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Annihilation 2099 brings Marvel comics fans two short stories based on Nova and Dracula! Steve Orlando tackles both stories with tact, reinvigorating the character of Nova with a surprise twist! Dracula awakens on ship in the stars and a dark fate may be in store for the cosmos!
“The Last Nova”
- Written by Steve Orlando
- Art by Ibraim Roberson
- Colors by Neeraj Menon
- Letters by VC’s Corey Petit
“Dracula Risen”
- Written by Steve Orlando
- Art by Dale Eaglesham
- Colors by Raul Angulo
- Letters by VC’s Corey Petit
Annihilation 2099 Begins!
Most comic fans are aware of the Annihilation line from Marvel comics. It’s been around for a while now, and everyone once in a while it peeks out of it’s dark shadows to give us a fresh new take on a hero or villain.
Now, Steve Orlando is taking Annihilation to the future and the cosmos with Marvel’s 2099 universe! New heroes and villains will be introduced to readers from the Marvel cosmic universe and first up is Nova and Dracula!
Annihilation 2099 is the Rise of the Man Known as Nova
Nova 2099 sees an unfamiliar person carrying a long the mantle of Nova. He’s a stranger, a survivor, and one heck of gunslinger! The story follows along his inner dialogue as he travels the stars bringing order and justice to the chaotic, hostile universe.
A few flashbacks revealed that he joined the Nova Corps. and excepted their offer to experiment on him with a procedure that would make him a near limitless source of power! Before they could finish though, an infestation of exo-parasites attacked and wiped out the planet leaving him the lone survivor!
Who is Nova 2099?!
Now, he’s made his way to planet, not much unlike the American wild west, where symbiotes claiming to serve the “Master of the Void” come to claim darkness in their lords name.It’s a fantastic showdown between Nova 2099 and the symbiote outlaw gang full of twists and turns. I won’t spoil anything, but when all hope seems lost, this new Nova reveals his true self and my jaw hits the floor! The best part of the reveal is that I go back to each moment in the comic to find the hints and it all makes sense!
Ibraim Roberson of Thor fame brings the artwork in this story to a level that I wasn’t prepared for. It’s the cosmos, and yet everything is dirty and grounded. The Nova 2099 design is so good and he evens hides a few clues as to who is under the helmet. I loved the wild west feel of the setting and his work with the symbiotes was terrifying.
Annihilation 2099 and the Horror of Dracula Rising
Dracula Rising is much more straight forward. A crew of scavengers come across a black coffin with a neon crucifix and a white skull floating in space and ring it aboard. They do the conventional horror story thing and open it, allowing the evil force of nature within to be released. hundreds of red bats fly out and nibble on the crew before returning to the coffin. A storm of lightening erupts from the crypt, damaging the ships hull, asn Dracula arises, confused as to why he’s not back on his home planet.
Dracula 2099 Begins a New Dark Age
This story was the beginning of a much larger Dracula story to be told in a later issue of Annihilation 2099. Even so, it was still a lot of fun. As the ship is crashing into a nearby planet, Dracula tells the crew that they no longer need to fear death. Each of them are reborn as vampire servants and each are given the title of Captain in Dracula’s new army.
Dracula: Blood Hunt starts here!
Dale Eaglesham brings he horror flavor into this story! Even the scavenger crew themselves are pretty terrifying before becoming vampires, which makes them even more intimidating when they eventually transform! Amazing character designs, terrifying environmental effects, and a final 2 pages of only red and black gives this short a cold, dark, evil feel with a very large scope of what’s to come!
Everything Points to 9/10
Steve Orlando is on fire right now and Annihilation 2099 just stoked them flames to an inferno! This was honestly a blast to read. I was completely immersed into The Last Nova and Dracula Rising was the perfect introduction to what I fell this whole series will lead to. I love this short stories where creators get to test the waters and push the boundaries of what they can do and what Marvel will allow. I’m very intrigued to see where they go from here!
