving a panel where the art was somewhat lacking.
When I was at the comic shop picking up this issue I noticed and bought the 50th Anniversary issue of The Eternals. I do love The Eternals, but I’m sure nobody was asking for a 50th Anniversary issue, and honestly, it was mediocre at best. It would be disappointing for Marvel to celebrate The Eternals’ 50th Anniversary and simply ignore Nova’s 50th Anniversary. For those of you unaware, this summer will mark Nova’s 50th Anniversary and I’ve not seen any solicitation for a 50th Anniversary celebration for Rich. I have started a petition to Marvel asking them to honor Nova’s 50th Anniversary with a special commemorative celebration issue.
Please follow the link to sign the petition: https://c.org/wN6zvGY5rp
Buy the upcoming TPB for this book to continue to show your support. Please post the link to the petition on your Facebook or other social media page and on any comic book forums you regularly visit to help get the word out to fans to sign the petition so that Marvel knows that we want a celebration of Rich Rider’s 50th Anniversary in the Marvel Universe.
Here’s to 50 years of Rich Rider Nova! Long live Rich Rider Nova!
