Now tying Annihilation’s sequel - Conquest - the first Nova Annual finds Richard Rider reliving his past and perhaps pre-living his future on the threshold of succumbing to a Phalanx infection. His origin story sets him pretty far from Green Lantern - though selected as the similar successor for Nova Rhomann Dey, he blows a hole in his wall when his powers first manifest.

Most interesting is Rhomann Dey’s proclamation that Novas specifically select the most typical - as opposed to the most special - of each race to form the “bedrock” of the Corps, cutting to the core of what makes Nova so interested - that at the end of the day he’s just a kid from Long Island.

The rest of the issue is basically a Phalanx-laced vision of the dream - as Richard dreams of reinstating the Corps and living to a ripe old age of 68 and witnessing the Nova’s final battle against the last Phalanx stronghold - Earth. Most of it is probably fantasy, as Richard later finds the virus toying with his mind, but I wonder if perhaps not all of it is false, as the original (and now dead) Quasar turns up made of light and says “That’s a long story.” Is that a long story we may one day read on the pages of Nova? We can only hope.

Now onto this week’s comics.

Back to the Future writer Bob Gale comes to the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #552, but is even his noteworthy talents enough to save Brand New Day? To be fair, the revamp has been going slightly better than expected - some fans are still crying foul for rendering nearly twenty years of character development null, but the other plot twists have got people interested - for now. Can Gale succeed where so many other writers have failed and actually sustain a decent Spider-Man story, without the help of hype and cliffhangers? We can only hope.

Cable #1 picks up right where Messiah Complex left off, as the time-traveling mutants leaps through time portal after time portal with the world’s first post-M mutant baby in tow. Rumor has it Bishop survived the events of Messiah Complex though, and is hot on his trail to eliminate what he thinks is the reason behind his future’s horrible existence.

The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is part two of Stephen King’s Gunslinger prequel, and having read the first dynamite installment, I have to say this one looks ever more worth the read. With King producing, Peter David and Robin Furth writing and Jae Lee (Inhumans) and Richard Isanove (1602) on art, this is simply a must for any comic book fan.

If you for some reason thought there was too little Wolverine in comics today between X-Men, X-Force, Wolverine, Wolverine: Origins and New Avengers, well, now there’s Logan. But this book is written by Brian K. Vaughan (Runaways) with art by Eduardo Risso (Hundred Bullets) - that last bit alone is worth price of admission!

If you want to buy into Marvel’s Secret Invasion hype (and there’s no reason we shouldn’t . . . or should), you can check out Secret Invasion Saga #1, which has Tony Stark (apparently the only confirmed non-Skrull) trying to put together the pieces of the Secret Invasion over the last couple years. Take it for what its worth.

Uncanny X-Men #496 is interesting, as Divided We Stand - the first post Messiah Complex read - debuts with its second issue. San Franciso has been completely transformed into a groovy version of the 1960’s, and Angel has become a hippie. Emma Frost and Scott Summers try to lure him back to reality - without falling victim to the period as well. Not the Messiah Complex follow-up I was expected, but that may be a good thing - as MC was running a bit low on creativity and too high on plot. Like Brand New Day, I’m willing to bite - for now.

And of course, X-Force #2 just looks awesome as the team sinks their teeth/claws/knives into the mutant-hunting Purifiers, who also reared their hateful heads during Messiah Complex. A lot of hacking and slashing - do I really need to say any more?

On the DC side, Teen Titans creator Marv Wolfman is penning a mini-series about one of his most complex creation - Raven. The whole thing also ties into the events of Infinite Crisis - and the whereabouts of the deceased Psycho Pirate’s infamous Medusa Mask.

Green Lantern #28 involves the Lost Lanterns - the Green Lanterns injured by the Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan but later recovered - who must now stand trial after killing one of the members of the Sinestro Corps. In twenty-eight issues, Green Lantern has never failed to surprise.

Amy Wolfram’s Teen Titans: Year One is one book I really need to pick up. It just looks fun, and there’s a pathetic amount of that in comics today . . . especially in DC!

That’s all for this week - see ya next week with some more reviews. I’ve got the Marvel Knights trade of Multiple Man (better known as X-Factor #0) coming in the mail soon. Expect reviews soon!

If you liked that, try...

1. Comic Rundown: Nova Still Rocks and Captain Marvel’s a Skrull
2. Comic Rundown: Mr. Freeze Strikes Midwest
3. Comic Rundown: Will the Crossovers Never End?!
4. Comic Rundown: Marvel Gets Dark and Dirty
5. Comic Rundown: Skrulls Down Right

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