What do you think?
Rate this book
Annihilation: Conquest #1
Annihilation: Conquest, Book One
The next sci-fi epic blasts off here! In the grim aftermath of the Annihilation War, a devastated universe struggles to rebuild. Gripped by fear and paranoia, civilizations have collapsed and entire worlds are now smoking ruins. What is next for the battle weary heroes known as Nova, Peter Quill, and Quasar? What are Ronan's plans for the once-mighty Kree Empire? Which cosmic characters of the past are about to return? Who is the new hero approaching on the horizon? And what is the new threat that no one suspects? Collects Conquest Prologue, Conquest - Quasar #1-4, Conquest - Starlord #1-4, and Annihilation Saga.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 6, 2008
29 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
November 24, 2016
This volume collects an Annihilation: Conquest prologue one-shot and two A:C prelude mini-series: Quasar and Star-Lord. The prologue issue was just a set-up issue and pretty forgettable (the galaxy is still reeling from Annihilus' invasion when, who should turn up but the Phalanx! Remember them from the X-Men books?), but to take the two mini-series one at a time:
Quasar:
This isn't the original (and current) Quasar, Wendell Vaughan, but rather Phyla-Vell, the original Captain Mar-Vell's daughter, who has taken on the quantum bands and the Quasar moniker while Vaughan is spending time 'dead'. It's all very angsty and overblown and also featured Moondragon, a character I've never cared for. It also climaxes with the return of , another character I absolutely cannot stand. Overall, not a winner for me. 2 stars
Star-Lord :
Here we have the only thing that makes this collection worth reading. This Star-Lord mini-series has Peter Quill, torn by guilt over his role in accidentally helping the Phalanx begin their invasion, being forced by the Kree into leading a ragtag team of misfits in a secret mission against the Phalanx. This team features ex-Avengers Mantis and Deathcry, Bug (from the Micronauts), the current Captain Universe, Rocket Raccoon and Groot. (Groot's speaking normal English in this book and acting like a complete buttheads which is weird. I'm not sure how he goes from this to the verbally-impaired and kindhearted soul we know and love but I'm hoping it'll be explained in the next volume.) They're not quite the Guardians of the Galaxy yet, but the seed has certainly been planted with this pre-GOTG team. It's a great little mini with great artwork and I'd recommend it to any GOTG fan. 4 stars
Overall mark for this collection: 3 stars but don't ask to see my sums.
Edited on 24/11/16 because I realised the A:C Wraith mini-series wasn't in this collection. I am an idiot.
Quasar:
This isn't the original (and current) Quasar, Wendell Vaughan, but rather Phyla-Vell, the original Captain Mar-Vell's daughter, who has taken on the quantum bands and the Quasar moniker while Vaughan is spending time 'dead'. It's all very angsty and overblown and also featured Moondragon, a character I've never cared for. It also climaxes with the return of , another character I absolutely cannot stand. Overall, not a winner for me. 2 stars
Star-Lord :
Here we have the only thing that makes this collection worth reading. This Star-Lord mini-series has Peter Quill, torn by guilt over his role in accidentally helping the Phalanx begin their invasion, being forced by the Kree into leading a ragtag team of misfits in a secret mission against the Phalanx. This team features ex-Avengers Mantis and Deathcry, Bug (from the Micronauts), the current Captain Universe, Rocket Raccoon and Groot. (Groot's speaking normal English in this book and acting like a complete buttheads which is weird. I'm not sure how he goes from this to the verbally-impaired and kindhearted soul we know and love but I'm hoping it'll be explained in the next volume.) They're not quite the Guardians of the Galaxy yet, but the seed has certainly been planted with this pre-GOTG team. It's a great little mini with great artwork and I'd recommend it to any GOTG fan. 4 stars
Overall mark for this collection: 3 stars but don't ask to see my sums.
Edited on 24/11/16 because I realised the A:C Wraith mini-series wasn't in this collection. I am an idiot.
July 26, 2017
Comic books like these is reason I mostly stick to Image comics and Dark horse. DC and Marvel at this point can get worse than soap operas (honor to exceptions as both have so really great comics). There is so much character recycling and no one really dies. Everybody can just pop out no meter what happened previously. While first annihilation had crappy storyline with some genuinely good parts, Annihilation conquest has story so far up it's ass it consists entirely of stuff that turned to shit long time ago.
April 28, 2014
Collections like these are almost always jarring - rarely are the creators of disparate stories on equal footing, making the better suffer and the lesser look even lesser next to the master.
Even worse, the mini-intro done by Abnett & Lanning just further embarrasses the lesser here.
AC: Starlord
This is one of the best Giffen books I've read lately - just as self-aware, self-deprecating and snarky as ever, and contains one of the best catch-the-reader-up intro sequences (and "getting a gang together" walkthroughs) I've read in ages. I should really be doing a thesis study of Giffen's technique here, because he makes it all look so easy and yet I've wailed on and on about how poorly this gets done by so many other creators.
Great wonky team: Raccoon is a bitter short dude, Groot is an indignant arrogant brute, Starlord is a self-deprecating bastard, Mantis is aloof, Bug reminds me of Ant-Man and Captain Universe is a putz.
Giffen & team create a great little adventure and set up the main action well. Onwards!
The art in here is remarkable. Another example of off-center style, I'm having hard time placing it or objectively rating it. Looks good, suits the mood Giffen sets, and contributes well to the storytelling. Great character renditions.
AC: Quasar
What is wrong with me? I know up front that this is another work by Christos Gage, yet I willingly dive in? I think I need to take this up with my therapist - there's no way this is a healthy way to treat myself.
I mean, come on Gage - do you really believe this kind of writing is your best work? Is this the level of effort you put into all your comics writing? Or are you just so comfortable writing for syndie TV that you'll drool out this same over-explained drivel for every gig?
I think Gage must've had his mind frozen at grade school, because he adores Show *And* Tell. Why let the artist convey anything when you can hammer the point home with a few superfluous sentences as well?
Take the battle with the Super-Adaptoid. Every move he makes, he telegraphs by saying - out loud, seemingly to himself - "Switching to long-range attack. Subject: Hawkeye." And then the artist has the meaningless task of filling in a panel with an illustration of the SA transforming his outward appearance to resemble...Hawkeye. It's really quite amazing what Marvel editorial will pay for. They should give these creators half-pay when they turn in the same work twice.
To me, it's not that it would be easy to let the reader know what SA is doing with fewer or no words, but that Gage doesn't even try. It's like the first ten-minute draft of the script is the one he turns in every time, and from what I remember of his Nerdist interview, he's pretty much proud of this kind of work "ethic".
It just occurred to me: perhaps Gage has never learned how to give instructions to the artist that aren't captured in the dialogue. Maybe he needs a new scripting app?
It also occurs to me that maybe I *do* secretly enjoy ripping on this guy - which probably says more about me than him. Like maybe I see Gage as the nearest analogue to my own writing abilities, and thus hammer on him as hard as I would criticize myself if this was the best I was able to craft.
For all my bitching about the dialogue, I gotta admit there's some fun plot ideas going on here. Leveraging Moondragon's sordid past? Super Adaptoid using Quasar's powers against her? A series of odd details towards a Saviour who reveals at the climax? Really, must admit the overall plot worked well enough to hopefully pave a path for better writers to capitalize on this story.
I have no complaints about the artwork here either. The style (rough-hewn, kinetic) is a nice change from the more popular super-realistic, ultra-clean digital work these days, and some of the scenes (especially a couple of double-page spreads) are beautiful enough to make me stop and drink them in.
Just one more question:
Overall: 5 for Starlord, 3 for Quasar (and that's being generous).
Even worse, the mini-intro done by Abnett & Lanning just further embarrasses the lesser here.
AC: Starlord
This is one of the best Giffen books I've read lately - just as self-aware, self-deprecating and snarky as ever, and contains one of the best catch-the-reader-up intro sequences (and "getting a gang together" walkthroughs) I've read in ages. I should really be doing a thesis study of Giffen's technique here, because he makes it all look so easy and yet I've wailed on and on about how poorly this gets done by so many other creators.
Great wonky team: Raccoon is a bitter short dude, Groot is an indignant arrogant brute, Starlord is a self-deprecating bastard, Mantis is aloof, Bug reminds me of Ant-Man and Captain Universe is a putz.
Giffen & team create a great little adventure and set up the main action well. Onwards!
The art in here is remarkable. Another example of off-center style, I'm having hard time placing it or objectively rating it. Looks good, suits the mood Giffen sets, and contributes well to the storytelling. Great character renditions.
AC: Quasar
What is wrong with me? I know up front that this is another work by Christos Gage, yet I willingly dive in? I think I need to take this up with my therapist - there's no way this is a healthy way to treat myself.
I mean, come on Gage - do you really believe this kind of writing is your best work? Is this the level of effort you put into all your comics writing? Or are you just so comfortable writing for syndie TV that you'll drool out this same over-explained drivel for every gig?
I think Gage must've had his mind frozen at grade school, because he adores Show *And* Tell. Why let the artist convey anything when you can hammer the point home with a few superfluous sentences as well?
Take the battle with the Super-Adaptoid. Every move he makes, he telegraphs by saying - out loud, seemingly to himself - "Switching to long-range attack. Subject: Hawkeye." And then the artist has the meaningless task of filling in a panel with an illustration of the SA transforming his outward appearance to resemble...Hawkeye. It's really quite amazing what Marvel editorial will pay for. They should give these creators half-pay when they turn in the same work twice.
To me, it's not that it would be easy to let the reader know what SA is doing with fewer or no words, but that Gage doesn't even try. It's like the first ten-minute draft of the script is the one he turns in every time, and from what I remember of his Nerdist interview, he's pretty much proud of this kind of work "ethic".
It just occurred to me: perhaps Gage has never learned how to give instructions to the artist that aren't captured in the dialogue. Maybe he needs a new scripting app?
It also occurs to me that maybe I *do* secretly enjoy ripping on this guy - which probably says more about me than him. Like maybe I see Gage as the nearest analogue to my own writing abilities, and thus hammer on him as hard as I would criticize myself if this was the best I was able to craft.
For all my bitching about the dialogue, I gotta admit there's some fun plot ideas going on here. Leveraging Moondragon's sordid past? Super Adaptoid using Quasar's powers against her? A series of odd details towards a Saviour who reveals at the climax? Really, must admit the overall plot worked well enough to hopefully pave a path for better writers to capitalize on this story.
I have no complaints about the artwork here either. The style (rough-hewn, kinetic) is a nice change from the more popular super-realistic, ultra-clean digital work these days, and some of the scenes (especially a couple of double-page spreads) are beautiful enough to make me stop and drink them in.
Just one more question:
Overall: 5 for Starlord, 3 for Quasar (and that's being generous).
March 15, 2017
Annihilation: Conquest is an event from 2007 that follows the Annihilation event, showing the aftermath of the Kree war with Annihilus and the sneak attack of the techno-organic race known as the Phalanx. The Phalanx seals off Kree space and it's up to various heroes to try to put a dent in the Phalanx's goal of assimilating all life into their collective. One miniseries follows Quasar and Moondragon as they dodge the Super-Adaptoid and attempt to find the "savior" who Quasar is being directed to telepathically, and another follows Peter Quill as he is put in charge of a suicide squad (which includes other notable future Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket and Groot) with a mission to shut down a device that would disperse the Phalanx virus throughout the galaxy.
Pretty fun space opera, as Annihilation was before it. This story differs in that the heroes are separated and in severe underdog positions, struggling almost futilely to make a dent in the overwhelming Phalanx onslaught. I liked Phyla-Vell and Moondragon questing together, but more fun was seeing Quill and his Wild Bunch as a proto-Guardians of the Galaxy team struggling to work together effectively.
Pretty fun space opera, as Annihilation was before it. This story differs in that the heroes are separated and in severe underdog positions, struggling almost futilely to make a dent in the overwhelming Phalanx onslaught. I liked Phyla-Vell and Moondragon questing together, but more fun was seeing Quill and his Wild Bunch as a proto-Guardians of the Galaxy team struggling to work together effectively.
August 27, 2021
Luckily Starlord Mini and Nova saved this collection.
So this is mostly all build up to a mind control plot that...to be honest isn't nearly as captivating as Annihilation. This is only in name, as none of the big plot points from the original happen, least not yet. But most of the stories in here can be read by themselves without any big connection. That, I assume, will mostly be in part 2.
The Starlord Mini is basically the build towards a guardians of the galaxy type team. Except they're so offbeat, it feels more like Suicide Squad in space at first. Which actually works and is pretty fun. Besides the plot itself not being all that original, the chemistry between the characters was really solid. The Nova storyline is good too, helps build up the threat really well.
The Quaser or whatever storyline is SO boring I almost fell asleep twice. I couldn't even bother after issue 3 not to skim over it.
But yeah, this is okay. While not nearly as good as the original event, but let's see how book 2 holds up.
So this is mostly all build up to a mind control plot that...to be honest isn't nearly as captivating as Annihilation. This is only in name, as none of the big plot points from the original happen, least not yet. But most of the stories in here can be read by themselves without any big connection. That, I assume, will mostly be in part 2.
The Starlord Mini is basically the build towards a guardians of the galaxy type team. Except they're so offbeat, it feels more like Suicide Squad in space at first. Which actually works and is pretty fun. Besides the plot itself not being all that original, the chemistry between the characters was really solid. The Nova storyline is good too, helps build up the threat really well.
The Quaser or whatever storyline is SO boring I almost fell asleep twice. I couldn't even bother after issue 3 not to skim over it.
But yeah, this is okay. While not nearly as good as the original event, but let's see how book 2 holds up.
August 31, 2020
So now that the Annihilation wave is over, people are trying to repair their worlds and try to get back to how things were. Ronan has tasked Starlord with fixing their defenses. Unfortunately, he is bamboozled and a new enemy has injected a virus in the tech and it has taken over. This virus has also infected all of the Kree, making them blindly follow this enemy who’s goal is to do the same with the rest of the universe. Here we get to see the Guardians of the Galaxy the world has come to love from the movies, even tho they are not calling themselves that yet. I really enjoyed seeing the team be selected and come together. The Quasar story has Phyla-Vel and Moondragon tasked with a mission to find someone who will be able to help them in their conquest. Really enjoyed the chemistry between Phyla and Heather here. I’ve been having a blast reading through Marvels great cosmic epic and looking forward for Conquest vol 2.
May 19, 2015
Really enjoyed Star Lord #1-#4... great stuff, great character (PETER QUILL FTW) & I really like the art (clean lines just do it for me - lel). Also... Rocket Racoon is GREAT! And Groot is... verbose! Different from their GotG movie versions (Star Lord too)... but definitely no less terrific! Cannot wait to get to the first volume of GotG. Lel.
The Quasar books were okay... didn't enjoy them as much as the Star Lord books though. Haha.
The Quasar books were okay... didn't enjoy them as much as the Star Lord books though. Haha.
April 1, 2022
Eu acho que a Aniquilação original é uma das melhores histórias da Marvel dos últimos 600 anos, com certeza é a melhor história cósmica da Marvel, e Aniquilação: Conquista é a sua continuação direta.
Tudo começa quando o Starlord - uma breve explicação; o Starlord de verdade, guerreiro espacial, salvador do universo, um dos comandantes da resistência, casca grossa, não é o idiotinha imaturo com walkman dos terríveis filmes da Marvel - está trabalhando para atualizar o sistema de defesa kree e recebe uma oferta dos cavaleiros espaciais galadorianos de um update na faixa.
Só tem um problema, os galadorianos foram hackeados pela Falange - aqueles robôs esquisitos dos X-Men - e querem, obviamente, conquistar o universo.
Numa vibe esquadrão suicida, o Starlord - transtornado pela culpa - é comandado pelos krees a limpar a cagada e ganha um esquadrão bastante dispensável: Deathcry, a irmão louca da Imperatriz Lilandra e ex-vingadora; Capitão Universo, um terráqueo aleatório com o poder da Uniforça; Bug, um personagem dos Micronautas que ninguém se lembrava que existia; Mantis, mestre das artes marciais, pele verde e fala em enigmas proféticos; Rocket Raccon, o especialista em armas reclamão e o Groot, um rei sem planeta que sabe falar e não leva desaforo pra casa; ou seja, não tem picas a ver com os filmes. No final a coisa dá mais ou menos certo, com muita ação, aventura, tiroteio, bombas e tudo aquilo que um "Fuga de Hala" teria direito.
Depois temos a mini da Quasar que é bem mais fraquinha, há alguns pontos interessantes: com a morte do Quasar na Aniquilação, Phyla-Vell - filha do Mar-Vell - ficou com os braceletes quânticos ou sei lá e tá tentando provar que pode honrar duas heranças heróicas; ela namora a Serpente da Lua que, em determinado momento, acaba virando um Dragão da Lua ("Moondragon" e "Dragon on the Moon" no original) literal e quer terminar o namoro, a Phyla que não é boba nem nada solta um "Vamos dar uma de Rita Lee e já que não cabemos numa banheira com espuma, fazemos amor por telepatia" e cola; o inimigo é o Super-Adaptóide - dos gibis dos Vingadores - que quer impedir que o salvador da galáxia seja encontrado.
Quem é o salvador?
Treta cósmica na Marvel só tem um salvador; Adãozinho.
No geral é bem legal, especialmente a mini do Starlod com o Giffen no comando, a arte lembra uns games geométricos do Super Nintendo e funciona bem; a mini da Quasar tem uma arte mais tri com dragões cósmicos e o escambau, mas o texto do Gage não é lá essas coisas e fica um pouco chato.
Eu acho que vale a pena, até para ver a "origem" de um dos grupos que mais fez sucesso nos últimos anos, a ideia dos Guardiões começa na Aniquilação e vira algo concreto ao final da Conquista e é destruída na fase do Bendis e nos filmes do gordinho trouxa do Parks & Recreation.
Tudo começa quando o Starlord - uma breve explicação; o Starlord de verdade, guerreiro espacial, salvador do universo, um dos comandantes da resistência, casca grossa, não é o idiotinha imaturo com walkman dos terríveis filmes da Marvel - está trabalhando para atualizar o sistema de defesa kree e recebe uma oferta dos cavaleiros espaciais galadorianos de um update na faixa.
Só tem um problema, os galadorianos foram hackeados pela Falange - aqueles robôs esquisitos dos X-Men - e querem, obviamente, conquistar o universo.
Numa vibe esquadrão suicida, o Starlord - transtornado pela culpa - é comandado pelos krees a limpar a cagada e ganha um esquadrão bastante dispensável: Deathcry, a irmão louca da Imperatriz Lilandra e ex-vingadora; Capitão Universo, um terráqueo aleatório com o poder da Uniforça; Bug, um personagem dos Micronautas que ninguém se lembrava que existia; Mantis, mestre das artes marciais, pele verde e fala em enigmas proféticos; Rocket Raccon, o especialista em armas reclamão e o Groot, um rei sem planeta que sabe falar e não leva desaforo pra casa; ou seja, não tem picas a ver com os filmes. No final a coisa dá mais ou menos certo, com muita ação, aventura, tiroteio, bombas e tudo aquilo que um "Fuga de Hala" teria direito.
Depois temos a mini da Quasar que é bem mais fraquinha, há alguns pontos interessantes: com a morte do Quasar na Aniquilação, Phyla-Vell - filha do Mar-Vell - ficou com os braceletes quânticos ou sei lá e tá tentando provar que pode honrar duas heranças heróicas; ela namora a Serpente da Lua que, em determinado momento, acaba virando um Dragão da Lua ("Moondragon" e "Dragon on the Moon" no original) literal e quer terminar o namoro, a Phyla que não é boba nem nada solta um "Vamos dar uma de Rita Lee e já que não cabemos numa banheira com espuma, fazemos amor por telepatia" e cola; o inimigo é o Super-Adaptóide - dos gibis dos Vingadores - que quer impedir que o salvador da galáxia seja encontrado.
Quem é o salvador?
Treta cósmica na Marvel só tem um salvador; Adãozinho.
No geral é bem legal, especialmente a mini do Starlod com o Giffen no comando, a arte lembra uns games geométricos do Super Nintendo e funciona bem; a mini da Quasar tem uma arte mais tri com dragões cósmicos e o escambau, mas o texto do Gage não é lá essas coisas e fica um pouco chato.
Eu acho que vale a pena, até para ver a "origem" de um dos grupos que mais fez sucesso nos últimos anos, a ideia dos Guardiões começa na Aniquilação e vira algo concreto ao final da Conquista e é destruída na fase do Bendis e nos filmes do gordinho trouxa do Parks & Recreation.
February 27, 2020
So no sooner is the Annihilation Wave ended then the universe is attacked by an even greater threat: The sentient technovirus known as the Phalanx.
This volume shows how it all begins and then focuses on the story of Starlord and the new Quasar, who is the daughter of the original Captain Marvel.
The Starlord story is very interesting as this is basically where the current Guardians of the Galaxy started. We have Starlord along with Groot, Mantis and Rocket Raccoon all teaming up to battle the phalanx as a "primitive" strike force. It was a little odd to see Groot using actual dialogue instead of saying I AM GROOT all the time, but you can see the seeds being planted (pun intended?) for the modern Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Quasar series was interesting as well, mostly due to the surprise guest that shows up.
The art is above average, and while I did like the original Annihilation story better at this point, this is still a good read.
This volume shows how it all begins and then focuses on the story of Starlord and the new Quasar, who is the daughter of the original Captain Marvel.
The Starlord story is very interesting as this is basically where the current Guardians of the Galaxy started. We have Starlord along with Groot, Mantis and Rocket Raccoon all teaming up to battle the phalanx as a "primitive" strike force. It was a little odd to see Groot using actual dialogue instead of saying I AM GROOT all the time, but you can see the seeds being planted (pun intended?) for the modern Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Quasar series was interesting as well, mostly due to the surprise guest that shows up.
The art is above average, and while I did like the original Annihilation story better at this point, this is still a good read.
January 5, 2018
Starlord was the jewel of this pack. It actually set in motion what would become the Guardians of the Galaxy. They definitely had a winner there. Quasar's story was a bit irrelevant. And the whole Phalanx seems like a rehashed Annihilation.
March 9, 2014
Annihilation: Conquest Book 1 picks up from where the massive Annihilation event left off. (The latter effectively rebooted Marvel's "Cosmic" stories).
This volume collects three limited series. To start there is "Annihilation Conquest: Prologue" which (as the unwieldy name suggests)is the stage-setter for the two other limited series included, as well as the wider Conquest event itself. Starlord and the new Quasar get a story arc each as well, in the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the Annihilation Wave and proceeding directly from the Prologue.
If I could rate the components of this first collection for Annihilation Conquest, I'd rate the Prologue at 4 stars, the Quasar story at 3 stars, and the Starlord tale a cool 5 stars.
The Prologue is excellent in what it is meant to do - provide set up. It very quickly sets up the big bad of the event (the Borg-like Phalanx) and gives Starlord and Quasar starting points to go do stuff that will feed into the main event. The art is fantastic, and quite a few of the Phalanx 'invasion' panels are creepy as hell. The story-telling is good, as it alternates between the big canvas war in the Kree core worlds and the smaller bore beginning of the Quasar story.
The Quasar series is a bit meh - on the one hand it does have great art and a decent story, it takes itself too seriously, and so loses two stars on that account. It does have its geek out moments though, because I (not being particularly steeped in Cosmic lore) could finally figure out the deal with Moondragon and Drax (who does not feature here) with the in-story flashback and some Wiki reading.
The highlight for me was the Starlord series, which has the bones of the Guardians of the Galaxy forming up as Starlord, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot get together with four others in a 'Dirty Dozen' style adventure. It is irreverent, does not take itself seriously either, and is ha-ha funny in places. Peter Quill/ Starlord had struck me as a Han Solo type in the Annihilation books, and here that facet gets played up most enjoyably. There's a lot of not-so-subtle Star Wars homage going on, and again anyone who liked the Cantina scene in "A New Hope" will love the way this limited series is drawn. Special mention must also be made for the Groot and Rocket Raccoon pairing - inspired characterization!
Overall this was a fun read. It is a massive crossover event spanning several series and characters that is a sequel to a massive crossover event spanning several series and characters. I suppose that means there's no chance of anyone not already a fan of Cosmic Marvel or up to date on the Annihilation event and its (surprisingly disruptive) ending ever attempting to read this. If they do, for what it's worth, they'll be quite lost. As a fan however, I found this an enjoyable read.
Onward then to the main (er... sequel) event!
This volume collects three limited series. To start there is "Annihilation Conquest: Prologue" which (as the unwieldy name suggests)is the stage-setter for the two other limited series included, as well as the wider Conquest event itself. Starlord and the new Quasar get a story arc each as well, in the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the Annihilation Wave and proceeding directly from the Prologue.
If I could rate the components of this first collection for Annihilation Conquest, I'd rate the Prologue at 4 stars, the Quasar story at 3 stars, and the Starlord tale a cool 5 stars.
The Prologue is excellent in what it is meant to do - provide set up. It very quickly sets up the big bad of the event (the Borg-like Phalanx) and gives Starlord and Quasar starting points to go do stuff that will feed into the main event. The art is fantastic, and quite a few of the Phalanx 'invasion' panels are creepy as hell. The story-telling is good, as it alternates between the big canvas war in the Kree core worlds and the smaller bore beginning of the Quasar story.
The Quasar series is a bit meh - on the one hand it does have great art and a decent story, it takes itself too seriously, and so loses two stars on that account. It does have its geek out moments though, because I (not being particularly steeped in Cosmic lore) could finally figure out the deal with Moondragon and Drax (who does not feature here) with the in-story flashback and some Wiki reading.
The highlight for me was the Starlord series, which has the bones of the Guardians of the Galaxy forming up as Starlord, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot get together with four others in a 'Dirty Dozen' style adventure. It is irreverent, does not take itself seriously either, and is ha-ha funny in places. Peter Quill/ Starlord had struck me as a Han Solo type in the Annihilation books, and here that facet gets played up most enjoyably. There's a lot of not-so-subtle Star Wars homage going on, and again anyone who liked the Cantina scene in "A New Hope" will love the way this limited series is drawn. Special mention must also be made for the Groot and Rocket Raccoon pairing - inspired characterization!
Overall this was a fun read. It is a massive crossover event spanning several series and characters that is a sequel to a massive crossover event spanning several series and characters. I suppose that means there's no chance of anyone not already a fan of Cosmic Marvel or up to date on the Annihilation event and its (surprisingly disruptive) ending ever attempting to read this. If they do, for what it's worth, they'll be quite lost. As a fan however, I found this an enjoyable read.
Onward then to the main (er... sequel) event!
January 5, 2009
Picking up where Annihilation left off, this starts off with miniseries, just as Annihilation did. However, Conquest is in every way an improvement upon the original Annihilation, and these miniseries are no exception.
This book features the one-shot where the Phalanx (a surprisingly good foe, given that they're crap '90s X-Men villains) take over the Kree Empire, and some heroes rise to battle them. Those heroes include the new Quasar and her lover Moondragon, in a story that is a bit by-the-numbers and features unfortunately cheese-cakey art but is still very entertaining. They also include the "Dirty Dozen in space" of Starlord and his crew, which includes any number of obscure Marvel characters, from the Micronauts' Bug to Rocket Raccoon to Englehart creation Mantis. This book is the prologue and foundation of sorts to the Abnett/Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy book, and it's a really fun, action-packed book with beautiful art by Timothy Green and good character work from Giffen.
This book features the one-shot where the Phalanx (a surprisingly good foe, given that they're crap '90s X-Men villains) take over the Kree Empire, and some heroes rise to battle them. Those heroes include the new Quasar and her lover Moondragon, in a story that is a bit by-the-numbers and features unfortunately cheese-cakey art but is still very entertaining. They also include the "Dirty Dozen in space" of Starlord and his crew, which includes any number of obscure Marvel characters, from the Micronauts' Bug to Rocket Raccoon to Englehart creation Mantis. This book is the prologue and foundation of sorts to the Abnett/Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy book, and it's a really fun, action-packed book with beautiful art by Timothy Green and good character work from Giffen.
June 4, 2014
Star-Lord=cool!
Quasar=meh
Quasar=meh
August 16, 2020
Anihilację: Podbój podzielono na dwa dosyć opasłe tomu. Pierwszy z nich jest co prawda niezły, ale nie podskakuje zbytnio oryginalnej Anihilacji. Bo i pomysł podobny i znów grupy herosów muszą łączyć siły, by poradzić sobie z kosmiczną inwazją.
Mamy tu naprawdę fajny prolog, gdzie Abnett z Lanningiem sprawiają, iż naprawdę zaciekawiłem się tym co tu się dzieje. Imperium Kree pod dowództwem Ronana odradza się z popiołów po robaczej inwazji. Przy stworzeniu nowej bariery ochronnej pomaga sam Peter Quill, czyli Star-lord.
Nie wszystko jednak idzie zgodnie z planem, bowiem od samego początku mieszkańcy jak i sprzymierzeńcy zostają zarażeni jakąś organiczna substancją, która objawia się niezbyt stylowymi mackami w obrębie oczodołów. Jak Kree się szybko odrodziło, tak jeszcze szybciej padło. Tyle, że tym razem "niebiescy" byli przygotowani.
Pierwsza, większa część poświęcona jest osobie Star-lorda i jego "Parszywej Dwunastce". Grupa utworzona do samobójczej misji jest różnorodna i powoduje uśmiech na twarzy, gdyż mamy tutaj szopa Rocketa, monarchę (!) Groota (tak tego właśnie i na dodatek gada normalnie...), Mantis, która robi za jakąś Madonnę, nowej formie Kapitana Wszechświata, Buga z jakiejś rasy kosmicznych robali i psychotyczną przedstawicielkę Shi'ar, Deathcry.
Trudno dowodzić taką grupą, a zadanie wykradzenia wrogowi pewnych informacji graniczy z cudem. Historia akcją stoi, ale nie porwała ona mnie w żadnym momencie. Ba, miałem nawet wrażenie wtórności, co nie powinno mieć tu miejsca, choć autor tych przygód, Keith Giffen maczał przecież palce w samej Anihilacji.
Na tym tle scenariusz Gage'a wypada nieco lepiej. Losy nowej Quasar oraz Moondragon pełne są starć z Superadaptoidem i poszukiwaniem domniemanego zbawiciela rasy Kree. Mamy ciągłą zmianę otoczenia, martwienia się o spadający poziom mocy Phyli i troszeczkę mało "czucia" powagi sytuacji. Napięcie niby rośnie, ale ja tam nie czułem wagi pokazywanych wydarzeń (w trzecim tomie Anihilacji epickość momentami się wylewała ze stronic). Polubiłem Phyle, ale z Moondragon miałem pewien zgryz, zwłaszcza poprzez pewien zabieg fabularny. Na domiar złego zdołałem się domyślić kto ma być tym "wybrańcem"...
W warstwie wizualnej najbardziej podobały mi się przygody dwóch bohaterek, przy których ołówek maczał Lilly. Rysunki z prologu też uważam za dobre i tylko kreskę Greena II uważam za średnia, żeby nie rzec brzydką... Co zwłaszcza widać po twarzach ludzkich. Specyficzna kreska, może się podobać, ale to nie moje klimaty.
Dlatego pierwszemu tomowi daję mocną trójeczkę. Były zadatki na więcej, ale historie nam tu ukazane nie miały tej iskry i chwilami potrafiły mnie znużyć. Osobiście liczę, iż tak jak w przypadku Anihilacji finalny tom zrekompensuje wszelkie niedostatki poprzednika.
No i w sumie mały plus za takie swoiste streszczenie wydarzeń z Anihilacji, dla tych którzy chcieli by się połapać o czym mówią niektórzy bohaterowie lub zwyczajnie sobie przypomnieć co działo się wcześniej.
Mamy tu naprawdę fajny prolog, gdzie Abnett z Lanningiem sprawiają, iż naprawdę zaciekawiłem się tym co tu się dzieje. Imperium Kree pod dowództwem Ronana odradza się z popiołów po robaczej inwazji. Przy stworzeniu nowej bariery ochronnej pomaga sam Peter Quill, czyli Star-lord.
Nie wszystko jednak idzie zgodnie z planem, bowiem od samego początku mieszkańcy jak i sprzymierzeńcy zostają zarażeni jakąś organiczna substancją, która objawia się niezbyt stylowymi mackami w obrębie oczodołów. Jak Kree się szybko odrodziło, tak jeszcze szybciej padło. Tyle, że tym razem "niebiescy" byli przygotowani.
Pierwsza, większa część poświęcona jest osobie Star-lorda i jego "Parszywej Dwunastce". Grupa utworzona do samobójczej misji jest różnorodna i powoduje uśmiech na twarzy, gdyż mamy tutaj szopa Rocketa, monarchę (!) Groota (tak tego właśnie i na dodatek gada normalnie...), Mantis, która robi za jakąś Madonnę, nowej formie Kapitana Wszechświata, Buga z jakiejś rasy kosmicznych robali i psychotyczną przedstawicielkę Shi'ar, Deathcry.
Trudno dowodzić taką grupą, a zadanie wykradzenia wrogowi pewnych informacji graniczy z cudem. Historia akcją stoi, ale nie porwała ona mnie w żadnym momencie. Ba, miałem nawet wrażenie wtórności, co nie powinno mieć tu miejsca, choć autor tych przygód, Keith Giffen maczał przecież palce w samej Anihilacji.
Na tym tle scenariusz Gage'a wypada nieco lepiej. Losy nowej Quasar oraz Moondragon pełne są starć z Superadaptoidem i poszukiwaniem domniemanego zbawiciela rasy Kree. Mamy ciągłą zmianę otoczenia, martwienia się o spadający poziom mocy Phyli i troszeczkę mało "czucia" powagi sytuacji. Napięcie niby rośnie, ale ja tam nie czułem wagi pokazywanych wydarzeń (w trzecim tomie Anihilacji epickość momentami się wylewała ze stronic). Polubiłem Phyle, ale z Moondragon miałem pewien zgryz, zwłaszcza poprzez pewien zabieg fabularny. Na domiar złego zdołałem się domyślić kto ma być tym "wybrańcem"...
W warstwie wizualnej najbardziej podobały mi się przygody dwóch bohaterek, przy których ołówek maczał Lilly. Rysunki z prologu też uważam za dobre i tylko kreskę Greena II uważam za średnia, żeby nie rzec brzydką... Co zwłaszcza widać po twarzach ludzkich. Specyficzna kreska, może się podobać, ale to nie moje klimaty.
Dlatego pierwszemu tomowi daję mocną trójeczkę. Były zadatki na więcej, ale historie nam tu ukazane nie miały tej iskry i chwilami potrafiły mnie znużyć. Osobiście liczę, iż tak jak w przypadku Anihilacji finalny tom zrekompensuje wszelkie niedostatki poprzednika.
No i w sumie mały plus za takie swoiste streszczenie wydarzeń z Anihilacji, dla tych którzy chcieli by się połapać o czym mówią niektórzy bohaterowie lub zwyczajnie sobie przypomnieć co działo się wcześniej.
July 30, 2021
After being let down by Marvel's Annihilation series, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. (If you haven't read the previous Annihilation storyline, I would recommend skipping it and just taking a look at the recap at the back of this book. It covers pretty much everything and will save you a lot of time.) There are two main storylines included in this book, and I liked both. The artwork and layouts in the second mini-series stood out to me.
October 28, 2019
Sequel to Annihilation, takes place after the Annihilus war, the wave has devastated planets and "the dirty dozen" has to stop it from happening again. Star Lord is back with Bug, Mantis, Rocket Racoon and Groot ....working together proves interesting and humorous too. Quasar, daughter of Captain Marvel is learning to harness her powers and use the bands to their best capacity. She and Moondragon are on a mission to find the savior throughout the journey. Bringing back some great characters with some battles but more relationship driven story this time.
October 30, 2017
The birth of the Guardians of the Galaxy as we know them today! The transition from the gruff, hardened intergalactic war vet and genocidal savior of the universe Peter Quill into the fun and goofy frontman we love isn’t perfect, but it’s enough of a bridge to be satisfying enough. Also, it’s weird seeing Groot actually speak. The Quasar story is fun, too, if a good two issues longer than the story needed.
August 15, 2017
These are good, fun comics. I very much enjoyed the Quasar series, with shows a nice, mature lesbian relationship, and the Starlord comics are the very earliest appearance of what would become the Guardians of Galaxy that we see in the movies.
May 23, 2018
Really had a lot of fun with this series. Having Bug included was definitely a bonus. I'm a huge Micronauts fan. The art was great and I loved reading about all these characters I had either not read much about or only barely heard of.
June 11, 2022
3.5 ?
Prologue : okay stuff
Star-Lord : this right here is the good stuff, and i would have given it 4* easily for this one.
Quasar : okay-ish. not the biggest fan of how the story is told, but kinda ok.
Nova : quite good ? but not that much ? better than Quasar but not as good as Star-Lord
Prologue : okay stuff
Star-Lord : this right here is the good stuff, and i would have given it 4* easily for this one.
Quasar : okay-ish. not the biggest fan of how the story is told, but kinda ok.
Nova : quite good ? but not that much ? better than Quasar but not as good as Star-Lord
February 25, 2024
I thought this was just ok. Included in book one are annihilation conquest prologue, the starlord mini, and the quasar mini. I thought the prologue was done pretty well, while the starlord mini and quasar mini had some good parts but were kind of uninteresting in my opinion.
July 5, 2017
To be honest not Abnett's best work. The story was okay. Better than Infinity as an event but pales next to Reign of Kings.
May 5, 2019
A worthy sequel to Annihilation, thus far. The assimilation is a great science fiction trope to borrow.
July 20, 2019
Annihilation Conquests continues after the destruction of the annihilation horde. The highlight of the stories included in this book is Starlord’s arc. First half was boring.
August 30, 2020
Only read this for the Star-lord content tbh. The prologue felt Weird. Still kore enjoyable then most of the Annihilation content tho
November 20, 2021
Fast paced, intriguing cast of characters. Not as riveting as the previous annihilation saga but I still find it enjoyable.
Read
April 13, 2023for daisy's mafia game
May 22, 2012
So, of course after finishing Annihilation, I jumped right into the Conquest stuff. Which is presented in the same way as Annihilation, except instead of four four-issue series, there is only three because Nova got a continuing series, so the first 7 issues of his series (if I remember correctly) serve as the fourth precursor series.
Anyway, this volume has Annihilation Prologue - a one shot. Annihilation Conquest: Quasar and Annihilation: Starlord.
Prologue was good. Nice one shot that sets the stage.
Quasar I liked. It was an interesting mix of genres. Sci-fi, mostly - unsurprisingly seeing as how this falls under the Marvel Cosmic stuff. But, (SPOILER) at one point someone does turn into a dragon. I like how Quasar (in this case, Quasar is now Phyla-Vell) and Moondragon/Heather's relationship is presented. It's not "OMG LESBIANS." It's "OMG TWO PEOPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOME SERIOUS SHIT BUT RELY ON EACH OTHERS STRENGTH TO SURVIVE." (caps is necessary) At the point when Heather is transformed permanently into an incarnation of the actual Moondragon (only in form. Spoilers as to why this happened so you can read it if you're interested. Or google it. Or look her up on Comicvine.) and Moondragon tries to break off her relationship with Phylla feeling that in her dragon form, it would be unfair for Phylla were the relationship not ended (for obvious reasons. Donkeys can have sex with dragons (I watched Shrek) but humans? Fantasy inner-species erotica. Hot.) Phylla quickly reassures Moondragon that although her physical form has changed and aspects of their relationship are forever changed, the important aspects are exactly the same. And then there's some implication that they have mind-sex. (Moondragon is a highly talented telepath.) So, the relationship between these two characters is what makes Annihilation: Quasar good and worth reading.
Annihilation: Starlord is modeled after .. a specific old Marvel war comic that I don't remember the name of .. but in a sci-fi setting (fuck, I don't even know if what it was modeled after WASN'T in a sci-fi setting. I've never read it.). Peter Quill is forced to take on his role as Starlord again - something he never wanted to go back and finds shame in - and is given command of a rag-tag group of (mostly) rational prisoners. They're tasked with getting behind enemy lines and finding a device that could enslave the world. I had high hopes for this series. The first issue introduces you to the cast of characters and starts to establish an atmosphere that .. those ... rag-tag group of soldiers going behind enemy lines against insurmountable odds to try and cripple the foe..films have. But then it kind of spirals into mediocrity. *shrugs* Can't win 'em all.
Anyway, this volume has Annihilation Prologue - a one shot. Annihilation Conquest: Quasar and Annihilation: Starlord.
Prologue was good. Nice one shot that sets the stage.
Quasar I liked. It was an interesting mix of genres. Sci-fi, mostly - unsurprisingly seeing as how this falls under the Marvel Cosmic stuff. But, (SPOILER) at one point someone does turn into a dragon. I like how Quasar (in this case, Quasar is now Phyla-Vell) and Moondragon/Heather's relationship is presented. It's not "OMG LESBIANS." It's "OMG TWO PEOPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOME SERIOUS SHIT BUT RELY ON EACH OTHERS STRENGTH TO SURVIVE." (caps is necessary) At the point when Heather is transformed permanently into an incarnation of the actual Moondragon (only in form. Spoilers as to why this happened so you can read it if you're interested. Or google it. Or look her up on Comicvine.) and Moondragon tries to break off her relationship with Phylla feeling that in her dragon form, it would be unfair for Phylla were the relationship not ended (for obvious reasons. Donkeys can have sex with dragons (I watched Shrek) but humans? Fantasy inner-species erotica. Hot.) Phylla quickly reassures Moondragon that although her physical form has changed and aspects of their relationship are forever changed, the important aspects are exactly the same. And then there's some implication that they have mind-sex. (Moondragon is a highly talented telepath.) So, the relationship between these two characters is what makes Annihilation: Quasar good and worth reading.
Annihilation: Starlord is modeled after .. a specific old Marvel war comic that I don't remember the name of .. but in a sci-fi setting (fuck, I don't even know if what it was modeled after WASN'T in a sci-fi setting. I've never read it.). Peter Quill is forced to take on his role as Starlord again - something he never wanted to go back and finds shame in - and is given command of a rag-tag group of (mostly) rational prisoners. They're tasked with getting behind enemy lines and finding a device that could enslave the world. I had high hopes for this series. The first issue introduces you to the cast of characters and starts to establish an atmosphere that .. those ... rag-tag group of soldiers going behind enemy lines against insurmountable odds to try and cripple the foe..films have. But then it kind of spirals into mediocrity. *shrugs* Can't win 'em all.
January 25, 2016
This takes place right after Annihilation and is currently receiving some attention because of the upcoming film, Guardians of the Galaxy. Basically, the writers go digging up some fairly obscure characters from the 60s and 70s and revamp them to make them interesting again. Nostalgia aside, I think they were pretty successful.
After the defeat of the Annihilation Wave, the Kree are attacked by the Phalanx, a tech-based race that immediately brings to mind the Borg. "You will be assimilated." If the Kree are not successful, then the danger will spread to the rest of the galaxy (ofc). This first book is split into two story-lines that make up the resistance.
First, there's Peter Quill, who has the Starlord mantle foisted upon him once again like it or not. Quill is tasked with leading a "Suicide Squad" of volunteered inmates of varying alien race and powers. There's even a Dirty Dozen reference. This is the funnier of the two stories as the group makes wisecracks and harass each other during the mission, staying true to the traditions of this particular trope. They're an odd bunch (again ofc). We are introduced to Rocket Raccoon, a tactician and pilot who likes big, big munitions. There's Groot, a giant walking tree, the last of his species, and royalty, who protests about the indignities foisted upon him. These 3 are in the film. There's also Mantis (who I really liked), Loverbug, and Captain Universe.
The second arc centers around Phyla Vell, the second child of Captain Mar Vell and the current Quasar, and her lover, Moondragon. Yes, lover! Call me impressed at adding that controversial little twist, but I'll admit this relationship adds a weird aspect to certain scenes a la chick flick. As in everybody's blasting away and fighting for their lives, but the two of them take frequent time outs to declare their undying love. It's comical...and not really in a good way. I'm all for the love scenes, but they should come at appropriate times in the story so that I don't feel like I'm watching the Lifetime Channel.
There's actually a THEME here too. Starlord, Quasar, even Moondragon, must all come to terms with the legacy that gave them their powers.
Edit: On Quasar and Moondragon after reading Annihilation: Conquest Book 2
After the defeat of the Annihilation Wave, the Kree are attacked by the Phalanx, a tech-based race that immediately brings to mind the Borg. "You will be assimilated." If the Kree are not successful, then the danger will spread to the rest of the galaxy (ofc). This first book is split into two story-lines that make up the resistance.
First, there's Peter Quill, who has the Starlord mantle foisted upon him once again like it or not. Quill is tasked with leading a "Suicide Squad" of volunteered inmates of varying alien race and powers. There's even a Dirty Dozen reference. This is the funnier of the two stories as the group makes wisecracks and harass each other during the mission, staying true to the traditions of this particular trope. They're an odd bunch (again ofc). We are introduced to Rocket Raccoon, a tactician and pilot who likes big, big munitions. There's Groot, a giant walking tree, the last of his species, and royalty, who protests about the indignities foisted upon him. These 3 are in the film. There's also Mantis (who I really liked), Loverbug, and Captain Universe.
The second arc centers around Phyla Vell, the second child of Captain Mar Vell and the current Quasar, and her lover, Moondragon. Yes, lover! Call me impressed at adding that controversial little twist, but I'll admit this relationship adds a weird aspect to certain scenes a la chick flick. As in everybody's blasting away and fighting for their lives, but the two of them take frequent time outs to declare their undying love. It's comical...and not really in a good way. I'm all for the love scenes, but they should come at appropriate times in the story so that I don't feel like I'm watching the Lifetime Channel.
There's actually a THEME here too. Starlord, Quasar, even Moondragon, must all come to terms with the legacy that gave them their powers.
Edit: On Quasar and Moondragon after reading Annihilation: Conquest Book 2
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews