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Nova (2007) #1-3

Nova by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1

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Collects Nova #1-4, Nova (2007) #1-15, Nova Annual (2008) #1 and material from The Origin Of Richard Rider. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning propel the Human Rocket to glory! When the horrifying Annihilation Wave swarms across the cosmos, Richard Rider, the man called Nova, must step up - and become one of the galaxy's greatest heroes! In the wake of the chaos, a desperate cosmos cries out for law and order. But can one lone human being police an entire universe? Join Nova on the road to Knowhere - but what will he find there? And who is…Cosmo? Rich will barely have time to catch his breath before another Annihilation event begins, with a deadly race on a quest for conquest! And will Nova find love with Gamora, the deadliest woman in the galaxy?! All this, and Galactus too!

504 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2018

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Dan Abnett

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5 stars
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54 (47%)
3 stars
14 (12%)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for James.
2,586 reviews79 followers
September 6, 2020
This was dope. I came into this not knowing anything about Nova except that he was part of the Nova Corps. After reading this, I really like the character now. This book is filled with all kinds of space adventures. From being the only one left from the Nova Corp and flying around the universe addressing all these distress calls, being chased by a virus infected Gamora and Drax and finding Knowhere. The Civil War tie in was really well down also. After being away from Earth and missing what happened, Abnett and Lanning do a great job of making Nova really feel like he’s on a different earth after he sees what’s going on with the super hero registration act. Even meeting Warlock ( not Adam ) and how that paid off in the Conquest book. All in all, great book and I’m looking forward to volume two and continuing the great Marvel Cosmic Saga.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,205 followers
August 27, 2021
This is one big ass collection. 20 issues and...it's pretty good!

The first four are basically Annihilation crossover but gives you insight to why Nova is so strong. Being the last remaining one of the Nova corp and have Worldmind, a sentient supercomputer to help him fight back makes for some fun adventures. After Annihilation crossover issues we get the best of the bunch in the collection of Richard (nova) returning to earth and trying to live a somewhat normal life.

The best part about this is him wanting really nothing to do with the Civil War events happening then. His father calling him a monster. Not fitting in with any of his old friends. He just decides fuck all that and flies off to space. Which sucks because I was learning the earth storyline but I get it.

We then get into the start of the next major crossover, Annihilation conquest. Basic this race is taking over people's minds. It's okay. Some cool starting moments, Nova almost dying, and some badass fights but the middle portion is the weakest for me. Too much talking and not enough to really say anything important.

Luckily we end really strong with a 3 issue arc of Nova trying to stop a planet from being destroyed by Galactus. When he realizes it is too late he decides to help people evacuate. This leads to Harrow, a spirit possessing people and trying to stop Nova from doing just that. Leading the Silver Surfer to come into the picture.

The ending leaves it up to Richard trying to get back his friend. I wonder how the second complete collection will end up. But so far this was pretty good. Overall about a 3.5 but I'll bump it up to a 4 out of 5.
Profile Image for Judah Radd.
1,098 reviews14 followers
September 11, 2020
I recently interviewed the writer Dan Abnett and it was fucking awesome! Check out part 1 here https://youtu.be/vWI5mkTn8Ws and part 2 here https://youtu.be/A_VQ0ieJvhg

Really fucking good (if not a bit wasteful, considering that 12 of these 15 issues are contained within the Annihilation Conquest Omnibus.)

Regardless... this is a great volume and Richard Rider is an awesome character. Personality wise, he’s kind of like space spidey. This is a young, immature, average, wise cracking guy who finds him self with extraordinary power in extraordinary circumstances. His best friend is the worldmind that lives in his suit. He former fuckbuddy is the stunning Gamora, and their relationship brings a lot of drama into his story.

The lasts three issues (involving Harrow, Galactus and The Silver Surfer) are chilling, awesome, heroic and everything I could ever want from a cosmic story. The short, self contained Nova stuff is really fun, as much as I love the event tie in stuff that comprises most of this volume.

The art kicks ass. It’s some of the best marvel work of the time. This went down during Civil War/Secret Empire/The Initiative/New Avengers and it’s refreshingly separate from that stuff. The universe seems vast, exciting and endless.

I really truly can’t wait to read the second volume of this run. Abnett and Lanning’s Nova is THE SHIT!!!
Profile Image for Jennifer Juffer.
315 reviews11 followers
August 1, 2019
I didn’t know much about Richard Rider. I didn’t know much about the Nova Corps or what being a Nova Prime’s duties entailed.
I found this whole book pretty dang fascinating and not a bit slow.
As I pretty much skip all over the Marvel Universe when reading, I felt a small bit of hilarity because many of Rider’s tales skip, too.
It’s a good companion piece for the Annihilation books, as I read them right after... the Nova Prime features heavily, and this book helped me piece a lot together.
Entertaining, fun and with amazing art, it’s definitely on my shelf for a reread!
Profile Image for Marcus.
467 reviews4 followers
October 25, 2023
Epic.

Whereas I was lukewarm on him during annihilation, this series has made me fan of Richard Rider. The artwork is consistently good as is the writing, every issue felt like it was building upon the foundation laid by the previous issue. It just naturally expands into an epic tale but it does so without losing its core of being a character driven story first and foremost.

Theres so many great moments here as Richard gets put through the ringer and often has to get out of such dilemmas on his own, using just his wits, his morals, and his courage.

Highly recommend, even if you are not keen on the annihilation event overall (there’s around 4 annihilation issues within the book) this collection is really stellar.
Profile Image for Jin.
259 reviews1 follower
June 8, 2020
Action packed and funny at times. This is how I can describe my Nova reading experience. I loved what Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning did to the Human-Rocket; how they were able to solidify the position of a once obscure and uninteresting character into a central cosmic figure in the Marvel Comics Universe. From the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy, Annihilation and now his very own run I witnessed how Richard Rider was developed and made important in the eyes of every comic book reader.
Profile Image for David.
2,565 reviews88 followers
April 15, 2023
Nova has headlined a few different series over the years since he was first introduced and I have read all except the one from the early 1990s. This series from 2007 is closely tied to the Annihilation event, especially in the early issues collected in this volume. While Annihilation has its faults, Abnett and Lanning's work here is nearly flawless. Though, I do recommend reading this alongside the Annihilation Omnibus.
Profile Image for Ronnie Gardocki.
34 reviews
July 24, 2024
Still a good read. Really ignited my interest in Nova generally and Richard Rider in particular. This was about the last time I gave Marvel Cosmic anytime. Since then it's mostly been trying to follow James Gunn's lead to mixed results. (Bendis on Guardians? MISTAKE!)
Profile Image for Bryan.
Author 58 books23 followers
May 11, 2022
For 40 years, Nova has been a character that I could not have given less of a shit about. And then Abnett and Lanning come along, and now all I want to do is read more Nova.
Profile Image for El.
76 reviews
July 7, 2025
Bro couldn’t catch a break
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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