Annihilation Conquest: Starlord #4 (Marvel – GIFFEN / GREEN) – Here marks the end of my favorite Annihilation tie in book. From the beginning, Star Lord had a “Dirty Dozen” feel to it and it lasted all the way through to the end. Giffen is the legend in his own time who creates a new team for Marvel that I could see getting their own permanent book. That is, if they survive the rest of the Annihilation story. The biggest revel, that I enjoyed, was the creative use of the Uni-Force. My first exposure to the Uni-Force was back when Spider-Man had the powers for a short time. I thought it was cool then and I think it’s pretty darn cool now.
Grade: A
Annihilation Conquest #1 ( Marvel – ABNETT / RANEY) – Whew, I made it! I’ve gone through the tie-in’s and now it’s time for our heroes to start banning together to fight the Phalanx. We get a little bit of Wraith, Star Lord and his squad are still busy planet Alon-Gim. but do see a whole lotta the new younger Adam Warlock. Quasar and Moondragon take some time to explain to Adam just what the galaxy is going through when they’re interrupted by Phalanx warriors. Adam Warlock powers up and we see what a B.A mo’fo he can be. The one thing I found a bit strange was when Warlock powers up and manifests a costume, I thought it looked like a off-color clone of DC’s Shazam/Captain Marvel costume. After a bit of research (thank you Wikipedia) I found that his costume has some things in common with a character called The Magus. The Magus is future, evil, version of Adam Warlock. If this plays into the Annihilation storyline remains to be seen.
The big reveal of the first issue (SPOILER ALERT!!) was seeing who is the one pulling the strings of the Phalanx. When I think of a technological villain in the Marvel universe who wants to enslave all biological sentients AND has ties to the Avengers, it’s a wonder I didn’t see it coming sooner. Ultron is back and on some Phalanx powered techo-steroids! I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
A quick word on the art….AWESOME!! Tom Raney and the rest of the art team turn out one of the best looking books I’ve seen in months. It’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen in a long time.
Grade: A+
