This issue's doing some serious conceptual reconfiguration for these cosmic characters. The explanation of the new universe's divergence, the specifics of Thanos' death avatar crusade, Drax's hostility toward him, Nova's plea to the Kree empire for a task force... all of it gives me a real charge. This feels like a genuine space opera, not just capes in the galaxy. I'll also say that Sepulveda and Ramos may have finally hit their stride with the ink-less-but-colored art in this issue. Maybe the pencils got tighter, maybe the colors were sharper, but I wasn't actually aware about there being a difference this time until I went back over the issue.
The Bad
Considering that this story's only six issues long, I'm starting to feel that there are too many characters to cover. Sure, it's an epic, but between all of the alternate reality versions of characters scattered throughout, I got seriously confused by the part where Nova reports to the Kree empire. I wasn't sure, at first, if these were supposed to be the 616 proper versions or the Cancerverse versions. Also, now that my suspicions regarding the naming of the Cancerverse, I have to question if the pun's really in good taste.
The Verdict - 4.5/5
Book for book, this has been one of the best weeks for comics in recent memory. It's doubly enjoyable for the fact that these books haven't really been treading the same ground. This book, in particular, is a testament to Marvel's success at retooling and revamping their cosmology into a space opera that can go toe-to-toe with any other brand of galactic adventure.
I dont find fault (HA Pun) with the cancerverse name. Cancer is when your cells multiple at an exotential rate with out decay in the cells. I think its a fitting title for the universe seeing as death is no more and repopulation is pretty much what the universe is filled with.
Unbelievably great series! Epic, bigger and better written than anything on the market today - not even close. Thanos is simply the greatest cosmic hero foil ever created. Did anyone catch the cool veiled reference to JLA/Avengers? The pale creepy Scarlet Witch was taken directly out of that JLA/Avengers book, where she was overcome by the "wild" chaos magic in that universe - what an unbelievably slick crossover reference - since here we learn that the Cthulu entities live between all dimensions, it would appear they also infest the DC universe - sweet!
Got to my shop late last week and it was sold out :( . Hope I have better luck this Wednesday! I needs me some epic space/alt universe battle/intrigue.
