We Interrupt This Post: Galactus by Sienkiewicz

yes, I'll say it again, Galactus by Sienkiewicz.

Nuff Said.

In Review Of: Annihilation Book Three

This is, without a doubt, the best cosmic saga of its kind. Period. How to approach reviewing a book/series that covers so much ground? The Annihilation series takes the Marvel cosmic mythos and took it far further than any other series in comic book history. The changed more of the status quo, killed, updated and advanced more characters in these three volumes than I would have thought possible.

The overriding answer to the question: is it worth it? is yes, this is a true universe changing event, and considering all the different balls that they had up in the air: Galactus, the Nova Corps, Annihilus, Thanos, the Kyln, Moondragon, the Kree, the Skrulls, Phyla-Vell, Quasar, Drax the Destroyer and all the heralds of Galactus, they actually make everything work. And I really didn't think that was possible.

I went on for a while while reviewing the second collection of Annihilation about the shift in the Silver Surfer, and how this giant cosmic comic book story was working on both macro and micro character arcs. How else is it supposed to be? There are quiet moments here (Ronan the Accuser being so impressed with Nova that he extends the ultimate compliment: that if Richard Rider were Kree, that he would call him brother. And he doesn't even call him a "pink". I still doubt that he would have extended the same courtesy to Mar-Vell.) to balance out the large ones: Galactus being toppled by Aegis and Tenebrous, imprisoned to Annihilus, and his subsequent rage when he is freed.

Importantly, we find out here just why Thanos of Titan allies himself with Annihilus, and what he finally decides to do when it is time for him to act. As important as the Surfer returning to Galactus' service, is the culmination of Drax's vengence. Fulfilling Chronos' destiny for him, on the quest since 1972, Drax finally slays Thanos. It is a monumental moment in the Marvel Universe.

Thanos, as a villian, always was the most dangerous that Marvel had: as powerful, cunning and ruthless as Darksied, his were always the grander plans, whether with the Cosmic Cube, the Infinity Gauntlet, or disrupting the 5000 year rule of the Magus. Here, however, he is outfoxed, and when he finally decides to act we are thrown for a loop. Instead of ingaging Annihilus directly, he acts to free Galactus, and leaves himself vulnerable to the Destroyer. A battle between Annihilus and Thanos would have been, lets face, would be a fanboy's cosmic dream. But instead Drax achieves his vengence at the cost of almost losing us the war against the Annihilus. Thanos' weakness is during his moment of doing good, releasing Galactus to save our universe. It is a story moment worthy of the Greek Myths, worthy of Starlin himself.

As with any opera staged on such a big tableau, there are a ton of loose ends, and therein lie all the next stories, but we leave the book at the right moment: we know that Ronan has taken control of the Kree Empire, that Nova, for all his losses in the war, will stay out in space, sole possessor of the Xandarian Nova Force, we know which heralds of Galactus have lived, which have died, we know that Phyla-Vell has become the new possessor of the Quantum Bands and, thus, the new Quasar. We have seen the old universal order vastly changed.

And, best of all, there is no dreaded "reset" button, and so, we are satisfied. A mammoth story, well told, and with no cheats, no easy outs for any of our characters. And as I said in my review of the first book, I never understood the notion that "science fiction doesn't sell" in comics. This is exactly the sort of star-spanning saga that comics do amazingly well. Well done, well done. Considering all the ancient and incidental characters that they dug up just to prove that they'd done their homework (Paibok, the Space Parasite, the Space Knights, Blastaar, Talos the Untamed, Tana Nile) one wonders just who didn't make the cut during the brainstorming sessions: Jack of Hearts anyone? I mean, come on, Tana Nile? Wow.

This is, without a doubt, the best cosmic saga of its kind. Period.

In Review Of: Annihilation Book Two

There are, for the sake of argument, and the belief that you actually enjoy the Cosmic Space Opera that is Annihilation, a few things that are worth remembering: one, that it is the concepts that are the most powerful things here, the ideas that no matter how much we know, there will always be more behind the veil for us to learn. Galactus was founded on Kirby's desire for the FF to meet God, but even now that we know that Galactus is the cosmic conscience, that he is the sole survivor of the prior universe, it merely allows him to tell us, “There are things that we don’t know.”

The Silver Surfer here is treated with importance and deference due to a being of his stature. But the Surfer has always been problematic. Trying to reconcile the different versions of the character has put writers in a bind, especially if they adhere to the whiny Stan Lee version of the character. Kirby’s take on the Surfer in the FF was of a being that had lost his humanity out there among the stars, and would start to find its way back while trapped on earth. Stan’s emo Surfer was already human, so achingly so, that he needed, no matter what, to get away from it all. All later writers, Englehart and Starlin included, have tried to reconcile the different versions.

But somewhere in there, we lost the majesty of the silver god that flew down in the pages of Fantastic Four #48. He was from far beyond the stars, and carried himself as such.

But here is something different. In the surfer’s four issue series, the Surfer doesn’t wish to fight Annihilus until provoked by Gabriel the Air Walker’s destruction at the hands of his negative zone counterparts, Ravenous and his seekers. But once provoked, we see how far from the former Norrin Radd this Surfer is. An experienced citizen of the cosmos, he marshals his forces, makes plans with the other heralds that haven’t been rounded up yet and starts to take his place in the cosmic scheme of things.

Because, of course, it is not just Annihilus that we have to worry about. (Since, really, Annihilus and his kind would not really be able to stand up to the combined power of three heralds of Galactus.) The Kiln, a prison built in a collapsing star by an architect unknown even to Galactus, has let loose the elders Tenebrous and Aegis, and they have a fight to pick with Galactus.

The Surfer makes the decision to talk to Galactus, and to take his part in the fight. And here is the interesting part. As they talk, we realize that the Surfer is the favored herald of Galactus, that here was an ordinary man given power by a God from beyond this universe. And for all that power, he had still suffered his God’s displeasure.

The Surfer that we’ve been used to seeing, with the Power Cosmic, was not the being of Fantastic Four #48. That was a different Surfer, one in full favor of his God and Master. And with a few pages of dialogue, the Surfer returns to work with Galactus.

And is forgiven.

Say it with me. The Surfer has been forgiven. Because if the Surfer’s story is one of finding his humanity after his fall, this is his story reconciliation with God, with his sacrifice, this time without the moral manipulation that was masterminded by Starlin as a retcon, and power of that submission and reconciliation. It is a moment when Ravenous realizes that he’s screwed. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he knows it.

And really, in the other two mini series collected here, we begin to understand that reconciliation is the true theme here. Super Skrull and Ronin both take part in their own stories, pawns to set up like pieces on the Grandmaster’s cosmic chess board, and they both seek their own reconciliation among their people. It is a powerful theme to exert as the key character component since it leads us to see that there should be real and fundamental changes to the characters in the finale.

The Surfer stories, which are the rirst four of the book, and clearly the strongest part, are by Keith Giffen and Renato Arlem. Giffen, for all the Ambush bug goofiness, has the strongest grasp on what makes space opera work since Jim Starlin. This was clear years and years ago by the Legion of Superheroes #50, where 6 or 7 of the Legionaires were kidnapped by the Time Trapper and taken to the end of time. For a comic of it's era, it was as bleak and brutal in its treatment of its heroes as it could be. And considering how the Legion writers had pretty much put themselves in a bind over the years with the Trapper, Giffen came up with a more than novel way to finally end the Trapper and his danger. It was a brilliant ending, and showed Keith's gift for the inventive plotting and use of continuity. Here, we have the same thing. Including Thanos again introducing himself into the proceedings.

True science fiction has operated as an outside view in the character of man, and instead of the obvious, the path tread here is far more interesting. I'm fascinated, intrigued and ready for the final volume in the series.