| Comic Review | Paul Milligan |
Annihilation
#1 (of 6)
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artist: Andrea DiVito
Colorist: Laura Villari
Letterer: Cory Petit
After fighting a losing battle across four different
Annihilation tie-in mini-series the cosmic heroes have
finally joined forces to hold back the overwhelming forces
of Annihilus. To Richard Rider, the earthman known as Nova,
who has taken command of the resistance, it looks as though
the tide might finally be turning in his favor. But then
Annihilus’ forces achieve a victory so unbelievable that
things appear bleaker than ever before.
The first issue of the Annihilation mini-series is
easily one of the most accessible “event” comics I’ve read
in ages. I’m pretty amazed at that considering there were
four individual mini-series that led up to this book, not to
mention the
Annihilation Prologue.
Despite that massive build up it appears that just about
everything you need to know is given to you either on the
very first page or at appropriate points within the book.
Sure, if you want the real the exact details of how all
these characters came together and precisely what motivates
them you should probably read those other books. But the
reasons for the war and exactly who is fighting it is all
explained right here.
It’s also a far more entertaining, straightforward and (dare
I say?) realistic portrayal of cosmic warfare than was
presented in DC’s dull and clunky effort at the same,
The Rann/Thanagar War. The action is heavy hitting,
the battlefield is a bloody mess, the casualties are high
and the tactics are believable. It feels like a real and
desperate battle is being waged, albeit in a very
comic-book-drama style.
Andrea DiVito is a perfect choice for the artwork. His
interpretations of the diverse characters in the book are
spot on. His portrayal of the battles, both on the ground
and in space are epic in scale and somewhat frightening to
behold. I have to say that I’m enjoying his stuff more and
more with each project he takes on and Annihilation is some
of his best work to date.
I applaud Keith Giffen and the rest of the creative team.
They’ve managed to present the audience with a large-scale
comic that is relatively easy to follow without having to
read the umpteen billion books that came before it. If
you’re a fan of Marvel’s cosmic characters then I can’t
recommend this book highly enough. If you just like
straightforward action, big explosions and a story that’s
not too lost in its own details then you might want to give
this one a look, too.
Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of
Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance
preview books for review purposes.
