Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciler: Sean Chen
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Guru e-FX
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99

Who doesn't love getting some Cosmic? Even those terrestrial comic books featuring (relatively) grounded superheroes can only go so far in terms of whacked-out storytelling. For the super-ridiculous (and super-entertaining), you've got to head out into the outer reaches. For me, a space-set story isn't about drama and epic character arcs; save that stuff for the sad sacks who shoot webs from their wrists. Space should simply be about good times.

And good times are exactly what get delivered in this first issue of the new Nova ongoing. Spilling out from the pages of Annihilation-Marvel's "other" 2006 crossover that was overshadowed by that lack of civility-Nova drags a interstellar-ghettoized C-lister and gives him some major chops in the new ongoing department. I definitely wasn't expecting to enjoy this book. Nova has had his own series and was a member of the New Warriors in his 30+ years as a character, but he hasn't been used for much lately. In order to give him some muscle (which Marvel hopes to translate into readers and staying power), Nova has been gifted with an excellent starting-off point and a storyline that will seems more than a little similar to what goes on with a certain DC crew that digs on green suits and hot rings.

Nova may look like Judge Dredd and rail on space-crime like Hal Jordan, but he's also got quite a bit in common with Marvel's own Sentry. (Both Nova and that Golden Guardian of Good have A.I. mainframe systems buzzing in their ears.) This book picks up right after Annihilation, which killed off the entirety of the Nova Corps, with the exception of this Nova, formerly Richard Rider of Queens, New York who, by happenstance, was picked to be space bobby. Now that he's doing the job all alone, things are a bit more explosive and he's more than a little overworked. This issue finds him in two major clashes on alien worlds (highlighted by slam-bam-pow action), attempting to do the work of the decimated Corps all by his lonesome. It's a tough job, and it's pretty exhausting.

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning write Nova like he's a well-known A-lister, full of verve and attitude, agony and frustration. I mentioned earlier how emotional depth has no place in a "fun" cosmic comic, but the writing team makes it all relevant and palpable. The trick is that they don't spend too much time on the wordy crap, and instead move quickly from battle to battle. For a first issue, you can't do much better. Our Nova is insanely driven and singularly focused, which tends to make him come across as one-dimensional, but Abnett and Lanning keep the proceedings moving quickly, and manage some true depth.

Sean Chen's pencils, with inks and colors by Scott Hanna and Guru e-FX, respectively, make the book shine in all the right places. Action is detailed but never overwhelming in that Top Cow sort of way. The deceptively simple style is richly layered and manages several different settings and terrains. The art team turns in a fun, fun book.

I stand corrected. Nova turns out to be a sleeper, a good time, a stellar space book. A-list tie-ins are what will keep this book going while it finds its legs, but the creative team definitely has the chops to make this character stand on his own.

RATING: 4/5

Writer: C.B. Cebulski
Artist: Karl Moline
Colorist: Christina Strain
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99

From the pages of Runaways comes the tale of another set of teens who aren't so much trying to fight criminality, but working to subdue the impulse to squeeze into the tights. The superhero self-help group known as "the Loners" (originally "Excelsior" as seen in the first story arc of Runaways Volume 2) is in their own six-issue mini which will explore all the hot topics on the tip of every comic fan's tongue: depression, repression, guilt, regret, abuse, quasi-sexual assault and the enabling of others' rampant drug use.

That's some comic book bread and butter, folks! However, the proceedings aren't quite as serious as they sound. Writer C.B. Cebulski manages to give an otherwise level-headed teen team book some well-earned gravitas. Runaways readers will understand the full back story to this weep-fest team-up, but newbies won't be lost-and they should certainly check out this book. I have several volumes of Runaways back issues on my shelf that I have yet to crack open; even without a modicum of familiarity, this book is a casual delight. (Honestly, Wikipedia can give you all the info you'd ever want or need.) Basically: this group of former heroes comes together (Darkhawk, Power Pack's Lightspeed, and the "heroic" Green Goblin among them) in the hopes of turning away from a superhero life and retaining a normal, mild-mannered existence. Kids all over are getting hooked on Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH)-created with the help of powered heroes and villains looking for an easy score-and the Loners want to be a positive influence on the youth. (And if the less-than-vague "War on Drugs" references weren't enough, there's a governmental anti-drug ad on the back cover.)

But it's not that easy, or that mundane. Cebulski manages to squeeze some real story out of an otherwise tired premise. There are some twisty moments in this book, along with plenty of loosely veiled references to non-mutant teen issues (such as suicide and body dismorphic disorder). But all the real-world applications fall off once Spider Woman III, Mattie Franklin, reveals that she's scamming the support group as a way to get the team to fight the very drug lords who manipulate the mutant set in order to score the DNA for the drugs. The storytelling transition works, but the book is frontloaded with wordiness. It'll be interesting to see if Cebulski can maintain that delicate balance as the story saunters on, especially if it has any hopes of becoming an ongoing series.

Karl Moline's art works well for this title. The thicker, sharper lines nicely contrast Runaways polished glossiness. Christine Strain's palette maintains the colors of the other series, yet also fits well with Moline's edgy designs. The character tension is clear whether it's apparent during a church basement intervention or rollicking battle. The Loners are in good hands.

This book succeeds by being more than a one-note spin off. There's real tension and drama here, and the story acknowledges the Civil War shake-up without being marred by the myriad MU tectonic shifts. If the Breakfast Club tribute cover (which should also be noted as a Texas Chain Saw Massacre Part II tribute cover) is any indication, it should be a fun series, lacking in the self-seriousness department, but not without a "message" of some sort.

RATING: 4/5

Writer: James Farr
Artist: Nate Lovett
Publisher: Devil's Due Publishing
Price: $3.50

Zombies for kids. It was bound to happen. Why should the kiddies be left out of the brain-chewing and flesh-ripping? Even Beetlejuice was turned into a cartoon, remember? This Xombie has its origins as a Flash-based animated Web series, now making the jump to an actual comic with series creator James Farr on hand with the writing duties.

The story takes place roughly 50 years in the future, in the aftermath of a plague that has the earth crawling with zombies and humanity huddled in secured enclaves. Kids still go to school, but it seems that all they learn about is zombies, protection from and physiology of. There's one kid who knows a whole lot more than anybody regarding the current state of things, and that's Zoë, a doe-eyed, purple-maned teen who was once saved from a killer bite by a sentient zombie (those types are called "xombies") named Dirge, who found Zoë and returned her to the humans. Since then, Zoë has been source of insider info, and the settlement authorities bring her in after a Clint Eastwood-looking xombie (which isn't too much of a stretch in the first place) takes out some gun toting military dudes. Those dudes were protecting essential cargo to the human settlement, without which the humans won't be able to further protect themselves from the planet's zombie hordes. Zoë is sent out with an Aliens-like military crew find Dirge and enlist his help in finding the xombie killer.

That's the story. The online origin of the Xombie oeuvre isn't necessary for enjoyment of this book, which proves itself to be fairly entertaining all-ages horror. The creeps are softened with their big yellow eyes and Swiss cheese ears. This story has quite a bit in common with an instantly forgettable DC zombie series from a couple years back called Toe Tags (written by George A Romero). That miniseries was paneled excrement, and this series works infinitely better through concept and execution. Farr keeps the story simple, dialogue short, and most of the pacing present in the artwork. Nate Lovett's art ably retains the look of a webisode, which also means that the panels are simple and somewhat stark. The digital coloring is nice and cartoon-like, with the action all fresh and clean. "Clean" and "zombie" don't usually go together, but the youth-centric angle on this story makes for middling, if not exciting, entertainment.

This story will appeal to that comic reader that wants a good time, a little taste of horror, and a well-paced story. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it's nice to see an online success get well translated to the page. It's an uplifting zombie book, the anti-Walking Dead, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in these cynical times.

RATING: 3.5/5

Writer: Jeff Parker
Penciler: Mike Wieringo
Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Colorist: Pete Pantazis
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99

I really think this book should have been published under the Marvel Adventures logo, because it's obviously intended for kids. That doesn't mean that it's bad, it's just not what I was expecting, especially after seeing all the glossy pictures in Diamond Previews for the last few months.

The plot is nothing new: some extraterrestrial being comes to Earth with intention to overtake it. Obviously someone is going to have to save us, but who? I'm going to put my money on Super-Man and/or the Fantastic Four. Unfortunately, that's really all the detail I can give regarding the plot, as that's literally all that happens in this first issue. It starts with Spider-Man stopping his 30,000th mugging. Then The Impossible Man shows up, and he and Spider-Man spend literally half the book just dicking around, until he remembers that he came to Earth to warn them of their impending invasion. Both Spidey and the Fantastic Four take separate shots at the invader, but neither are successful. Perhaps they'll learn a valuable lesson about teamwork as they come to the inevitable realization that only together can they overcome their goals.

So yeah, definitely meant for a younger audience. But there's still merit to this title. While it may not be groundbreaking, it is entertaining, as it should be having Marvel's two most humorous licenses. The dialogue won't have you in stitches, but it's good for several good, clean chuckles here and there with a few groans thrown in. The art's not bad, but it's nothing extraordinary. Overall, it's not a bad at all. A little kiddie, but that's not so bad every now and then. People looking for a serious book involving a team-up between the two forces will be sorely disappointed. Anybody looking for a lighthearted read (or who are fans of Marvel Adventures) will enjoy this. Not bad , but not for everyone. -Reviewer Tristan Hoagland is not permitted to like stories targeted to youth due to a court order from the state of New Mexico.  Long story short, always wear underwear under your kilt when you visit a kindergarten class.

RATING: 3.5/5

Writers: Charlie Huston & Ted McKeever
Pencilers: Klaus Janson & Ted McKeever
Inkers: Klaus Janson & Ted McKeever
Colorists: Giulia Brusco & Chris Chuckry
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99

I don't even know where to begin with this book. It's such a train wreck that it's hard to legitimately review it. I guess I can only begin with the basics. There are actually two stories in this book. The first involves the titular Man-Thing. It takes places in a small town where Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe (okay, I might have made that up) exerts his tyrannical dominance over everything he sees, including the swampland surrounding the town. Every night, he invites the town's socialites over, where they feast of the flesh of a subdued, powerless Man-Thing. The newly appointed gardener watches this spectacle, horrified night after night. Eventually she decides that she can bear it no longer, and leaves, but before doing so, places a rose on the Man-Thing's body while the rich people have passed out from their feast. The rose causes the Man-thing to regain its power. The people in the room wake up and are horrified, and as we all know, "That what knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch." I probably just ruined the ending for you, but first off, what did expect? And secondly, who cares?

The second story is every bit as inane. It's about Simon Garth, who's apparently a zombie who breaks out of the morgue looking for love or beauty or some crap like that. He meets some jerks who beat him to death. Again. Upon returning to the morgue, he meets a dead girl and they make passionate postmortem love. The end. The moral of this story is that you shouldn't do drugs and make comics unless you're Alan Moore. It's just like Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, except it sucks. Seriously, this could easily be the worse story I've ever read.

While the first story is much better then the second one, it still falls short of being decent. Both of these stories are afflicted with a serious literary condition known as "Being really, really stupid." It's a shame because Klaus Janson did a pretty good job with the art in the first story. The art of the second story looks like it was drawn by a fifth grader, and should be hung up on a refrigerator with little magnets. Although, I guess that would technically make it good fifth grade art, but at the end of the day it's still looks like crap. The dialogue is abysmal in the second story, but only slightly less horrible in the first. Seriously, the only thing good about this book it that it might appeal to cult fans of Man-Thing (if such fans even exist). That and the fact that you're getting two terrible stories for the price of one, which I guess could be considered positive, depending how you look at it. -Reviewer Tristan Hoagland burned at the touch of my Giant-Sized Man-Thing.

RATING: 1.5/5