Annihilation Book Three Hardcover Review

Annihilation Vol. 3
Marvel Comics
Oversized Hardcover
304 pages
$29.99 (2007)
$24.99 (2007)
ISBN 9780785125136

Contributors: Christos Gage, Guiseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Landini, June Chung, Cory Petit, Scott Kolins, Keith Giffen, Stuart Moore, Andrea DiVito, Paul Mounts, Laura Villari, and Mike McKone

Reprints: Annihilation #1-6 (of 6), Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #1-2 (of 2), Annihilation: Nova Corps Files

Synopsis: The Annihilation Wave has broken through from the Negative Zone to our universe and destroys everything in its path.  None are safe as Annihilus, long-time foe of the Fantastic Four and possessor of the Cosmic Control Rod, unleashes his ruthless armada to scour the cosmos of life.

Someone call for exterminators!?

Xandar and the Nova Corps fell within the first few days of the Wave's attack and Nova is the sole survivor, housing the entire power of the Nova Force and Worldmind within his body.  He leads a resistance army called the United Front against the Wave with little to no success.  Aided by a reborn Drax the Destroyer, Peter Quill the former Star-Lord, Gamora, several former Heralds of Galactus, Ronan the Accuser, and the Super-Skrull - Nova fights a desperate and ultimately futile battle.  The shattered Skrull Empire has been decimated and the Kree are next in line for obliteration.

Annihilus now holds the Quantum Bands and is close to harnessing cosmic power with the help of Thanos.  The pair of despots seek to imprison Galactus with the help of two Proemial Gods, Tenebrous and Aegis.  Moondragon is captured by Thanos setting Drax on a collision course with his destiny to kill the mad Titan.  The universe stands on the brink of annihilation - can the heroes prevail and who will fall next?



Did anyone get the number of that Annihilation Wave?

Four post-Annihilation stories starring the Heralds of Galactus:

• Finally released by Annihilus' control-parasites Terrax, Paibok the Power Skrull, and the Delinquent make planet-fall on a world controlled by the Space Parasite - can they resist his power in their weakened state?
• Stardust reincorporates after the devastating events of the Annihilation War and is confronted by the last remnants of its former life.  The Ethereal creature gets one last chance at redemption
• Firelord hunts down members of the Centurions for their war crimes.  He encounters a group seeking atonement by opposing their former allies.  Will his fiery anger blind him to their attempt or can he forgive those forced into the service of Annihilus?
• The two Proemial Gods, Tenebrous and Aegis plan to reorder the universe to fit their warped views.  The Silver Surfer battles them amid the wreckage of the K'yln at the Universal Crunch, but he is hopelessly outmatched - can he survive fighting the gods who defeated his master?

  

  Stardust, Terrax, Galactus, Firelord and the Silver Surfer

Pros: Awesome covers by Dell'Otto (probably the highlight of the whole series), major cosmic events happen, spectacular finale, art by DiVito was decent, battle between Thanos and Drax

Cons: Interior art didn't blow me away, Proemial Gods were wasted on the Surfer story, Nova Corps files felt like a lot of filler

 Mike Tells It Straight: This final collection of the Annihilation saga brought back the excitement I felt from the first volume.  We get more intergalactic war, major plot twists, and an exciting finale.  The final battle between Drax and Thanos was a shocker, Galactus plays a big role in the saga, and Marvel successfully revamps their cosmic heroes. 


Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.

I enjoyed this crossover as much as Civil War although it was very different.  The real story was Nova's journey from being a green rookie to cosmic powerhouse and savior of the universe.  His character is very alike to Spider-Man's - regular kid gets superpowers and learns their importance.  Nova matured in this series and I'm looking forward to his further adventures in the sequel - Annihilation: Conquest.

The saga suffers from the typical modern storytelling decompression technique - good for selling more comic books, but it bogs down the reader.  The whole thing could have been told in twelve issues, but it was still a good read.  You won't find better cosmic action from Marvel in the modern era - check out this book (especially for those of you disappointed by volume two - it gets better).

TO BUY and Recommendations: