'06 Comics In Reviews, Part 5

So, we reach the end of our look back at 2006. And, we're wrapping it up with what were, bar none, my favorite comics of the year. Annihilation slipped under the majority of comics fans' radars, which is too bad. By having the four lead-in mini-series, there was an opportunity to establish reasons for characters' actions, to develop motivations, thus eliminating much of the "OUT OF CHARACTER!!!!" screams that were heard from the Civil War readers. Yeah, there was death (lots of it, when you consider the number of Skrull worlds that went boom!), but that reenforces that this was, in fact, a war. Plus, no Cyborg Clone Thors, and more importantly, no delays!

Annihilation: Prologue - The set-up for the whole thing, establishing the invasion, and giving a general idea of what all the primary characters were up to. One of the weaker issues of the whole thing, because it was serving as exposition.

Annihilation: Silver Surfer (#1, #3-4) - Detailing the Surfer's inner struggle with what he should do. Annihilus is a force of death and destruction, but was what Galactus did (with the Surfer as his Herald) any different? And does the Surfer miss the certainty that came with being Herald, always knowing what was expected of him? I picked up #1, felt disappointed by the Surfer's continued "all whine, no action" stance in #2, then came back in #3 and stuck with it from there.

High Point: #3, when not only does the Surfer regain his full powers, not only does he celebrate by wiping out five Annihilation Wave warships in one two-page spread, but he gets called a 'sadly inadequate poltroon' by Annihilus' version of a Herald, Ravenous. I loved that scene. Especially considering how quickly things turned on him.

Low Point: I suppose it's #2, since I was disappointed enough not to buy that one.

Annihilation: Super-Skrull (#1-4) - I'd say this was my favorite of the four lead-in mini-series. Something about it, I think the feel of "lone wolf fighting impossible odds" struck a chord with me. Ultimately, it seemed like Super-Skrull experienced a change in perspective, maybe a realization of what's really important. Hard to tell if that's persisted through his resurrection.

High Point: #4 was pretty good, with both Super-Skrull's sacrifice and his punishment of R'Kin's treachery. But I'm gonna go with the opening sequence of #1, when Kl'rt fights to defend the planet of Aks'lo. He's going at it, trouncing every Wave soldier he can get at, but even so, the commander in the field describes the Skrulls as offering only 'token defense'. In addition, we're given a glimpse of not only how Super-Skrull views himself, but how a once well-regarded soldier is now ridiculed by the general Skrull populace.

Low Point: The attraction of Praxagora to Super-Skrull, first shown in #3. It just seemed unneccessary for her to fall in love with him. I felt it would have been enough to show her having respect for his skills as a warrior, and perhaps that their hatred of the Annihilus would make them kindred spirits. Mybe with more time, it would have felt more natural to me.

Annihilation: Nova (#1-4) - My second favorite mini-series, and probably the one that most shapes Annihilation. Nova tries to cope with the destruction of the Nova Corps, the overwhelming power of the full Nova Force, and having Drax threatening to kill him if he doesn't get his act together. We see Nova gradually become more hardened, more gritty, but it's done in a way that's more believeable and less absurd than Marvel's strategy with Speedball (sorry, couldn't resist).

High Point: #2, when Rich gets tired of Drax and the Worldmind yelling at him, and tells them to sort it out between themselves. #3, where Quasar calmly stands up to Drax, who's been pushing Nova around pretty good up until then. 'I see. Should I signal the Avengers? The Imperial Guard?' Heh. You tell him, Wendell. Still, the best moment, hands down, is Nova and Quasar's head-on attack on Annihilus in #4. Sure, they're totally outclassed, but that doesn't stop them from going for the best chance to stop the Wave in its tracks. Too bad about Quasar though.

Low Point: Hmm, I'm having a hard time picking out a distinct low point. There was the point in #1 when he called the Worldmind "Dad". That was weird, and it never really seemed to get brought up again. Just kind of an odd moment.

Annihilation: Ronan (#1-2) - What I'd call the weakest of the minis. I read through #3, had no clue where it was going and gave up hope. Just too weakly related to Annihilation, I think.

High Point: I think this would be #1, when Ronan has inadverdently started a clan war by meting out Kree justice. There's a couple of pages of him walking through a clan battle like he's out for a stroll. He takes action only when he's attacked, and only because the attacker is standing between him and his ship.

Low Point: I guess #3, since that's the issue that I decided to give up on.

Annihilation (#1-6): The big-time. The final showdown. The conflict for alllllll the marbles. The... oh enough of that. It was awesome, I loved the ragtag band of heroes, anti-heroes, villains, really whoever could chip in to try and fight the Wave. Plus, Nova dissed the heroes muddling around in Civil War for not having their stuff together. Good times.

High Point: So much to choose from. There was Galactus' defeat in #1, and his revenge in #6. There was the Nova/Annihilus fight. I thought Thanos' reason for aiding Annihilus (Essentially, that he wanted to see what would happen) was pretty amusing. The fact that he was the one spreading the misinformation about the dangers of teleporting was a nice touch. Ronan's assault on House Fiyero in #5, complete with Super-Skrull team-up, culminating in just destroying half of Ravenous' face. Still, I'll go with the defeat of the Unified Front in #3. In a move that truly surprised me, the tide wasn't turned, Annihilus' forces trounced Nova's group, and scattered them like grains of sand. Granted, the "villains deal heroes a resounding defeat" isn't new to these kinds of things (the villains did it two or three times in Secret Wars, I think), but in those situations, the heroes usually regroup and come right back at them. This time, they broke up, Gamora switching to guerrila tactics, Ronan heading for Kree space, leaving Nova to go after the main Wave himself.

Low Point: I was kind of sad that Peter didn't get to chip in on the final battle. Sure, he was really outclassed, but so were Nova and Phyla, so why not let him have some fun?

Well, that's everything.