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Nerdage wraps up our interview with Nova Prime’s Doug Smith. We’d like to thank Doug for his indulgence being part of our Nova Week celebration, and we encourage Nova fans to continue to visit the Nova Prime page!

Matt Price: What do you think of the “Annihilation” saga?

Doug Smith: It’s incredible! And the best part is that this new phase of Nova didn’t come out of left field or ham-fisted into one issue. It was developed over time beginning with the Annihilation: Prologue, widely expanded in the four issue Annihilation: Nova mini-series and brought to fruitation in Annihilation. And it was all driven by the events happening to the character. Personally, I love Nova’s new adventures taking place in space. The science fiction element of Nova’s origins had been neglected for a long time which was a shame. It’s a major part of what makes Nova different from the majority of Marvel’s super-heroes and it’s great to see it being used. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are bringing in weird and wonderful concepts to their new series but never at the expense of Rich Rider’s character.

Matt Price: What kind of feedback have you gotten on the site? Doug Smith: Really great! The site started as a personal project but it’s allowed me to meet, and be friends with, a number of fellow Nova fans from around the world. Nova fans have contributed wonderful projects to the FanWorks section and they make me aware of Nova appearances that I might have missed. Which is fantastic for me since I get the thrill of hunting down back issues!The biggest surprise that came from creating the site was from Nova artist Brian Denham. Brian liked the site so much that he wanted to reward me for the work I’d done. He asked me to send him a photo of myself and he used it to draw me as one of the Novas who fought Rich Rider’s Phalanx virus in Nova #7!!

Matt Price: Is there anything else you’d like to add? Doug Smith: Just that I hope everyone who isn’t picking up Nova will give it a try. It’s a great book that’s smartly written that has had the benefit of a top-notch set of artists working on it. The first seven issues are now available as a trade paperback so anyone can get caught up quickly. And if a new reader wants an overview of Nova’s past 30 years, they can download the Rocket Boosters fanzine from the Nova Prime Page (in the FanWorks section) for free!

From The Oklahoman

http://newsok.com/article/3201900/1202477207

By Matthew Price

Acting Assistant Features Editor

WORD BALLOONS

Given powers by a dying alien, Richard Rider became the embodiment of the Nova force. Most recently, he’s been at the forefront of the heroes repelling the incursion from the arch-villain Annihilus. Richard Rider will star in his first annual Wednesday, as he battles a techno-organic virus.

Ain’t it Cool News called “Nova” “without a doubt, the best Marvel ongoing series of the year.” Marvel.com named Nova one of Marvel’s top-10 heroes of 2007. But Nova taking charge of a strike force taking on galactic threats, as he did in the recent “Annihilation” saga, was a long time coming. For much of his publishing history, Nova has been a second-tier character, though one with devoted fans.

“The Man Called Nova” launched in 1976, written by Marv Wolfman (“Teen Titans,” “Tomb of Dracula”) with art by John Buscema (“Avengers”) and Joe Sinnott (“Fantastic Four”). The cover proclaimed “In the marvelous tradition of Spider-Man!” Clearly, there were big plans for the Man Called Nova.

In Nova’s first issue, Richard Rider is a 17-year-old from Queens, N.Y. After being harassed by the school bully, Richard retreats to the ice cream shop. It’s there that the everyday teen is hit by the energy beam that gives him the power to become Nova.

Doug Smith, owner of the comprehensive fan site about Nova at www.novaprimepage.com, says he was a fan from the very beginning, when at age 12 he picked up “The Man Called Nova” No. 1 from the local grocery store.

“I was sitting on the floor making my pile of new comics when I saw something new,” he said. “It was an incredible cover of a super-hero flying through the air surrounded by a montage of cool action scenes. And it was a first issue! I knew this because it told me so in great big bold letters. I had never collected a series from No. 1 and had never been able to follow a super-hero from his first appearance.”

Smith said while Nova’s costume drew his interest, Richard’s personal life made Nova all the more intriguing.

“Richard Rider turned out to be me! I could relate to him on a level that I had never been able to before. Rich was an average kid trying to get through school and life the best he could. To me, he wasn’t a loser. He had a girlfriend, friends, a normal family life, etc. His biggest failing was a lack of self-confidence,” Smith said. “And being in junior high at the time, I could really relate to that.

“And suddenly, Rich Rider is granted super-powers along with that great uniform! It was the ultimate wish fulfillment for a young reader like me. The best part was that Nova was still Richard Rider. His personality didn’t change with the new powers. He didn’t all of a sudden have all the answers and all the confidence in the world but he still was determined to use his powers for good. I loved that!”

Despite strong feelings from many fans, sales weren’t strong enough to maintain “Nova,” which was canceled after the 25th issue. The character guest-starred in “Fantastic Four,” “Amazing Spider-Man” and “Rom” before finally being depowered.

The character remained dormant for six years before being revived in the pages of “New Warriors.”

“Rich’s powers were reactivated when a hero named Night Thrasher dropped him off a building,” Smith said. “Night Thrasher gambled that his actions would jump-start the powers and Nova would join his new team, the New Warriors, in gratitude. Although angry at being almost killed, Nova agreed since Rich had missed being Nova more than anything. Nova was a member of the New Warriors for years until he was called back to Xandar to fight in the Annihilation War.”

It was the Annihilation War stories, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning that moved Nova up to A-list superhero status.

“‘Annihilation’ … and the (new) ‘Nova’ series have elevated Nova to a whole new pay grade. Richard Rider, unlike a lot of comic book characters, has been allowed to evolve,” Smith said. “He’s no longer the young, unsure hero he started out as and he’s not the brash, angry member of the New Warriors that he became years later. The current Nova series has Nova in situations far beyond what he’s ever encountered before and he has grown into a fine leader and hero with the core foundation of the character intact.”

It’s Nova Week at Nerdage, Matthew Price’s blog about comics, video games and more at blog.newsok.com/nerdage

There was a lot of online speculation during “Civil War” about the possible interaction between that storyline and either the ongoing “Annihilation” storyline or possibly “Planet Hulk.” While, from what I understand, “World War Hulk” was originally more of a direct sequel to Civil War, I don’t know that the Annihilation Wave was ever planned to reach Earth.
That said, David Hine picks up the idea and runs with it in “What if Annihilation Reached Earth,” a recent one-shot from Marvel Comics.
The “What If” concept in Marvel Comics takes a pivotal event and shifts something that happened, allowing the event to play out differently.  In “What If Annihilation,” Drax the Destroyer makes a different choice at a critical moment, causing Nova’s United Front resistance  unable to halt Annihilation.
At the climax of Civil War, the clash between Iron Man and Captain America is interrupted — by a scout ship from the Annihilation Wave. 
Richard Rider, Nova, stops the scout ship, and comes to the heroes for help — and is amazed that they’ve spent the last several months “squabbling over (their) secret identities.”
Nova is appropriately heroic, at the heart of this alternate storyline.  He works to bring together factions against stiff odds, and takes a key role as Annihilation unfolds.  Working with Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Bolt, Nova enlists another cosmic force to help Earth face Annihilus.
Mico Suayan provides the art for pages 1-9 and 21-24; Rafael Kayanan handles pages 10-20.  Both artists provide appropriately moody but still mainstream style Marvel artwork.
Marvel Comics fans who want a hint at what might have been will enjoy “What If: Annihilation.” With no “next issue” needed, “What If” comics can up the carnage and the consequences. “What If: Annihilation” does so ably.

– Matt Price

I’ll be honest — for a long time I couldn’t figure out why everybody loved Nova so much.

They didn’t love him like Wolverine or Spider-Man. Those were easy characters to love, mostly because everybody else already like them and they were (and still are) EVERYWHERE.

But in the comic shop, it never took too long to hear somebody pipe up about their favorite character, the human rocket, Nova. And I thought they were morons.

“Oh, he can fly and he’s strong and there’s a Nova Corps? Kind of sounds like a rip-off of Green Lantern,” I’d say, watching their eyes bug out and beads of sweat form over their ever-reddening skin. “Besides, any member of the New Warriors is lame.”

Nobody ever took a swing at me because of my opinions, but I know a few people who considered bludgeoning me with a plus-2 mace. The truth was, they pitied me, and rightfully so. I just didn’t know the real Nova.

And I wouldn’t until Marvel came up with a smart way to use all those outer-space characters that were just floating in the cosmic void — “Annihilation.”

If you’re not a Nova fan, and God help you sir if that is true, then the best place to start isn’t “The Essential Nova, Vol. 1″ — it’s the very recent “Annihilation: Book 1″ trade.

There is more to that book, of course. You get the Drax miniseries (which is pretty good in its own right) and the prologue book, which sets Nova on his course, but what won me over was the included “Annihilation: Nova” mini.

Forget the indecisive Nova of the New Warriors. Forget the Spider-Man-style angst of his late ’70s debut. My Nova is the battle-hardened space general who, with the Xandarian WorldMind in his head and the full Nova Force at his disposal, led a rag-tag group against Annihilus.

The entire “Annihilation” series is a great read, as are the newly collected “Nova” trades. The superb storytelling of Abnett and Lanning have sent Nova — once scorned and rebuked — to the top of my pile on comic book day.

– Greg Elwell