GALACTUS, AND SURFER AND SKRULLS - OH MY! ABNETT & LANNING ON NOVA

**MattBrady** · 04-10-2008, 06:24 PM

by Vaneta Rogers

Now that Nova's role in Annihilation: Conquest is wrapping up, fans of the cosmic hero may think Rider's going to get a nice, cushy rest for awhile. Maybe a vacation in the mountains of Ego the Living Planet or some time at the beach without a bucket on his head.

Yeah, right.

Beginning with Nova #13 in May, not only is Nova right back in the thick of things, but he's going up against the Power Cosmic as everyone's favorite world-eater returns to the Marvel Universe along with his sleek silver herald.

And before readers assume they know where this is going, be warned that the return of Galactus and Silver Surfer doesn't necessarily mean Nova's just going to be going head to head with the pair. The real threat Nova will be facing is a bizarre and mysterious serial killer who is hindering his rescue of the people on a Galactus-threatened planet -- a killer who takes advantage of the chaos that arises when Silver Surfer and the big man come to town.

And as if that wasn't enough for heroic Richard Rider to tackle, we found out that after this storyline, he'll be knee-deep in another war of worlds as the Nova series ties into Secret Invasion later this summer.

Newsarama talked to Nova series writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning to find out more about the upcoming Galactus story and what readers will see when Nova encounters the Skrull invasion of Earth.

Newsarama: Was this Galactus story something you pitched? How did you come up with the story idea and "sell" it to Marvel?

Dan Abnett: Yes, we pitched it. Nova is a cosmic book, and we thought it would be great if he came face to face with the biggest cosmic thing in the Marvel Universe. Our editor, Bill Rosemann, was also keen to do a Galactus story, as the Big G had not appeared since Annihilation, and he wanted to re-establish Galactus and his activities.

NRAMA: What can you tell us about the story?

Andy Lanning: Without throwing out too many spoilers; Nova tries to help out a doomed world that has fallen prey to Galactus' eternal hunger and finds himself hunting a bizarre serial killer, rescuing as many of the inhabitants as he can and eventually butting heads with The Devourer of Worlds and his highly polished Herald!

NRAMA: How does Nova feel about encountering and dealing with Galactus and Silver Surfer in this story?

DA: We tried to do something a little different. Nova isn’t crazy enough to go after Galactus personally. He’s trying to deal with the effects of Galactus, as if Galactus was more of a natural disaster than a being. Of course, things get out of hand.

NRAMA: Well it makes sense he wouldn't go after him personally, because Galactus is a little out of Nova's league, isn't he?

AL: Somewhat and that's something The Worldmind keeps reminding him! But Richard Rider isn't one to be daunted by a near immortal cosmic entity that eats planets for breakfast and craps nebulas!

NRAMA: Let's talk about "his highly polished Herald." What's important to you about Silver Surfer as you write his appearance in this series and his interactions with Nova?

DA: Nova is powerful. Surfer is very powerful. This is a big cosmic clash. And Surfer is back as the herald of Galactus, and he’s taking that role very seriously, so he’s rather more stern and unforgiving than he used to be. Given the fact that he’s leading Galactus to worlds that Galactus will then devour, he’s almost, dare I say it, not a such a good guy any more.

NRAMA: Uh oh. You said it. But looking at the art, it's got a really distinctive look. As you give directions for the art for this story, are you going for a certain feel?

AL: We were trusting that Wellington could handle the scale and scope of the story. He pulled it off a treat with his stunning realization of Knowhere in Nova and his pages from Annihilation #6 had an awesome epic quality that we knew he'd bring to this story. We're treating Galactus like a force of nature; an inevitable, planetary catastrophe that there is no reasoning with, no bargaining with and no escaping. Wellington's visuals really get across that feeling of cosmic scale disaster as well as creating some high energy action sequences that blast off the page.

NRAMA: What will readers see in Nova after the Galactus storyline?

DA: Secret Invasion! The Skrulls are a cosmic threat -- Nova was bound to get tied up in it.

NRAMA: So for this Secret Invasion tie-in, will Nova be encountering Skrulls on earth, or is the view of Secret Invasion going to be from outer space?

AL: Nova's remit is cosmic in nature, so that's where he will start off, but he's an Earthman and has ties and responsibilities on Earth that he cannot ignore.

NRAMA: Anything else you can tell us about the Secret Invasion tie-in?

DA: Because we’re seeing it from the cosmic angle, the story will be a contrast to the Earth-centric episodes of the fantastic main event. That said, the

Secret Invasion story will take Nova back to Earth.

NRAMA: Will we see Nova encounter the Guardians of the Galaxy now that you two are writing that comic too?

AL: Nova appears in issue #1 and will be bound to show up in future issues, if anything, he owes Cosmo some doggie treats!

NRAMA: Anything else you want to tell us about what's coming up in Nova?

DA: If Nova survives Secret Invasion without any massive physical or psychological trauma, we’re planning a story set on Earth, which will mean a chance to revisit family, old friends and old not-so-friends. It’ll be another dip into Nova’s past, which seems to really please all fans of the Human Rocket.

NeroMan · 04-10-2008, 06:38 PM

Mgith want to fix the front page links to this article if you want people to read it.

I've loved Nova so far.

Come on guys, I need my Death's Head I. Yes?

nemler · 04-10-2008, 06:40 PM

I haven't followed Silver Surfer in a long time. How and when did he get back together with Galactus?

Spidey616 · 04-10-2008, 06:41 PM

YES! The Skrulls don't have a chance

Hopefully this means there's a greater possibility of a return of a more traditional New Warriors team.

Vintage · 04-10-2008, 06:43 PM

Those covers are spectacular.

alaska1125 · 04-10-2008, 06:44 PM

Wow! That image of Nova and Galactus is really good. That's the kind of scale I would expect...huge and cosmicy. I'm looking forward to these issues. More people need to read this book.

Michael Heide · 04-10-2008, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Now that is a powerful cover...

NeroMan · 04-10-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemler

I haven't followed Silver Surfer in a long time. How and when did he get back together with Galactus?

joined up with Galactus during his annihilation miniseries.

Poolman · 04-10-2008, 06:49 PM

My god.
This book can't get any better!

alaska1125 · 04-10-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemler

I haven't followed Silver Surfer in a long time. How and when did he get back together with Galactus?

"Annihilation: Silver Surfer
Ultimately, the Surfer elects to return to Galactus as his herald in order to help protect Galactus from Annihilus' attacks and preserve Galactus's role as a necessary element in the balance of the universe. The Surfer easily defeats an entire attacking fleet, as well as the Seekers' leader, Ravenous; but despite Galactus' insistence, the Surfer refuses to kill Ravenous."

Quoted from a wikipedia entry.

KirkWarren · 04-10-2008, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemler

I haven't followed Silver Surfer in a long time. How and when did he get back together with Galactus?

Back in the first Annihilation. Wikipedia probably have a better account of it, but two primordial beings like Galactus were freed when the Annihilation Wave came through. They put the beat down on Galactus and Surfer was taking beat downs from Ravanous, etc. They reconciled, it was good and he heralded his rage (youll know what I mean if someone posts a scan). So hes only been with him about a year or so now.

As for Nova, he should just put Surfer in an armbar and call it a day.

Seriously, though, been waiting for this since they first solicited it. Not too thrilled wiht the Secret Invasion tie-ins though. Nova was just getting a chance to stand on its own and now it's back to tie-in after tie-in status.

rdrsfn82 · 04-10-2008, 06:50 PM

I'm very excited about everything they are talking about in this interview. I can't wait for Nova to show up on Earth again, but I'm more excited to see Galactus and the Surfer.

GohanWinner · 04-10-2008, 07:02 PM

Honestly I think this may be one of my favorite cover images ever.

http://i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Nova/13/Nova.jpg

Maleev · 04-10-2008, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GohanWinner

Honestly I think this may be one of my favorite cover images ever.

http://i.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Nova/13/Nova.jpg

Thank you kindly.

Marvel Man · 04-10-2008, 07:12 PM

I can't say enough about how great this book is. Stellar writing & art, just a fun book to read.

tridon · 04-10-2008, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maleev

Thank you kindly.

Mr. Maleev, you truly are a god. I can't wait to see you on a monthly series again... all these covers you've been doing are torture! Oh well, guess I'll just keep re-reading my back-issues of Daredevil and The Crow: Dead Time until I get me some Spider-Woman.

Nathan Jewell · 04-10-2008, 07:25 PM

Okay, I realize that I am one of the three people on earth who enjoyed Force Works back in the day. Abnett and Lanning were the writers on that series and gave us a new character who I feel has been severely underused and is in need of a makeover.

Where is Century? He is a character with a lot of potential. He may only live to be 100 years old, but we have no idea how old he is, and we have no idea how long 100 years of his lifespan is in comparison to earth years (as a reference, it takes 248 earth years for 1 year on the planet Pluto). The character has a huge memory lapse so it is entirely possible the character has been around for 1000's of Earth years.

The collector storyline introduced a lot of other alien races as well and I thought the sci-fi nature of those stories in Force Works were a lot of fun. With their maturity as a writing team, I have a feeling that Abnett and Lanning could make Century a heavy hitter..

And where better for him to appear than in Nova or Guardians of the Galaxy!

Come on Abnett and Lanning, don't let this old fan down!

EDIT:

I am also waiting to see Nova go up against the Sphinx again. I loved the old Time and Time again series as well as the Starlost. Nova is my second favorite character with Adam Warlock being the first. Abnett and Lanning are making me a very happy fan right now.

Please dont stop with the space opera epics either. They are a LOT of fun.

Moose100 · 04-10-2008, 07:27 PM

No slight to Bendis and his Spiderwoman book but Maleev should definately provide art on Nova!!

Maleev · 04-10-2008, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tridon

Mr. Maleev, you truly are a god. I can't wait to see you on a monthly series again... all these covers you've been doing are torture! Oh well, guess I'll just keep re-reading my back-issues of Daredevil and The Crow: Dead Time until I get me some Spider-Woman.

I am looking forward to SW myself. Must get HALO done first, one more issue left.

BanMan · 04-10-2008, 07:29 PM

That Alves art is amazing. He's definitely destined for big things at Marvel.

hamgravy · 04-10-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vintage

Those covers are spectacular.

I would love for the interiors to be the same

I normally don't let that bother me, but Nova's cover artists (Granov. Maleev) have produced work that is cosmic and poetic in a way I just don't feel from the relatively solid, but old-fashioned, interiors.

Gordon Lee · 04-10-2008, 07:33 PM

IMO, Nova has been a really good book - then again I ending DnA's the Legion waaay back when too!

si, rodrigo · 04-10-2008, 07:34 PM

Wow, those images are just beautiful. Most of the time Galactus comes across as this giant man in a suit but those covers just capture him perfectly.

Wow.

Kudos to the artist.

hamgravy · 04-10-2008, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maleev

Thank you kindly.

Nice to see you hone your space chops after the street and grit on DD.

alaska1125 · 04-10-2008, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan Jewell

EDIT:

I am also waiting to see Nova go up against the Sphinx again. I loved the old Time and Time again series as well as the Starlost. Nova is my second favorite character with Adam Warlock being the first. Abnett and Lanning are making me a very happy fan right now.

Please dont stop with the space opera epics either. They are a LOT of fun.

I second that request for the Sphinx. These guys could come up with a great stroryline with him and hey, he was Nova's big bad back in the day.