Tag: keith giffen (writer)

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Annihilation Omnibus: Silver Surfer

This is a review of the Silver Surfer miniseries, written by Keith Giffen with art by Renato Arlem, which appears in the Annihilation Omnibus. You can read my reviews of Drax the Destroyer and Nova here and here. 

The Annihilation Wave is coming, so lock your doors! On second thought, don’t bother. Since The Annihilation Wave is a space armada hailing from the Negative Zone led by bug warlord Annihilus, it won’t do any good. Annihilus is invading us because our universe is expanding and the Negative Zone is shrinking. This is a crazy reason to declare war on a universe, but you don’t get to be a bug warlord by being sane.

This miniseries features the Silver Surfer, a silver dude who flies around on his cosmic surfboard. I kid you not. He’s also known as Norrin Radd, ex-Herald of Galactus. Who is Galactus, you ask? Why, he’s a big purple and pink dude who travels the universe devouring planets. The Silver Surfer was his original herald, which means he found worlds for Galactus to eat.

In other words, the Surfer is an accessory to genocide, mass murder, Armageddon – whatever you want to call it. He leads Galactus to Earth and then has a change of heart and turns against him. The Purple World Eater doesn’t take this well and gives the Surfer the boot. That’s why he’s an ex-herald.

Whew, that’s a lot of exposition! Anyway, the Surfer is being stalked by Annihilus’ minions, a bunch of big grey hardbody dudes with space-dogs led by Ravenous. Annihilus wants to harness the Power Cosmic, and since Galactus goes through heralds like socks, Ravenous and his boys have been busy. 

After beating up on Ravenous but not killing him, the Surfer once again becomes Galactus’ herald. But not before the Silver One has a crisis of faith. What is the difference between the Annihilation Wave and what Galactus does?

The difference, apparently, is that what Galactus does is part of the Galactic Order. How do we know this? Well, Galactus tells us. I mean, if I was Galactus, I might say the same thing, but I digress. We also see Thanos, who I think starred in some movie, meet up with Annihilus. Afterwards, Thanos has a pow-wow with Tenebrous and Aegis, two beings on par with Galactus. Seems like trouble might be brewing!

The Silver Surfer is an interesting character, quiet, introspective, thoughtful. Perhaps these qualities are what make him a good herald? I dunno. Anyway, this storyline seems mostly about advancing the plot for the upcoming Annihilation miniseries, so it’s not as interesting as the others. But you do need to read it, if you want to read Annihilation, which I think is a good idea. Recommended for lovers of space opera comics and dudes on cosmic surfboards.

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Annihilation Omnibus: Drax the Destroyer

This is a review of the Drax the Destroyer miniseries, written by Keith Giffen with art by Mitch Breitweiser, which appears in the Annihilation Omnibus. The Annihilation storyline revitalized Marvel’s cosmic line, leading to the resurrection of titles like Guardians of the Galaxy and the resurgence of characters like Thanos, both of whom appeared in the movies Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame. I won’t say that this is the miniseries that started it all, but it’s still a fine read.

Drax the Destroyer is Marvel’s cosmic version of The Hulk, big, green, and dumb. Drax survives an exploding spaceship taking him to prison, and ends up in Coot’s Bluff, Alaska, population 2816 – a number that is soon to plunge. I do not know why Drax is bound for prison. I am a comic junkie, and I do not even know Drax’s backstory. If you look up obscure Marvel characters in the dictionary, you will see Drax’s face. His history doesn’t matter, because the purpose of this miniseries is to serve as an introduction to characters appearing in Annihilation.

Besides Drax, there are four other survivors – a Skrull named Paibok, a blue alien named Lunatik, and the Blood Brothers, who are, uh, brothers. This group can be divided into those who are smart, Paibok; those who are smart and evil, Lunatik; and those who are stupid, The Blood Brothers and Drax. The Blood Brothers start a brawl with Drax while Paibok and Lunatik enter Coot’s Bluff, kill a bunch of locals, and organize the survivors into work gangs. They want to salvage the remains of the exploding spaceship and jury rig a ship so they can leave Earth, ASAP.

Paibok kills Drax. It takes him about five seconds. The Skrull is a soldier, and he uses his abilities like a soldier would. But don’t worry! Drax is resurrected, or perhaps he resurrects himself. There are hints Drax is evolving during his scuffle with The Blood Brothers – the longer the fight drags on, the smarter he gets.

Upon Drax’s resurrection, he psychically bonds with Cammie, a local. Cammie falls under the category of smart and evil. She’s ten, but has the world-weariness of a fifty-seven-year old cashier working full-time at McDonalds, which is to say she’s stuck and hates her life. The new Drax isn’t as strong as the dumb Drax, but he’s a thousand times more lethal. He has no qualms about killing and only fights when he needs to.

This reads more like an adventure or survival comic than a superhero story in that it is devoid of any sentimentality and features a sky-high body count. None of the characters – Drax included – act like superheroes. They act according to their self-interests. Drax doesn’t kill Paibok, because he has no reason to do so. In a way, Paibok did Drax a favor – because big, green, and dumb is no way to go through life. Recommended, especially for fans of Keith Giffen and Marvel’s Cosmic Line.