Nova #1
NOVA #1
Capsule Review
Father-and-son superheroes should be right in my wheelhouse, but this one didn’t grab me at all, possibly because it didn’t tell me anything about how this father and this son became superheroes in the first place. This Marvel reboot has for the most part failed to deliver good first issue jumping-on points, but this book was especially indifferent to the new reader experience … or even, in my case, the very old reader experience, as the story has two Novas, and neither one of them is Richard Rider, the Nova of my youth! Reviewing the book as what it is, rather than what I expected it to be, reveals a workmanlike bit of superhero storytelling. Writer Sean Ryan spends welcome time showing us the younger Nova juggling school life and superheroics, and Cory Smith’s art is stylish and vibrant throughout. But I found myself uninvolved with characters I didn’t really understand, to the point that I tripped over trivial details, like … if you and your kid could fly, and you wanted to keep your identities a secret, would you conclude a night of adventure by walking back in through the front door of your house, side-by-side, with your nifty Nova helmets under your arms, like you’d just finished playing cosmic catch in the front yard?
Approachability For New Readers
Maybe better for new readers, than for old readers … but it didn’t work for me!
Read #2?
Alas, no.
Sales Rank
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Posted on December 18, 2015, in Reviews and tagged All-New All-Different Marvel, Cory Smith, Marvel Comics, Nova, Sean Ryan. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
dangvozden
Paul O'Connor
Kris (not Chris)
markginocchio
miloapama
Dean Compton
Moya
ryanmcswain
Longbox Graveyard 
Dammit. What a tease. I saw the cover on your Pinterest page and thought Rider was back.
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Nah, he’s still in hiding, trying to live down the shame of being named Dick Rider, and refusing to accept the sympathy of his pal Richard Head.
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Nova is a big bronze-age favorite of mine, so I actually bought this issue too. I do miss Rich but I can enjoy a new take on the character if it is done well. I bought a smattering of issues of this New Nova over the last couple (?) years and enjoyed them but it was not enough to pull me back into a monthly habit.
This issue was indeed not an ideal jumping-on point I agree. As a semi-recent reader I can make sense of what I see here though I did not know the Dad was back in the picture. A new reader would be head scratching I think.
In the series I read, it always seemed like his Mom was way to accepting and tolerant of her son flying off into space to fight aliens and otherwise risk his young life! That part did not ring true to me, but maybe I missed the part where she is a Skrull or some such!? 🙂
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I think you put your finger on it — like I said in the review, the father/son thing should really appeal to me, but the family dynamic in this book feels alien. (Part of that may be intentional, given where the plot is going, but still …)
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So, we have two Nova but no Rich Rider and… One of them is F*$&! damn sidekick!?
Is this book published by the DC comics of the sixties?
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This crew is more partners than sidekicks but I wasn’t much interested in either one of them. This younger Nova is more interesting in Mark Waid’s new Avenger book (review coming soonish).
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