Review: Nova #13 (Duggan)

As Beta Ray Bill said to NINO, “If you are Nova then you are a disgrace to all those who came before you!”  I could stop writing this review right now and leave it to BRB’s assessment because truer words have never been spoken, and that pretty much sums up not only this issue – but this whole series.  Thank you Mr. Duggan for some rare honesty about NINO on the part of Marvel Comics.  NINO is a disgrace to the uniform and legacy of The Nova Corps.

Duggan continues the NINO trademark of silly, intelligence-insultingly implausible storylines about the inexperienced, untrained idiot, NINO, somehow bumbling his way through situations and even besting a true, highly-experienced, and ultra-powerful hero like BRB.  After you’ve finished joining me in an eye-roll over that astoundingly stupid story element aimed squarely at 8-year-old boys.  Rest your eyes for another eye-roll as NINO’s mother proves once again how unfit she is to parent by sending the minor child, NINO, off to space to risk his life in the company of an alien she’s just met and reacted to with terror.  I guess she’d send NINO over to Neverland Ranch for a sleep over if MJ was still alive. Unbelievable.  Somebody please call Child Protective Services and have her children removed from her custody.  It’s also unbelievable that BRB would invite a minor child to accompany him on a life-threatening combat mission.  BRB is better than that.

But why should any of this surprise us?  It’s not like Brevoort, Alonso, Bendis, and Loeb set out to create a quality product.  They had that with Volume IV and threw it away in favor of this puerile trash.

On the positive side, the art is certainly acceptable and Curiel’s colors are eye-catching.  However, you can find great art plus great writing with other better true cosmic books that actually respect their readers, talk up to their readers, and seek to cultivate their relationship with long-term fans.  I’m talking Invincible or any of the Warlord of Mars books.

Marvel is trying to milk BRB fandom to stop the rapidly falling sales of NINO by guest starring BRB for the next several issues.  Don’t be fooled BRB fans. BRB fans are sure to be disappointed with the shabby treatment given BRB in this book.  One of the variant covers for #16 shows NINO lifting Stormbreaker. As if the little idiot is worthy.  So, BRB fans, show your displeasure and leave this one on the shelf.  Reading it will just piss you off anyway.

It’s clear that Duggan simply needs to go back to writing Deadpool and leave cosmic alone in the future.  In the meantime, he’ll do just fine to usher in the well-deserved end of NINO.  Sales have dropped well under 30K, and New Warriors has debuted to thunderously under-whelming reviews and general indifference.  If we’re lucky, NINO will be gone before issue #20 and NeWINO before issue #10.  Let’s continue the boycott and hasten the little idiot’s demise.