NOVA drawing with Facebook Status Update

This is one of the Marvel Comics character Nova. I drew the figure in pencil, scanned it and then did the rest in Photoshop (click to view larger).

I may have mentioned this before, but I’m a big comics and sci-fi fan. Strangely enough, the sci-fi offerings found in comics are pretty bad – downright awful, actually.

At best, I suspect this is because they can’t hit you with the real hard sci-fi in comics since they have to make it palatable to a large audience who have a vested interest in long-running characters.

At worst, it’s just because some of the writers seriously lack imagination.

What’s been done by the Marvel team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with Nova and his companion spacefarers The Guardians of the Galaxy is some really phenomenal work with characters that were widely considered to be “throw-away” characters.

Right now these characters are somewhat in Limbo. Nova (along with the leader of the Guardians) is missing in action, both comics are on publishing hiatus (if not outright cancelled), and it looks like the casts are being pared down and consolidated into one book. Crap.

So Marvel’s offerings just got a little bit smaller. It’s a shame that DC’s flagship sci-fi comic Green Lantern is such a watered-down, bland, contrived psuedo sci-fi comic. This is the book that should be the absolute pinnacle of innovation and creativity. They should be blowing your mind every month with the things a Green Lantern can do.

Instead all you get is the same tired plot contrivances as well as red, blue and black rings thrown in, to boot. It’s embarrassing.

Green Lantern used to be one of my favorites, but it just got too painful to read so I had to quit buying it. For awhile I read it and got some enjoyment out of belittling the horrible plots, but there comes a point when you can’t even get that much enjoyment out of it, and it’s time to get out and stop rewarding the creators with your money.

Anyway, so what kind of Sci-Fi do I read? Well, usually the hard stuff, written by authors who either are scientists or are damn near scientists themselves. Stuff like these:

The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Seventh Annual Collection

The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection

The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection (Year’s Best Science Fiction)

If you read the stories in any one of these I personally guarantee you that your mind will be blown at least once by something in there.

Anyway, back to Nova and Green Lantern. This is another situation where I wonder what it would be like if these characters got together on a regular basis to commiserate and talk trash about saving the galaxy, etc. I think it might go something like this:

NOVA It’s lonely being the only space cop in the universe.

4 hours agoCommentLike

Green Lantern B-O-O H-O-O. Complain, complain…

3 hours ago

NOVA Hey, I just had to stop a double gamma burst all by myself, cut me some slack.

3 hours ago

Green Lantern I can see how that would be a problem. You know, with your…limitations.

2 hours ago

NOVA So what are you trying to say?

2 hours ago

Green Lantern I’m just saying the Green Lantern Corps wouldn’t get wiped out by a bunch of BUGS!

2 hours ago

NOVA Oh, I see. Hey Hal, how many Green Lanterns does it take to wipe out a whole Green Lantern Corps?

2 hours ago

Green Lantern Oh, you wanna go there?! I was under the control of a big yellow fear monster!!

2 hours ago

NOVA Yeah you’ve always got an excuse, don’t you?

2 hours ago

Green Lantern At least I’m not wearing a BUCKET on my head.

2 hours ago

NOVA Ha ha, I NEVER heard that one before…rolls eyes…

2 hours ago

Fake Green Lantern WZUP?? Hey guys can’t we all just get along?

2 hours ago

NOVA Damn, Hal. I thought you blocked him?

2 hours ago

Fake Green Lantern You BLOCKED me, Hal? WHY??

2 hours ago

Green Lantern Dammit, Nova! Why’d you say that? Now he’s gonna cry. You know how long it takes to calm him down!

2 hours ago

Fake Green Lantern Hal, I thought we were friends? I try to be a good Green Lantern…

2 hours ago

Green Lantern Jeez, Kyle. Man up, would you? You’re fine. You’re great.

2 hours ago

Fake Green Lantern NO! You tried to block me! Just forget it!!!!1!!

2 hours ago

Green Lantern Crap. Now the Guardians are gonna be all up my ass over this.

2 hours ago

NOVA Nice. You Green Lanterns are all class.

2 hours ago

Green Lantern Oh do YOU wanna hang out with him?

2 hours ago

NOVA HELL naw, lol.

2 hours ago

Green Lantern LOL!

2 hours ago

NOVA So when you gonna hook me up with Starfire? She looks good in that space bikini she wears.

2 hours ago

Green Lantern Shoot, I’ve been trying to get that myself, player…

2 hours ago

So aside from that, here’s the pencil version of the Nova piece all the way at the top, just for kicks (click to view larger).

Anyway, if you are or are not a Nova or Green Lantern fan, let me know what you think about the current crop of stories out there now. Also if there’s any character you’d like to see featured, or if you’d like a commission, you can let me know either in the comments or you can contact me via my form.

’till next time!

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