Nova #19

 

Comic: Nova #19

Where Purchased: Jeremiah's Antiques & Collectibles in Putnam, Connecticut

When Purchased: November 22, 2023

When Read: November 21, 2024

Nova is one of those characters that I've been aware of but never made any effort to collect.  Heck, for the longest time I only had one copy of this series in my entire collection and it has been a part of the collection for so long, I don't have any details on why it is in my collection.  I suspect it was part of a gift pack from Sears that I got one Christmas.

I can't really recall any significant story he was in or impact he made in the roughly two dozen appearances he has made throughout the 14,141 comics in my collection. 

I've now got 4 issues of this series which is still low enough that I am not feeling a need to complete the 25 issue run but it is an easy title to look for if I am in a store and need a sympathy buy.

The funny thing is that I had thought this issue was in my collection.  Blackout was one of the first villains to fight the Avengers when I first started collecting.  I was sure I had grabbed it at some point.  But I was wrong.

It is a decent little origin story.  Solid writing for the era and I like the combination of Carmine Infantino's pencils with Tom Palmer's inks.

This issue can also count as an unofficial Marvel/DC crossover based on the conversation on the left of this panel:

The implication is that is Wally West (Kid Flash) talking about Barry Allen (The Flash).  It is doubly fun given that Carmine Infantino is the long time artist for DC's Flash comic, including "Flash of Two Worlds," the story that introduced Earth-Two to DC Comics!

I bought this comic almost exactly one year prior to reading it in the nearby town of Putnam at J&S Collectibles inside Jeremiah's Antique & Collectable Shoppes.  It is worth a stop but give yourself some time.  The selection is mostly organized but requires some patience and a keen eye.

12-12-12

I am a geek for numbers, so today's date does intrigue me.  To "celebrate", here are 12* comics I own....that are #12 in their series!

*I know there are WAY more than 12 covers here....I started this post last weekend.  I had planned to narrow this down before publishing it and time got away from me!  As it is, I am writing this footnote a full day late!!

Blogging From A To Z: Q is for

Quasar #17

This comic contains one of the GREATEST Easter Eggs of all-time.  The following is from Comic Book Resources:

The gist of the issue (written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Mike Manley) is that one of the Elders of the Universe has come to Earth. Just like how his fellow Elder, the Champion, had come to Earth to engage the strongest heroes on Earth, so, too, has the Runner come to Earth to engage the FASTEST heroes on Earth.

The Runner has all the fastest people on Earth compete in an inter-stellar race. Makkari of the Eternals was a Quasar supporting cast member at the time, and speed was his deal. Similarly, the Squadron Supreme has recently shown up on Earth and the Whizzer was a speedster, too. They both competed in the race along with some other familiar faces (like Captain Marvel, Quicksilver, Speed Demon, Super Sabre and more!).

In any event, partway through the race (which happened in 1990) a certain familiar fellow appeared in a flash…

And later we are introduced to him... 

For those of you NOT in the know, Barry Allen was the second Flash at DC Comics (the one from The Super-Friends cartoons of the 70s and 80s), whose comic had the tagline "The Fastest Man Alive".  He wore a familiar red and yellow costume...

At this point in DC Comics time, the Flash had sacrificed himself to save the Multiverse.  He had been "dead" about 4 years....