Asgardians Vs. Novas In Asgardians Of The Galaxy #4
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Asgardians of the Galaxy have barely survived a battle against Nebula’s army of undead gods on the Shi’ar throneworld of Chandilar. Nebula escaped, and the Nova Corps have arrived. Gladiator holds the Asgardians responsible for what happened to Chandilar, and the Novas take his word for it. The Asgardians of the Galaxy are arrested, leaving the to contemplate their situations from their cells. Thunderstrike is worried that he won’t live up to his father’s legacy, and Valkyrie is not happy to be working with Kid Loki.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 continues to work on the character development of the team, this time focusing more on Thunderstrike and Valkyrie. Thunderstrike is self-conscious of the poor reputation he has, and Valkyrie longs to see Annabelle Riggs again and is worried about her being caught in harm’s way on a mission.
It adds additional character to the team, and it gives purpose to the brief reprieve the team has while in Nova custody.
Gladiator gets to play the role of contemptuous bystander and butt of the joke in this issue. Loki is up to no good of course. Also, Scott Adsit returns as a Nova Corps officer.
The consequence of all this is that it’s light on the action until the final few pages, and that’s fair. It’s still paced pretty well, and it’s a fairly fun read.
Matteo Lolli, Natacha Bustos, and Luca Maresca are the artists on this venture, and the visuals stay consistently good throughout the book. The segments focusing on Thunderstrike and Valkyrie are especially good, giving the comic a stripped-down and classic look. Federico Blee’s color art is solid too, though there are some segments that could use a little livening, especially in the Chandilar section.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 is another entertaining installment of this strange cadre of gods’ adventures. We learn more about where they are at in their headspace, and the next step of Nebula’s plan is revealed. This one is worth checking out and earns a recommendation.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 comes to us from writer Cullen Bunn, artists Matteo Lolli, Natacho Bustos, and Luca Maresca, color artist Federico Blee, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, and cover artist Dale Keown with Jason Keith.
