Nova #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I liked this comic.  It's a great example of everything that this sort of series should be.  You've got the hero getting mysterious hints of something happening outside his limited world, learning that his family has a secret history, and then finally expanding that limited world thanks to the lessons of the secret history and the discovery of an unexpected power.  Loeb grounds the story in an believably earnest character and starts to set up a strong supporting cast.  (How great was Rocket Raccoon here?)  Plus, McGuinness gives it all a sense of grandeur that only the high desert and deep space can inspire.

But, I have questions.

First, in terms of the story itself, we clearly need to learn why the Nova Corps suddenly called on Sam's dad after all these long years.  In fact, it really begs the question why he was allowed to be on a temporary hiatus in the first place, given that Rich could've used some help during that whole period where he thought the entire Nova Corps had been destroyed and he had to defend the galaxy by himself.  Given that we've already ret-conned the fact that Rich was the first Earth-based Nova, Loeb has to move a lot faster in answering these questions.

But, we really need to know about Rich.

No, seriously.  Wacker implied in the letter page of "Guardians of the Galaxy" #1 that Rich returned in this issue, but, unless he's also somehow Sam's dad, it clearly didn't seem to happen.  In this issue's letters page, he promises that we'll learn more, but it's not enough. I effing love Rich Rider.  "Nova" and the various "Annihilation" series are some of the best comics that I've ever read and I feel like we've somehow returned to the bad old days, where Rich is treated like a joke, rather than the good past days, where Rich is the guy who saves the whole effing galaxy while the Earth heroes were fighting over whether they should be forced to reveal their secret identities.  He deserves better than he's getting here and someone better acknowledge that soon.

I have questions and I want answers.  Until then, this series is going to be hard to enjoy, no matter how exciting and fun Loeb and McGuinness make it.