Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: David Baldeon
Colorist: David Curiel
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Marvel
Publication Date: July 16, 2014
What I Liked
✔Great storytelling, with compelling themes involving the need of a child to understand the motivations of his father, in order to truly know himself and his purpose.
✔Witty dialogue that moved the story forward, and provided depth of character to Sam and even a bit to Rocket as well.
✔Lots of action and humor
✔Rocket Raccoon. ‘Nuff said!
✔Fantastic art
✔Pacing was nearly flawless and perfectly balanced between character development, story movement, and fight scenes.
What I Didn’t Like
✘There was a lot of Rocket Raccoon, but still not enough, though very minor gripe
✘Would’ve liked to hear more of Sam’s inner monologue, what he was feeling learning that his dad was corrupt. Would’ve taken the character development to the next level
Themes:
Once again, the main themes underneath the narrative of Nova #19 are related (pun intended) to the relationship between father and son. This has been a recurring theme in the Marvel Universe of late, with Cyclops new series focusing on the same paternal bond.
Sam is on a journey to discover who is father really was, because he feels that to do so will help him understand a bit more about himself and his purpose.
He’s a teenager in desperate need of a strong, male role model in his life, someone to teach him what it means to be a man, how to be responsible, and what he is to do with the power he’s been given in the Nova helmet.
This seems to be why he is crushed to discover that his father wasn’t a hero, at least as far as we know from what’s been revealed during the Original Sin event. Sam is desperate for identity, and at the moment, he’s seeking that identity through his father, rather than forging his own, which is likely the direction (hopefully) the book will take in the future.
Overall score: 9 out of 10
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