Realm of Kings

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1

Really good start to this storyline. I like that we're getting a book focusing on the Imperial Guard, plus DnA did a good job of fleshing out the members too. And it was interesting to see what the Guardsmen think of Gladiator's ascension to the role of Majestor. Some of them love it but some of them seem to resent it.

I also like how DnA remind us that the Shi'ar are far from a just people...they're essentially an oppressive expansive galactic empire. They may not be flat out "bad guys" but they certainly aren't the "good guys" either.

Looking forward to their exploration of the Fault too.

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1

Interesting start to Realm of Kings, choosing to skip the build-up by going with a tie-in before its initial issue. Well, what build-up do you need when we just had War of Kings you say? This ish places Gladiator in a role we're not used to just yet--as Majestor in more Shi'Ar versus Inhumans/Kree craziness.

Unfortunately for those who haven't been following Marvel's Cosmic U (what's wrong with you?), some might get lost in all the mist of explosions, war-speak, and gazillion characters even us DnA vets will have no clue of knowing. I had to read this issue twice--I normally don't do that right away considering how big my punch list is--to get a jest as to what the heck is going on. What happened with this revisit was more appreciation for the wildly frantic art, as it meshes with the Haloish airstrikes and ground battles.

I guess DnA want to start off ROK with a bang, which they did, then explain the madness in the next ish. And with their incredible track record, we have no choice but to believe them. Right?

3/5 Bags&Boards - Decent Enough

LOOSECANNON wrote:[b]

Unfortunately for those who haven't been following Marvel's Cosmic U (what's wrong with you?),

I just never cared about 95% of the cosmic Marvel. I can't help it!

i have to say i thought this issue was ok but not great. why is it that gladiator isn't able to fight while vulcan did all the time? to me this was a little weak. but the end of the issue looked good

I didn't get the Imperial Guard mini as I decided to only get one of them so the Inhumans one got the nod ahead of this one. The main reason being I don't think these characters are strong enough to deserve their own book.

Which brings me to my question....

The fact is that Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy are not selling well. Now I've been enjoying Nova less and less with each issue lately. I guess I liked the book more at the beginning when it was basically just Nova and his solo adventures. Anyway I still thoroughly enjoy GotG. However, the fact is no matter how much I like these books they're not selling well and I'm starting to wonder whether these continual cosmic "events" is maybe not helping. It seems like there's no let up. Now I realise that it's pretty much all one big storyline with DnA orchestrating the whole thing which makes it all work together really well but I wonder if it's turning readers, and in particular, new readers off?

What do you think? Is Marvel actually not giving Nova and GotG a chance to pick up new readers by having these continual events? Are people looking for a bit of a let up from these storylines?

For me, the events do seem to follow a natural progression. I almost think cosmic marvel should be seen more as a whole rather than the individual books.

Aussiemandias wrote:I didn't get the Imperial Guard mini as I decided to only get one of them so the Inhumans one got the nod ahead of this one. The main reason being I don't think these characters are strong enough to deserve their own book.

Which brings me to my question....

The fact is that Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy are not selling well. Now I've been enjoying Nova less and less with each issue lately. I guess I liked the book more at the beginning when it was basically just Nova and his solo adventures. Anyway I still thoroughly enjoy GotG. However, the fact is no matter how much I like these books they're not selling well and I'm starting to wonder whether these continual cosmic "events" is maybe not helping. It seems like there's no let up. Now I realise that it's pretty much all one big storyline with DnA orchestrating the whole thing which makes it all work together really well but I wonder if it's turning readers, and in particular, new readers off?

What do you think? Is Marvel actually not giving Nova and GotG a chance to pick up new readers by having these continual events? Are people looking for a bit of a let up from these storylines?

For me, the events do seem to follow a natural progression. I almost think cosmic marvel should be seen more as a whole rather than the individual books.

Its an interesting question, but I actually think these books wouldn't even have a puncher's chance if it weren't for their interconnectivity and tie-in relevance. I actually really love the way Marvel is handling the Cosmic books. They may not be lighting up the sales charts (and with the overall lack of big name characters that's not surprising) but I think sales have been decent enough.

The thing is, DnA are revitalizing characters and concepts that have always been a tough sell in terms of comic sales, so I don't really expect them to suddenly catch fire. Ultimately, I think this strategy will pay off in the long run because the stories are just stellar and could possibly set the table for future mainstream use in the big MU stories.

Bigtymin504 wrote:
Its an interesting question, but I actually think these books wouldn't even have a puncher's chance if it weren't for their interconnectivity and tie-in relevance. I actually really love the way Marvel is handling the Cosmic books. They may not be lighting up the sales charts (and with the overall lack of big name characters that's not surprising) but I think sales have been decent enough.

The thing is, DnA are revitalizing characters and concepts that have always been a tough sell in terms of comic sales, so I don't really expect them to suddenly catch fire. Ultimately, I think this strategy will pay off in the long run because the stories are just stellar and could possibly set the table for future mainstream use in the big MU stories.

Yeah that's pretty much my thoughts too but I was interested if it was turning anyone off. Maybe not. I do think you're right in that it could all lead to a major MU story at some point.

Aussiemandias wrote:Yeah that's pretty much my thoughts too but I was interested if it was turning anyone off. Maybe not. I do think you're right in that it could all lead to a major MU story at some point.

Yeah I really hope that's the case too. I think it was a great move by Marvel to have Marvel Earth focus on Earth-centric stories for the last several years and to have Cosmic Marvel focus on Cosmic-centric stories during the same time frame. Its been quite awhile since we've seen Earth's superheroes involved in a Universe-shattering event outside of Earth...that'll make it that much more interesting once they potentially get involved in the future.

i will drop the imperial gaurd mini if the next issue isn't good

I loved the first issue of the Eye-gee mini. I think that it fleshes out where things will be going as Kalark running the Shi'ar. I wonder when the Mkran crystal is going to come back into play.

DnA have done something that nobody ever did befor, and that was make me care about cosmic Marvel when the X-men were not involved. I also think Havok is being writeen well again because he doesn't have Cyke to be compared too all the time, just like in the Mutant X days. But this thing is not really an X-men adventure. It to me is a Starjammers adventure, and getting a solo book for the Starjammers would be awesome, maybe eventually get some sort of Firefly type feal to it.

I don't doubt that this will all tie together at some point. The peeps on earth, especial Xavier should notice something soon. I am really irritated with how Xavier hasn't noticed a sever in his conection to Llandra.

I do somehow see the Pheonix force being involved in this story at some point as well, especially with the fault being a threat to the pheonix's home universe.

I think we have a lot of good things that are going to happen and I look forward to them. I can understand how people don't pick up these books though, I never cared about Nova, Darkhawk, the Innhumans, or Gardians of the Galaxy, until what seemed to start as an X-event became so much more. I'm thinking it will get more readers as the FF and Avengers get involved, probably by next summer.

^^ Exactly, there's now way either Hank Pym or Reed Richards isn't going to notice the fault for too much longer, I thought I heard that Mighty Avengers might turn it's attention towards the cosmos at some point and sort of bridge the gap between the Cosmic and Earth books.

Honestly I don't think there's been a bad cosmic book out since DnA revitalized everything in Annihilation, I know some people don't dig on Nova, but he's getting more and more interesting by the issue, besides, when what the last time Darkhawk was interesting in the least?

Guradians is definitely my favorite book from the whole DnA line, it's so consistently good that I sometimes take it for granted, of course they'll come along with an issue like last one and punch me in the eye for doubting them in the least.

As for IG, good start up issue, not much happens outside of character development (can anyone do this better than DnA right now?) and setting up for next issue, but it also makes a great jumping on point since you don't have to know every little piece of Mythos that they have established up till now since they give you a pretty good intro page.

Like Incredible Hercules, I really wish more people would read at least Guardians of the Galaxy, I understand with all of the books coming out it makes it difficult to get into anything new, but these really are some of the best books coming out these days, not just from Marvel, but period. Oh well, guess we'll have the glory of Rocket Racoon all to ourselves for a while longer yet.

Haven't gotten the latest shipment of my books yet, but I've been really enjoying all of the cosmic action. From Annihilation through, I've really enjoyed it and hope that these story lines pay out for quite some time.

I like how alot of the b-list and lower characters have gotten some good treatment outside the earth lines. Darkhawk is one that I'm surprised that I really enjoy now. The back story that they've given the character is very nice and pumps up a weak character.

Given that I remember the Adam Warlock stories from way back, I'm very cautious on how this will play out. Magus has always seemed to be based on the character from Rocky Horror in my opinion.

Next shipment should be this week so I'm looking forward to it. Twice monthly shipments seem so far apart, but I'm not shelling out more for weekly shipments as it would wipe out my savings from the discount order.

Good interview with DnA about Realm of Kings and Guardians of the Galaxy:
http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23755

preview art:







^Now that's what I call Dark Avengers

Bigtymin504 wrote:

This was a wonderful issue. I liked the whole cosmic yet seeminly metaphysical feel of the whole deal. Also, a universe seemingly ruled by magic as opposed to science rocked. The treatment of various characters was also pretty cool, especially Hulk. In many ways this depiction of hulk made more sense or better yet, as a "final state" Hulk but I digress. And...The Many Angled Ones. I almost fell out of my chair with that Zenith reference. It would be cool if the seires played into this whole event (unlikely but interesting nonetheless). A Grant Morrison tale without Morrison.

In short, I felt that there was a great deal of thematic references (Iron Man being a knight-like figure) and a great deal of creativity. Part of me wishes for more of the series to be this way. The ending also makes for an interesting but expected twist. Now we may see what Quasar is truly capable of.

This story, while good and effective in it's "setting the stage" felt like the usual fare that we get with the Inhumans. I dislike the idea (as well as his outfit lol) of Maximus being evil again. Possibly as a more extreme "good guy" but as a villain, no, but time will tell what direction they truly intend to take him. Many other elements felt done to death (alphas possibly revolting and so forth) and thus the only true "shock" came at the end, which felt thrown in there for lulz, despite making sense in terms of current continuity.In the end, the book has it's uses as a means to set the stage for the next event but doesn't compare with the other books under the Realm of Kings banner.

The Imperial Guard:

I felt that this was a charming story. I neither loved it nor hated it. It was nice to see Gladiator and the rest of the imperial guard. I found the focus on the less known members to be an interesting move on the author's part but wondered if they were, in their character choices in who to focus on, and even the general tone, were making this even more like the Legion of Super-Heroes to the point I expected to see a solicit for The Great Darkness Saga at the end of the issue. However, moments that reminded us that they were indeed soldiers was actually refreshing and gave one an idea of what to expect in terms of their interactions (as if the bar room brawl wasn't enough). Overall, this was an good book in that it was entertaining. Nothing truly mind-blowing, but as a first issue, that's not always expected.

Realm of Kings #1

Remember when Quasar had his own book? Dead you say? It's a shame this isn't called Quaser #1 and there were more to come. These are the types of alternate reality books that actually intrigue us without making up characters for the sake of it. The approach of going backwards by beginning this war with The Fault itself is honorable. Now that we see what a horrid, incorrigible place this is, there's reason to have fear and anxiety amongst the new status quo. I also enjoyed the roundtable. For the fist time in a while, DnA brought all the pieces together; even if it was just "phasing" from other places in the meanwhile. I'd like to see more collaboration among the cosmic universe. In all, this one-shot doesn't quite set the table like the Inhumans mini did. Rather, it has presented us all the fears and dangers the post-WOK has delivered, giving us an indicator that Abnett & Lanning have no problem taking their cosmic U to unattainable heights.

4/5 Asteroids - Excellent

Excellent reviews Wade and LOOSE.

Realm of Kings #1

This was easily the book of the week for me. I always liked Wendell Vaughn so I'm so glad he's gonna be getting some spotlight in this story. Plus I hope he sticks with this costume redesign, it looks awesome! The potential stories that can come out of the Fault angle are immense, it was a perfectly executed idea to the end of WoK that gave us a conclusion to that story yet also gave them something totally new to work off of. And DnA did an awesome job of creating this alternate universe with the real Dark Avengers lol. Like Wade said, I love the fact that this universe seems to operate primarily on the magical/supernatural side rather than pure science. And I loved all the redesigns to the characters (especially Ms. Marvel's bondage mistress look ) It'll be interesting to find out exactly what happened to this universe and its Avengers. Based on their Wanda, it seems like there still might be some parts of them that haven't been corrupted yet. Oh and the end with Wendell was creepy..

Realm of Kings: Inhumans #1

I really liked this issue. I like seeing the inner workings of the Inhuman Royal Family. I wonder how the idea of Gorgan becoming King will play out, he's always been a loose cannon so I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a play for the throne. And I think its only natural for Maximus to still have the throne in the back of his mind, especially now that Black Bolt is out of the picture. I don't think he will go full on villain, but his thirst for power might make him act a little shady. I also really like reading the interactions between Ronan and Crystal. They're still so formal with eachother lol, but you can tell they have feelings, especially Ronan. Watching their relationship evolve will be interesting. Oh and its awesome that the Mighty Avegners are getting involved! I've been loving that book, and since they're the classic "big adventure" Avengers it makes sense for them to show up. Plus, the love triangle problems with Pietro, Crystal, and Ronan should be damn amusing.

Realm of Kings: Inhumans #1

This seemed more like the Realm of Kings one-shot than the Wendell Vaughn-laden issue did. Not that that one was bad. But this issue served more like the Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot we got before the epic series that most critics loved. There's tension built-up, there's plenty of anomosity, and despite the "war" being over there's still violent eruption.

When I first read that Raimondi was an artist from X-Factor (not named Sylvestri) I almost cringed. I remember jumping onto the book very late because of the pitiful artwork. Thankfully Pablo Raimondi has improved drastically, and this issue was as clean as the moon and the stars. Let's hope this continues. Let's also hope that this mini sticks to it's political intrigue and interplanetary relationships and not merely senseless guest-spots and mini-battles; though the last page was exciting to see both universes in the 616 (street and cosmic) finally mash, the point of this whole status-quo shouldn't get brushed aside.

4/5 Cosmic Slops - Very Good

These books were great, I can't wait to see the one's that feature the star-jammers though. I'm going to call the earth at the other end of the fault Earth 23 or Cathulu Earth. It definately had a very Lovecraftian taste to it, and I liked it. I'm waiting for a tentacle rape scene in the neer future.

LOOSECANNON wrote:Realm of Kings #1
In all, this one-shot doesn't quite set the table like the Inhumans mini did.

Actually I think it did. This is the main game. Everything that's been leaking through from The Fault - all those monsters - have been coming from this particular universe. This alternate universe we've been shown here is the big threat and it's coming for the main universe. The other 2 books are more like state-of-play books for other sections of the cosmic universe. At least that's my take on it at this stage.

Personally, I'm more interested in what's going on in this storyline than the Inhumans and Imperial Guard ones. I suspect this will play out more in Guardians of the Galaxy than anywhere else.

hrdwrkngXsoldier wrote:These books were great, I can't wait to see the one's that feature the star-jammers though. I'm going to call the earth at the other end of the fault Earth 23 or Cathulu Earth. It definately had a very Lovecraftian taste to it, and I liked it. I'm waiting for a tentacle rape scene in the neer future.

I totally agree about Cthulu Earth. That's definitely what it feels like. Either that or "Really !@#$ed Up Earth".

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #2

Good to see Walker back on board the cosmic U. The artwork last issue--while fitting with all it's frantic desert confrontation--is much more detailed this time around, which allows readers to better familiar themselves with the more obscure characters. The Imperial Guard and Starjammers haven't exactly been superstars as of late (even Havok takes a backseat); so while all of DnA's dialogue is fun and does a better job at pushing this event towards The Fault, it still might require a Wiki to keep things in line. We also see Guardian's demeanor change as his role of being top dog is constantly challenged and attacked. He's shaping up to be a favorite despite hanging in the background. This issue's a def. improvement but I'm wondering if this series is going to resonate with the Inhumans becoming more familiar (due to the Mighty Avengers).

4/5 Bags&Boards - Solid improvement over debut, particularly with the art

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #2

I've like seeing the inner workings of the Imperial Guard so far, plus the Starjammers. The interactions between Mentor and Ch'od (that name always makes me laugh lol) were classic too. The best part though was when Gladiator said to Gorgon, "So just this once I will overlook the inexcusable way you just confronted the Majestor of the Shi'ar Imperium and not kick your head into orbit."


Realm of Kings: Inhumans #2

Solid issue with a nice guest appearance by Pym's Avengers. The connection with this week's Mighty Avengers issue was good too. I really liked the moment with Pym and Medusa talking about Janet and Black Bolt's deaths. Plus it looks like we might find out what happened to King Boltagon very soon...

ROK: Inhumans #2

It's about time! You knew sooner or later--and I don't mind the elseworlds Mr. Fantastic--that the MU would show up in the Cosmic U. It makes sense that the world's mightiest heroes would too, especially with all the ties they have (Pietro and Crystal, Vision, Pym and the Kree/Skrull War). I think bigtymin said it right: solid is the word. While WOK was much more intense in terms of action/war/blood/drama, these more lowkey issues we see in the ROK are not to be taken for granted. It's good to see a proper fallout from a war.

3.5/5