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Annihilation: Collected Editions #3
Annihilation, Book Three
The epic collection of the cosmic event concludes! One empire has fallen. Two heroes are dead. It all comes together here! Individually, the Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, Ronan and Nova have faced down the Annihilation Wave...and lost! Now, they must unite those who remain or die by Annihilus' hand! The Annihilation has only begun! Plus: Get caught up on all of the players in the Annihilation event - Annihilus, Nova, Ronan, the Silver Surfer, the Super-Skrull, Thanos and more - courtesy of the Xandarian Worldmind files of the Nova Corps!
Collecting: Annihilation 1-6, Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus 1-2, Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files
Collecting: Annihilation 1-6, Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus 1-2, Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2007
27 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Keith Giffen
1,931 books215 followersKeith Ian Giffen was an American comic book illustrator and writer. He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International (1987-1992). He also plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
December 28, 2016
I'm just super glad I didn't fork out money for the omnibus as this was of low standard.
Poor storylines, poor artwork and not much of it made any sense. This volume was a little better than the rest because it had some focus on the better characters such as galactus and his heralds. I love the silver surfer, I wish he had a more prominent role in this, it would have been much more fun.
Poor storylines, poor artwork and not much of it made any sense. This volume was a little better than the rest because it had some focus on the better characters such as galactus and his heralds. I love the silver surfer, I wish he had a more prominent role in this, it would have been much more fun.
November 14, 2018
Fantastic end ? to a thrilling series. I know it will continue but I'm happy with the way things ended up.
May 22, 2018
The final book in the Annihilation series. It was quite a lead-up. I had a lot of fun with all the tie-in books that brought us to this volume and I have to say that I wasn't in any way disappointed.
Is it my favorite Marvel 'event' book?
No.
But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It doesn't mean that I didn't get a cosmic-sized slap of goodness across my face...and it was a great start for my journey deep down into all things cosmic Marvel.
Holy shit though have we ever come a long way since all this has happened, hey?
Is it my favorite Marvel 'event' book?
No.
But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It doesn't mean that I didn't get a cosmic-sized slap of goodness across my face...and it was a great start for my journey deep down into all things cosmic Marvel.
Holy shit though have we ever come a long way since all this has happened, hey?
July 24, 2014
All the mini-series in the previous volumes have lead up to this. They don't all tie-together quiet as well as I'd like, there are a few gaps in there, but it's good enough for a big conclusion and showdown between our Cosmic heroes and the Annihilation wave.
The Heralds of Galactus two parter afterwards isn't that good. It's a little boring since the story is done. But it does tie-up a few loose ends.
I think the strongest point of Annihilation, and why it's so highly regarded still, is how they've managed to weave all these different characters together into one coherent story. Some have crossed paths before, but never in a story this size. It can be a bit overwhelming if you're new to Marvel cosmic, but there's enough good character work in here to make it a fun read.
The Heralds of Galactus two parter afterwards isn't that good. It's a little boring since the story is done. But it does tie-up a few loose ends.
I think the strongest point of Annihilation, and why it's so highly regarded still, is how they've managed to weave all these different characters together into one coherent story. Some have crossed paths before, but never in a story this size. It can be a bit overwhelming if you're new to Marvel cosmic, but there's enough good character work in here to make it a fun read.
April 26, 2014
I read most of this book by accident out of order from the minis that preceded it, and found myself both confused by all the implied recent adventures and conflicts, and at the same time bored by all the implied drama that seems to have relied so heavily on the prologue that was built up before this book.
After re-reading the generally execrable prologue books (save the Drax and to a lesser extent Super Skrull minis), I realise that there's still plenty of action and developments that head left off the table or nearly forgotten. Like how did Nova and Starlord meet? How did Gamora get from an exiled attacked planet with her "Graces" to battling at the front lines with Nova and Starlord? How did the Kree armies get hooked up with the rest? It's like there was some other inter-story that got scrapped that could've been just as interesting to tell (or even moreso than the prologues that they did bother to publish).
Man, for a series of prologues, they sure did a spotty job of setting up the action in this story. Still felt like getting dropped in the middle of it all.
What's more than a little confusing about this book's main battles is how ineffective the Cosmic Power wielders are at wiping out the waves of grunts. IIUC, any one of these guys could take out a massive battlefield with one massive burst. We've got multiple Heralds, Ronan, hell even just Nova with the entire Nova force. What's the big deal guys? Why do you all look like you're sweating so hard?
This might be my main problem with giving so many of these guys massive space-powers (and why I don't get terribly excited by the whole cosmic arm of the Marvel U) - I don't feel terribly invested in their "struggles", and I'm confused when they ignore their own powers. It's particularly weird with Nova, who stands around the battlefield yelling at people instead of frying a few thousand beetle-villains at a pop.
On with the show... did I already mention in another review this whole "woman" thing regarding Gamora? I'm a little confused that one bug-looking alien finds Gamora (a humanoid alien) so attractive that he'd drool "Got no use for brains. That body though..." Are we really to believe that there's (a) sexual attraction between alien species, (b) the same male-female dynamic across the galaxies and (c) that different species find the same body parts and conformation attractive? Most sci-fi (or maybe just Star Trek) has led me to believe that what I find attractive about Gamora (ample boobs & hips with narrow waist and lithe limbs) would be neutral or disgusting to other species. Ugh, damn you Roddenberry for ruining a simple teenaged-boy-worthy lascivious moment.
The action is suitably big, even for this all-across-space storyline. The deaths and rebirths are pretty good, and the cameo appearances I am amused by (Blastarr? Space Knight?)
The results are impressive, though they don't feel earned. Kree and Skrull are forever changed. Galactus is back on stage, with Silver Surfer leading the way. Most of the rest of the heroes are alive and kicking, but the whole thing was resolved with some damned last-minute deus ex machina, and the epilogue is like the end of Animal House with such lamely-conveyed VoiceOver BS. Terrible ending.
Then on to the Heralds of Galactus coda, one written by my favourite paint-by-numbers hack, Christos Gage, and the other by the sergeant of the old guard, Keith Giffen. The former story was just terrible, no idea why it was even necessary. The latter story at least had a purpose, though it could pretty easily have been a flashback in another later book. Ultimately Silver Surfer again sacrifices himself amid soliloquy after energy blast, and Galactus once again tells us how impressed he is with his servant. Yay.
I'll mention Andrea Divito here as a great artist - capturing big scenes with clarity and weight, and making the individual characters seem fairly real and embodied.
So the big question is: did this whole Annihilation storyline make me feel any more prepared for the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie? Only a tiny bit - I got to know a little about Drax and Gamora, basically nothing about the others. Would more recent GotG books probably have covered the same ground? Almost certainly, and without all this grade-B writing from creators I've never heard of. Basically, for anyone else in my shoes, I'd recommend skipping this and heading for stuff that might matter or entertain more. According to one of the chronologies
After re-reading the generally execrable prologue books (save the Drax and to a lesser extent Super Skrull minis), I realise that there's still plenty of action and developments that head left off the table or nearly forgotten. Like how did Nova and Starlord meet? How did Gamora get from an exiled attacked planet with her "Graces" to battling at the front lines with Nova and Starlord? How did the Kree armies get hooked up with the rest? It's like there was some other inter-story that got scrapped that could've been just as interesting to tell (or even moreso than the prologues that they did bother to publish).
Man, for a series of prologues, they sure did a spotty job of setting up the action in this story. Still felt like getting dropped in the middle of it all.
What's more than a little confusing about this book's main battles is how ineffective the Cosmic Power wielders are at wiping out the waves of grunts. IIUC, any one of these guys could take out a massive battlefield with one massive burst. We've got multiple Heralds, Ronan, hell even just Nova with the entire Nova force. What's the big deal guys? Why do you all look like you're sweating so hard?
This might be my main problem with giving so many of these guys massive space-powers (and why I don't get terribly excited by the whole cosmic arm of the Marvel U) - I don't feel terribly invested in their "struggles", and I'm confused when they ignore their own powers. It's particularly weird with Nova, who stands around the battlefield yelling at people instead of frying a few thousand beetle-villains at a pop.
On with the show... did I already mention in another review this whole "woman" thing regarding Gamora? I'm a little confused that one bug-looking alien finds Gamora (a humanoid alien) so attractive that he'd drool "Got no use for brains. That body though..." Are we really to believe that there's (a) sexual attraction between alien species, (b) the same male-female dynamic across the galaxies and (c) that different species find the same body parts and conformation attractive? Most sci-fi (or maybe just Star Trek) has led me to believe that what I find attractive about Gamora (ample boobs & hips with narrow waist and lithe limbs) would be neutral or disgusting to other species. Ugh, damn you Roddenberry for ruining a simple teenaged-boy-worthy lascivious moment.
The action is suitably big, even for this all-across-space storyline. The deaths and rebirths are pretty good, and the cameo appearances I am amused by (Blastarr? Space Knight?)
The results are impressive, though they don't feel earned. Kree and Skrull are forever changed. Galactus is back on stage, with Silver Surfer leading the way. Most of the rest of the heroes are alive and kicking, but the whole thing was resolved with some damned last-minute deus ex machina, and the epilogue is like the end of Animal House with such lamely-conveyed VoiceOver BS. Terrible ending.
Then on to the Heralds of Galactus coda, one written by my favourite paint-by-numbers hack, Christos Gage, and the other by the sergeant of the old guard, Keith Giffen. The former story was just terrible, no idea why it was even necessary. The latter story at least had a purpose, though it could pretty easily have been a flashback in another later book. Ultimately Silver Surfer again sacrifices himself amid soliloquy after energy blast, and Galactus once again tells us how impressed he is with his servant. Yay.
I'll mention Andrea Divito here as a great artist - capturing big scenes with clarity and weight, and making the individual characters seem fairly real and embodied.
So the big question is: did this whole Annihilation storyline make me feel any more prepared for the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie? Only a tiny bit - I got to know a little about Drax and Gamora, basically nothing about the others. Would more recent GotG books probably have covered the same ground? Almost certainly, and without all this grade-B writing from creators I've never heard of. Basically, for anyone else in my shoes, I'd recommend skipping this and heading for stuff that might matter or entertain more. According to one of the chronologies
December 5, 2014
Galacticus. The pacing of these comics is amazingly fast and the art really tells the story even better. It's easy to get submerged in the tales and see plot fly by.
May 11, 2015
The motives of Annihilus supposedly became clear in Book 2: to invade our universe with his horde of bugs and ships (known as the Annihilation Wave) and take back some space for his Negative Zone. The key to this seemed to have something to do with the Power Cosmic, the energy harnessed by the Silver Surfer and Galactus. Thanos, temporarily allied with Annihilus, discovers his true plans: to destroy all life in our universe. Thanos, Drax, Nova, Gamora, and Peter Quill (among many others) work together in different capacities to halt the spread of the Annihilation Wave.
Some good space opera with a massive scope, though there were almost too many characters to keep track of. I enjoyed seeing Drax performing his role as "the Wolverine of space" as he relentlessly hunted Thanos, and the dialogue between Nova and Quill was a great dose of levity in a hopeless situation. The plotting was satisfying and was much more involved and interesting than pitting one massive space navy against another until one of them wins, which is kind of what I was expecting. It was worth reading for no other reason than to see three members of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy just before the team was formed: Quill (aka Star-Lord), Gamora, and Drax, all of whom feature in the upcoming movie.
Some good space opera with a massive scope, though there were almost too many characters to keep track of. I enjoyed seeing Drax performing his role as "the Wolverine of space" as he relentlessly hunted Thanos, and the dialogue between Nova and Quill was a great dose of levity in a hopeless situation. The plotting was satisfying and was much more involved and interesting than pitting one massive space navy against another until one of them wins, which is kind of what I was expecting. It was worth reading for no other reason than to see three members of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy just before the team was formed: Quill (aka Star-Lord), Gamora, and Drax, all of whom feature in the upcoming movie.
September 15, 2021
Holy shee-it.
Jack Flag hates cosmic stuff, but I’ve always found it to be a whole lot of fun.
Jack Flag hates cosmic stuff, but I’ve always found it to be a whole lot of fun.
May 3, 2021
The whole event is getting lumped here bc I'm lazy
I would have liked this order with a touch less sexism please marvel. gamora was naked and objectified the whole time. other female characters had the exact same body type (hint: big boobies) and were useless (even my wine aunt moondragon)
Silver Surfer saved this, with Cammie and Drax a close second. But they're not in it enough to justify a whole event about boring bs with man pain Nova at the front. Love u galactus if u weren't incapacitated half the time
Would have been more interested in a whole series just with drax and thanos and their revenge. Annihilus had potential but was...a very typical marvel villain. Overall I feel like the only one who did not like this event. Sorry folks
I would have liked this order with a touch less sexism please marvel. gamora was naked and objectified the whole time. other female characters had the exact same body type (hint: big boobies) and were useless (even my wine aunt moondragon)
Silver Surfer saved this, with Cammie and Drax a close second. But they're not in it enough to justify a whole event about boring bs with man pain Nova at the front. Love u galactus if u weren't incapacitated half the time
Would have been more interested in a whole series just with drax and thanos and their revenge. Annihilus had potential but was...a very typical marvel villain. Overall I feel like the only one who did not like this event. Sorry folks
January 7, 2011
A pretty good, complex war story, but the interesting bits--Galactus used as a weapon, the death of Thanos--are overshadowed by the underwhelming ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2018
3,75
Voilà ! Les issues de l'événement elles-même sont très bonnes ! J'ai beaucoup aimé, c'est plutôt épique, Richard n'est pas aussi agaçant, et j'aime beaucoup les alliances improbables pour défaire un ennemi commun. Drax est celui qui ressemble le plus à sa version cinématographique, Peter est un cyborg oO
Les héraults de Galactus, après, sont par contre très dispensables. Seule la partie sur Silver Surfer est importante, et elle n'est pas franchement bien exécutée à mon humble avis.
Voilà ! Les issues de l'événement elles-même sont très bonnes ! J'ai beaucoup aimé, c'est plutôt épique, Richard n'est pas aussi agaçant, et j'aime beaucoup les alliances improbables pour défaire un ennemi commun. Drax est celui qui ressemble le plus à sa version cinématographique, Peter est un cyborg oO
Les héraults de Galactus, après, sont par contre très dispensables. Seule la partie sur Silver Surfer est importante, et elle n'est pas franchement bien exécutée à mon humble avis.
May 10, 2025
Probably the best story with Nova I've read. Annihilus, Thanos and Galactus serve as the villains for this Marvel cosmic odyssey.
August 8, 2025
El inicio de este cómic me recuerda un poco al ambiente que se respira cuando, en las películas de Terminator, aparecía el futuro post apocalíptico. Todos al límite y sin apenas esperanza.
Este cómic es así una buena parte de la historia, donde el frente liderado por Nova Prime, Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Ronan (entre otros) tratan de derrotar a la horda aniquiladora de Anihilus. La historia avanza con mucho ritmo, sin momentos valle. Y aunque no me gustó demasiado la resolución del conflicto, aún así tiene una gran historia.
Respecto al apartado visual es espectacular, el dibujo está muy chulo.
Este cómic es así una buena parte de la historia, donde el frente liderado por Nova Prime, Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Ronan (entre otros) tratan de derrotar a la horda aniquiladora de Anihilus. La historia avanza con mucho ritmo, sin momentos valle. Y aunque no me gustó demasiado la resolución del conflicto, aún así tiene una gran historia.
Respecto al apartado visual es espectacular, el dibujo está muy chulo.
March 23, 2020
And so it ends. The biggest letdown I have ever had reading comics. How I made it to the end, I do not know. Stubbornness, I guess. Was this final volume better than the first 2? Sure. It actually has the 6 issue story that needed 600 pages of ramping up to. But I take off one star because WHY DID WE NEED 600 ISSUES TO RAMP UP TO THIS!!!
It is a simple tale of huge army is going to destroy the Universe and our heroes are going to die but...they don't. Is how they save the day that interesting? Not really. Even a day after reading it I only vaguely recall it had something to do with freeing Galactus and our main hero Nova going to work on the leader of the army Annihilus. Billions die, and still it was underwhelming because we don't ever care about those billions. They are alien planets. The one arc I cared for - Ronan - did end up nicely, he got revenge on those who falsely accused The Accuser.
I am not sure why fans love this series. Our key heroes don't have much personality. The villain is a mindless monster from the negative zone. I feel like, after billions of deaths, the key turning point came when our heroes said "hey, let's strike at the heart of the enemy!" which, when you think of it, is something they could have done a lot earlier.
Ugh. Give me a smaller tale where I care about the heroes any day. These galactic kill-fests, leave me cold.
It is a simple tale of huge army is going to destroy the Universe and our heroes are going to die but...they don't. Is how they save the day that interesting? Not really. Even a day after reading it I only vaguely recall it had something to do with freeing Galactus and our main hero Nova going to work on the leader of the army Annihilus. Billions die, and still it was underwhelming because we don't ever care about those billions. They are alien planets. The one arc I cared for - Ronan - did end up nicely, he got revenge on those who falsely accused The Accuser.
I am not sure why fans love this series. Our key heroes don't have much personality. The villain is a mindless monster from the negative zone. I feel like, after billions of deaths, the key turning point came when our heroes said "hey, let's strike at the heart of the enemy!" which, when you think of it, is something they could have done a lot earlier.
Ugh. Give me a smaller tale where I care about the heroes any day. These galactic kill-fests, leave me cold.
science-fiction
May 14, 2013Man, this was /good/.
You have to admire the balls of someone who builds a massive space epic full of completely obscure, unrecognized characters, introduces two HUGE ridiculously powerful villains and wallops the tar out of one of the most powerful characters in the setting.
It's a scifi war story no bloody fooling and I loved this series the whole way through. It looks like this is the only space epic created by this guy but I'm tempted to trawl the entirety of Marvel's recent space epics anyway.
Yeah, I'm just amazed at the huge scale and ambition in this story. I really love how most of the story shows characters in the background, too... just giving an idea of how massive this epic is. If you're a Marvel fan, read this, just don't expect to recognize anyone in it except for Galactus. Everybody knows Galactus... and you'll see exactly why.
You have to admire the balls of someone who builds a massive space epic full of completely obscure, unrecognized characters, introduces two HUGE ridiculously powerful villains and wallops the tar out of one of the most powerful characters in the setting.
It's a scifi war story no bloody fooling and I loved this series the whole way through. It looks like this is the only space epic created by this guy but I'm tempted to trawl the entirety of Marvel's recent space epics anyway.
Yeah, I'm just amazed at the huge scale and ambition in this story. I really love how most of the story shows characters in the background, too... just giving an idea of how massive this epic is. If you're a Marvel fan, read this, just don't expect to recognize anyone in it except for Galactus. Everybody knows Galactus... and you'll see exactly why.
April 12, 2015
For those reading all three of my reviews only the middle part has new information.
This isn't a book for a casual Marvel Universe reader. If you read it and aren't a pro you absolutely must read the historical information in between scenes.
There are a lot of stories within but they blend well enough and are needed.
In book three it comes to a close. Thanos reveals his reasons for a secret alliance with the enemy, Annihilus, the Galactic Alliance (of sorts) is brought to its knees, Galactus is NOT happy, Nova Corps finally gets its revenge and we get more focuses upon the heralds of Galactus (kudos to Firelord vs. The Centurions).
It's good but takes a while to digest and even better it's something very different from the typical Marvel superhero focuses.
OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus (just makes four stars)
This isn't a book for a casual Marvel Universe reader. If you read it and aren't a pro you absolutely must read the historical information in between scenes.
There are a lot of stories within but they blend well enough and are needed.
In book three it comes to a close. Thanos reveals his reasons for a secret alliance with the enemy, Annihilus, the Galactic Alliance (of sorts) is brought to its knees, Galactus is NOT happy, Nova Corps finally gets its revenge and we get more focuses upon the heralds of Galactus (kudos to Firelord vs. The Centurions).
It's good but takes a while to digest and even better it's something very different from the typical Marvel superhero focuses.
OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus (just makes four stars)
August 12, 2016
Annihilation. The actual Annihilation mini-series picks up where the Prologue left off and offers up a truly cosmic story of the sort that DnA weren't really able to replicate in what followed (despite all of the strengths of their own writing). Drax vs. Thanos! Galactus bound! It's a really, really big show and Giffen does a great job with it. There's also some strong writing in the individual issues as Giffen tells a story that has scope in both characters and time. If people say Annihilation was great, this is why [8/10].
Heralds. A fair coda to the main story. "A Death of Hope" is a wonderful story about Stardust, and "Brother's Keeper" addresses a big dangling thread from Annihilation.. The others are OK [6+/10].
Heralds. A fair coda to the main story. "A Death of Hope" is a wonderful story about Stardust, and "Brother's Keeper" addresses a big dangling thread from Annihilation.. The others are OK [6+/10].
September 6, 2019
The Rew winner is Di Vito’s art, sadly the rest is just not-even-vanilla-bean-vanilla. While the first book brokered questions and set the table, “Annihilation 2” didn’t really serve a purpose—except to teach the spelling of annihilation.
The powers who be would’ve been wise to cut the pointless “Heralds of Galactus” and actually told the most important part of the book: the confrontation between Galactus and the two proemial gods. The writing never really shows up, either. Gone is the Worldmind, and replaced with a flat-joke Peter Quill. And then the whole saga wraps up like a kid who becomes bored with a toy.
If this was designed to reboot the Marvel Universe they should stuff the whole thing in the Crunch.
The powers who be would’ve been wise to cut the pointless “Heralds of Galactus” and actually told the most important part of the book: the confrontation between Galactus and the two proemial gods. The writing never really shows up, either. Gone is the Worldmind, and replaced with a flat-joke Peter Quill. And then the whole saga wraps up like a kid who becomes bored with a toy.
If this was designed to reboot the Marvel Universe they should stuff the whole thing in the Crunch.
September 20, 2021
Collects Annihilation issues #1-6, Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus issues #1-2, Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files
Over the years, I've heard so many good things about this crossover, and now that I've read it, I'm not sure what all of the hype was about. I'm a big fan of Marvel Cosmic, but this story dragged on and on. There were a lot of characters that I liked in this story, but there was also an abundance of characters that I've never heard of before. I finally decided to start skimming when I was about a quarter of the way through this collection. This was a big disappointment for me.
Over the years, I've heard so many good things about this crossover, and now that I've read it, I'm not sure what all of the hype was about. I'm a big fan of Marvel Cosmic, but this story dragged on and on. There were a lot of characters that I liked in this story, but there was also an abundance of characters that I've never heard of before. I finally decided to start skimming when I was about a quarter of the way through this collection. This was a big disappointment for me.
January 20, 2015
A well deserved finale for this Marvel grand event. of course it should have ended better / with more epic proportion.
still it's done without earth's mightiest heroes which means something completely new in the scheme of Marvel's grand events.
still it's done without earth's mightiest heroes which means something completely new in the scheme of Marvel's grand events.
September 25, 2015
Unfortunately, I think the buildup to this one in volumes 1 & 2 were more enjoyable than the main event itself.
October 15, 2019
Finał kosmicznego wydarzenia jakim była Anihilacja w końcu nastąpił i wreszcie muszę rzec, że warto było czekać, bo seria starć jakie nam tutaj prezentują jest naprawdę epicka.
Poprzednie dwa tomy ustawiały całą akcję po wydarzenie jakie będziemy mieli tu przyjemność oglądać. Anihilus w tymczasowym sojuszu z samym Thanosem zdołał pochwycić i uwięzić nie tylko Silver Surfera, ale i samego Galactusa. Nie byłoby to możliwe bez pomocy dwóch boskich istot: Aegis i Tenebrous, które zostały uwolnione z więzienia jakie mieściło się na Kyln podczas pierwszego ataku Fali Anihilacji. Wszystko jak się okazuje było zaplanowane przez Anihilusa, który jak się okazuje ma swój własny plan zgładzenia wszelkich form życia w naszym Wszechświecie.
Z drugiej strony mamy ruch oporu z Novą, Ronanem, Gamorą, Peterem Quillem i Draxem na czele. Wspierani siłami z różnych stron Galaktyki podejmują straceńczą misją stawienia czoła armii złoczyńcy, jednak sprawa wydaje się stracona, tym bardziej, że niektórzy herosi mają własne plany. Taki Drax prze przed siebie, próbując za wszelką cenę dostać się do Thanosa. Wątek ten ma bardzo zaskakujące zwieńczenie, co tylko podsyca satysfakcję jaką miałem z omawianej lektury.
Wiemy już, że status quo nawet po zakończeniu konfliktu będzie inny, choć po części wydał mi się on bardzo pozorny. Pełnej oceny nie ma ponieważ nie za bardzo do gustu przypadły mi historie poszczególnych byłych heroldów Galactusa. I zbyt szybkie załatwienie sprawy dwójki głównych przeciwników Galactusa przez Surfera... I sytuacje typu deus machina, jak chociażby z ożywieniem Super Skrulla... Choć samo starcie Novy i Anihilusa uważam za całkiem niezłe. Polecam. Tym bardziej, że całość trzeciego tomu wygląda też naprawdę dobrze.
Poprzednie dwa tomy ustawiały całą akcję po wydarzenie jakie będziemy mieli tu przyjemność oglądać. Anihilus w tymczasowym sojuszu z samym Thanosem zdołał pochwycić i uwięzić nie tylko Silver Surfera, ale i samego Galactusa. Nie byłoby to możliwe bez pomocy dwóch boskich istot: Aegis i Tenebrous, które zostały uwolnione z więzienia jakie mieściło się na Kyln podczas pierwszego ataku Fali Anihilacji. Wszystko jak się okazuje było zaplanowane przez Anihilusa, który jak się okazuje ma swój własny plan zgładzenia wszelkich form życia w naszym Wszechświecie.
Z drugiej strony mamy ruch oporu z Novą, Ronanem, Gamorą, Peterem Quillem i Draxem na czele. Wspierani siłami z różnych stron Galaktyki podejmują straceńczą misją stawienia czoła armii złoczyńcy, jednak sprawa wydaje się stracona, tym bardziej, że niektórzy herosi mają własne plany. Taki Drax prze przed siebie, próbując za wszelką cenę dostać się do Thanosa. Wątek ten ma bardzo zaskakujące zwieńczenie, co tylko podsyca satysfakcję jaką miałem z omawianej lektury.
Wiemy już, że status quo nawet po zakończeniu konfliktu będzie inny, choć po części wydał mi się on bardzo pozorny. Pełnej oceny nie ma ponieważ nie za bardzo do gustu przypadły mi historie poszczególnych byłych heroldów Galactusa. I zbyt szybkie załatwienie sprawy dwójki głównych przeciwników Galactusa przez Surfera... I sytuacje typu deus machina, jak chociażby z ożywieniem Super Skrulla... Choć samo starcie Novy i Anihilusa uważam za całkiem niezłe. Polecam. Tym bardziej, że całość trzeciego tomu wygląda też naprawdę dobrze.
February 19, 2025
This series was a lot of fun and felt like a big Hollywood blockbuster. It was smart to make Nova the main character of this because his mini was the definitely the strongest. I don’t like his characterization as much as the mini but it is still solid. The art is also solid. My biggest issue with this series is that it doesn’t honor the stakes set up by the minis. Redshift and The Super Skrull both die in their respective mini and they are both back. One of the heralds that dies in this series is back in her mini. This results in the fact that very few main characters actually die. It really reduces the stakes of the book. Also, there are a lot of characters that don’t get much to do and really just stand around. That being said I still really enjoyed this. The big moments feel very big and are quite satisfying. Nova killing Annihlus, Drax killing Thanos, Ronan ruling over the Kree, Phyla taking the bands are all really joyous to watch. The heralds mini at the end is a nice epilogue but mostly forgettable. The only truly great part of it was the silver surfer fight at the end. That was probably one of the highlights of the whole event. The panel placement is unique and fills the scene with energy and him winning by surfing a massive energy wave is so sick.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2023
Considered by many an essential start to a new era of cosmic Marvel in the 616 universe of comics, anyone who feels obligated to read this event in order to understand both how it transformed the previous status quo of the cosmic side of Marvel and how it informs later titles should know that Books 1 and 2 are not essential for following the event. The core event is epic, with only occasional moments that make it feel dated, such as when Drax smacks Phylla Vell while she is having a panic attack. Those kinds of moments do hamper the story some, but witnessing Annihilus at his full capacity as a villain prior to becoming a member of the intergalactic council in Bendis’s Guardians of the Galaxy proved to be greatly satisfying for me.
October 30, 2021
I found Book Three a mixed bag. The struggles Nova faced in Book One -- taking on the Worldmind and Nova Force -- are entirely forgotten. The defeat of Galactus, which should have been a tale all its own, is relegated to the background, with his conquerers subsequently set aside until the main plotline ends. Meanwhile, the world eater's state of "starvation" proves no obstacle to him defeating nearly all our antagonists when he gets a chance. On the positive side, the stories of Annihilus, Thanos, Silver Surfer, Drax, Ronan, and Super Skrull maintain their entertaining momentum. If only these moves had brought lasting changes to the Marvel universe.
August 13, 2018
This volume contains the Annihilation mini-series, the Heralds of Galactus follow-up issues, and the Nova Corps Files guidebook. Annihilation itself is fairly entertaining. The Heralds of Galactus stories are a bit more interesting (though I still find the Surfer less appealing as Galactus's servant than he was as a solo character). The Nova Corps Files are informative, nice details on some of the more obscure characters. No serious complaints with this collection, but I do wonder if the whole Aegis and Tenebrous subplot added much. (B+)
May 5, 2021
Annihilation Book Three contains the main series along with the two Heralds of Galactus epilogues. For me, the Annihilation miniseries was the peak of the Marvel Cosmic renaissance in 2000s. A lot of the Abnett & Lanning stuff that came after was great, but aside from parts of their Nova series, it never quite reached those highs. I don't want to get too into the details, but the story was remarkably dense and yet still managed to land most of the plot threads in a satisfying manner by the end.
May 8, 2025
"YOU KNOW DAS'T WELL WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO DO! THE WAVE IS CATCHING UP TO THE WOUNDED! LOSE HUNDREDS OR LOSE THOUSANDS. YOUR CHOICE."
- Drax imparting some tough love upon Nova.
Probably one of the best events I've ever read.
Why? Well, everyone teams up against a common threat. Heroes, villains, reformed villains, fallen heroes... everyone! Some contrasts with Civil War can be drawn here.
The previous two volumes set up the main players thwarting Annihilus' invasion. This book is the actual event and some side stories detailing the Heralds of Galactus.
Good stuff. Fun. Ass kicking. Four stars!
- Drax imparting some tough love upon Nova.
Probably one of the best events I've ever read.
Why? Well, everyone teams up against a common threat. Heroes, villains, reformed villains, fallen heroes... everyone! Some contrasts with Civil War can be drawn here.
The previous two volumes set up the main players thwarting Annihilus' invasion. This book is the actual event and some side stories detailing the Heralds of Galactus.
Good stuff. Fun. Ass kicking. Four stars!
February 26, 2020
4.5 Stars
This was my favorite of the three volumes, as it contained the main Annihilation story. It also has the Heralds tie in issues, and they were okay, but the main story is by far the best.
We get to see two major "deaths" (nobody stays dead in the Marvel Universe) and there's plenty of drama and action. The art is good and the story is epic.
The other series were okay, but really the core series could have easily stood on its own and felt like a stronger event.
This was my favorite of the three volumes, as it contained the main Annihilation story. It also has the Heralds tie in issues, and they were okay, but the main story is by far the best.
We get to see two major "deaths" (nobody stays dead in the Marvel Universe) and there's plenty of drama and action. The art is good and the story is epic.
The other series were okay, but really the core series could have easily stood on its own and felt like a stronger event.
December 31, 2018
An epic conclusion! Yet... somehow disappointing.
While the previous two volumes were just a warp up, this was the actual event. And it was... a bit weaker than I expected. Like most Marvel events, it has too many characters and the actual storry is too simple. But I'm still glad I finally managed to read it.
While the previous two volumes were just a warp up, this was the actual event. And it was... a bit weaker than I expected. Like most Marvel events, it has too many characters and the actual storry is too simple. But I'm still glad I finally managed to read it.
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