Double Dipping at the Comics Rack

Okay, let me start by getting this out of the way: I enjoyed the Annihilation line. I liked the first Annihilation series, and I liked Conquest only a little less. The larger Marvel universe is an awesome thing, and when it isn't being completely Terra-centric (Oh, look, the Skrulls are invading Earth. Again.) there are some neat stories to tell with space gods and alien armadas and all that fun.

But. Okay, here we go. Marvel just fucked me. Probably not for a lot, ten bucks or so, and they've ripped me off for a lot more in the past by producing shitty comics in general (see: Ultimates line).

But this latest example is just a bit too annoying, even for them.

As I said, I enjoyed Annihilation. Fun series. Annihilation: Conquest brought it down in scale a bit, and gave us some Star Lord, Bug ( of the Micronauts, Casanova of the Microcosm!) and Rocket Raccoon goodness (and a Brown Guy Who Died First, joy).

The story wove its way through a set of miniseries featuring the new Quasar and a new character, Wraith, as well as the core Annihilation: Conquest miniseries. It also featured Nova, now being featured in his own series.

And that's where I got fucked.

You see, after enjoying Annihilation so much, I got into its ancillary book, which was Nova's new series. Being Johnny Clever, I decided I'd just get it in trade paperback format. Yay, me! The first half of the Nova trade dealt with him returning to Earth and finding out what the Status Quo was after Civil War (answer: Characters messed up, setting not visibly different).

So he leaves, and goes to visit the Kree galaxy where the events of Conquest are happening. He gets involved with them, and goes off to have a new adventure.

So, that's three issues on earth, four issues in Spaaaace having adventures.

So, I then get Conquest book 2. Included in it are Wraith 1-4, Conquest 1-6 and... Nova 4-7. Wait. 14 issues, four of which I already have?

So, yeah, I buy a hardcover that contains previously digested meat, as it were.

But wait: it gets better. Nova's adventures continue after issue 7, you see. He goes off to the homeworld of some techno-organic guys (and, yes, we get to see Warlock) and has adventures there. These adventures are summarized in the pages of the Annihilation: Conquest 2 hardcover. They, in fact, sound very interesting. Why, then, are they not included in the pages of the Annihilation: Conquest 2 hardcover?

Because if they gave us that story, we wouldn't have to buy the second Nova trade paperback.

Super classy. Thanks a ton, Marvel.

At least it isn't one of those overly slim hardcovers that seem to be the rage today. You can sometimes luck out and get them at BMV or The Beguiling for $10, but it seems dumb to be selling three or four issues of story in a hardcover. A single tale written that way might be palpable (might!), but the worst is when they put a fragment of a larger story (I'm looking at YOU, Sinestro Corps War!).

On the other hand, I bought the entirety of Marvel's Messiah Complex in hardcover, and it was both confusing and not that interesting if you haven't been nipples deep in the X-Men mythology for most of the past decade. But I hope I can divest myself of that on ebay.

I have a LOT of stuff to get rid of on eBay. Apparently, over the past decade I actually bought a bunch of Ultimate books, because I don't fucking learn.