Annihilation: Prologue

 

In 2008, Marvel launched Guardians of the Galaxy, the second volume of a title that started back in the 70s. This time, with a new line-up that would eventually become the definitive cast of characters. This new series was the direct result of two enormous cross-over events that had taken place in the previous two years: Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest. In order to properly enjoy the 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy series by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, I will be starting my reviews from the beginning of the first Annihilation event.

It should be noted that the Guardians are not the major players in this story, as they have not been established yet. It does, however, prominently feature the Nova Corps, Ronan the Accuser, and Thanos, characters who are going to be playing a large part of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, or at least, the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, and their actions are what influence Star-Lord to assemble the Guardians in the first place. So, it seemed like the best place to start.

Strap in, everybody. It's going to be a long journey. You can check out my first, spoiler-filled review after the break.



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"Annihilation Day" by Keith Giffen and Scott Kolins

Out in the far reaches of space sit the Kyln Moons, a massive energy source for the universe, which also doubles as a maximum security, death penalty exclusive prison. This is ground zero for Annihilation Day. A fleet of warships known as The Annihilation Wave arrive through "The Crunch," the area of space where the Negative Zone and the Universe meet.

Seven days later, we meet the hero of our story: Richard Rider, a Centaurian in the Nova Corps, a peacekeeping group of intergalactic space cops. The Corps, located in the Xandar Cluster, has begun rallying its troops since the Kyln Moon attack.

Meanwhile, a prisoner charged with the murder of 200,000 Skrulls, is being released from custody. His name is Drax, aka “The Destroyer.” Since the Corps cannot prove that he is Drax, he is being let go. These days, Drax belongs to a young girl named Cammi.

While the Nova Corps officers are briefed on the Kyln situation, specifically the freed inmates, and the subsequent potential for pandemonium, they are suddenly attacked by the same forces that attacked the Kyln Moons.

Drax and Cammi manage to commandeer an escape pod while Rider and the rest of the Nova Corps wage an all-out war on their attackers. Despite their best efforts, though, Xandar is completely destroyed along with all of its people, except, of course, Richard Rider, the last of the Nova Corps.

Twelve days after Annihilation Day, in the Kree/Skrull systems, where a war between the two races has been brewing, a Kree known as Ronan the Accuser is arrested by his own people for treason.

Fifteen days after Annihilation Day, the Silver Surfer, close to where Xandar used to be, notices that something’s not quite right.

Elsewhere, in the Kree System, word is spreading of the Kyln, as well as the rumor of a super weapon called “the Harvester of Sorrors” that is wiping out entire Skrull planets.

Finally, in the Verge System, where all sentient life has been wiped out, we meet our villain.

Wow. What a massive issue. There's so much going on, I don't even know where to start. Okay, well, clearly Richard Rider is the heart of this story. He's an Earth man (of course) not unlike Peter Quill (tall, handsome, somewhat of an outsider, kind of a smart-ass). Unfortunately, that's about all we learn about him in this issue. That, and the fact that he's now the last living member of the Nova Corps.

We also get to see Drax in this issue, even more rough around the edges than I've ever seen him. As a Guardian, he's been capable of a little levity now and then, but here he's a very grim and intimidating figure. At some point, I'm sure these two will get together, and it may not necessarily be pretty. After all, Rider's a cop, and Drax is an escaped prisoner. Needless to say, I can't wait.

Aside from that, we get little glimpses of other character who will come into play over the course of the series (Ronan, Silver Surfer, Thanos, and, of course, Annihilus), but the highlight of this particular issue is the massive amounts of destruction. I mean, this issue was 40 pages long, and almost half of it was stuff getting destroyed. It was like, Man of Steel levels of destruction. The damn Nova Corps was completely obliterated in a day. That's hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people, for all we know. With the Corps gone, it will be interesting to see who will step up to fill the void alongside Rider.

Now, this is the very beginning of a very large arc, so I can forgive the lack of substance in favor of style. The purpose of the issue is to grab your attention and, I mean, they've got me. But what I can't forgive is the really terrible artwork by Scott Kolins. I mean, some of it is okay, some of it's pretty horrendous, and, I suppose my biggest problem with it is the inconsistency. The big battles were drawn well enough, but a lot of the Nova Corps look really sloppy, and Drax's size is constantly in flux. Sometimes, he looks like a normal-sized muscular guy, other times, he looks like the Hulk. Fortunately, though, he didn't do any of the art for the Annihilation: Nova series, which is up next, so I won't have to stare at Kolins' work much longer.