Tag Archives: Sam Alexander

Dec 13 2013

Nova 11

nova 11

Today, Patrick and Ethan are discussing Nova 11, originally released December 11th, 2013.

Patrick: When I was in Junior High School, I had to babysit for my little sister kind of a lot. It was fine – I think she’s one of the best people in the world, and we were friends even then. But it was something of a running joke with my friends: “Patrick can’t come to band practice because he’s got to babysit,” “Patrick can’t go roller skating because he’s got to babysit,” “Patrick can’t explore the starfield map in his brain because he has to babysit.” Oh, wait, that one’s not me. That one’s Nova. Continue reading →

Sep 30 2013

Nova 8

Alternating Currents: Nova 8, Drew and Shelby

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing Nova 8, originally released September 25th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

infinity divider

Drew: Teenage superheroes are tricky. Part of what makes them appealing is their adult-like agency, but if you give them too much, they cease to resemble actual teens — writers must maintain a careful balance between escapism and realism. One of the most common tools used by writers to keep their teen heroes grounded is to surround them with other teen superheroes, and maybe even have them fight teen villains. This effectively scales their world back, giving them a comfortable niche between regular, mortal adolescence, and full-on adult superheroics. In Nova 8, writer Zeb Wells starts building that teen cast, giving Sam a stake in the events of Infinity that are fully unique. Continue reading →

Jul 3 2013

Nova 5

nova 5

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Nova 5, originally released June 27th, 2013.

Beru: Owen, he can’t stay here forever. Most of his friends have gone. It means so much to him.

Owen: I’ll make it up to him next year, I promise.

Beru: Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him.

Owen: That’s what I’m afraid of.

-Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope

Patrick: It’s not uncommon for our space heroes to have impossible family legacies to live up to. Luke Skywalker would come to define himself by how he chose to respond his father’s every action. Darth Vader isn’t evil — he’s over zealous, he gets in over his head and uses his considerable powers to get what he wants. He’s an old man in need of redemption, and Luke’s the only person to see that — because they’re so much alike. This conversation between Luke’s adopted aunt and uncle holds the perfect amount of mystery and specificity to tease some meaningful depth about the character. In Nova, Sam’s father’s reputation looms similarly large, but no one has anything nearly so interesting to say about him. Continue reading →

May 21 2013

Nova 4

nova 4

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Nova 4, originally released May 15th, 2013.

Shelby: In the pilot episode of Firefly, we meet the ship’s pilot Wash as he is playing with some toy dinosaurs. As the T-Rex and his veggie-saurus friend survey their new home, the Rex turns on his friend, prompting the delightful line, “Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal!” In last month’s look at issues 1-3 of Nova, Patrick and Drew discussed Jeff Loeb’s penchant for cliches; they assumed Young Sam would be betrayed by Rocket and Gamorra, but because it seemed so obvious, they also assumed it was a fake-out. They weren’t totally wrong; Loeb gives us our inevitable betrayal this issue, but it comes from a completely unexpected direction.  Continue reading →

Apr 23 2013

Nova 1-3

Alternating Currents: Nova 1-3, Drew and Patrick

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Nova 1-3, originally released February, March, and April 17th, 2013, respectively.

Drew: Cliche is a complicated subject in genre fiction. We tend to characterize predictability as bad, but it’s only by setting up expectations that writers are able to thwart them. Moreover, those tropes may be the very thing that draws us to those genres in the first place — we want the hero to beat the villain, get the girl, and ride off into the sunset. As a veteran writer conversant in a number of genres, Jeff Loeb understands the power of those tropes, mixing them potently in his take on Nova. Continue reading →