The relentless champions of Marvel Cosmic

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

https://www.cosmicbooknews.com/quasa...-collision-tpb

For years, Cosmic Book News, a news site and message board, hung in a happy obscurity. It was the largest fansite dedicated to Marvel's cosmic themed heroes on the internet before switching to news about comic books and comic book movies in general, and was founded around the time of the first Annihilation storyline by Keith Giffen and DnA.

It may be difficult to remember now, but Annihilation and it's sequels Annihilation: Conquest, War of Kings and the Thanos Imperative established a new line of the Marvel Universe where forgotten space heroes and villains were the main characters, instead of being used as a nuisance to Earth heroes for the 100,000th time, in epic and coherent space opera storylines where the modern incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy (which includes Gamora and Drax, who before Annihilation, appeared only as supporting characters in Jim Starlin's Infinity stories from the 70's and 90's) was created, and a silly C-list Peter Parker/Green Lantern knock off created in 1976 named Nova was put in a role of leadership where he finally became a mature and competent hero. For some of the members of the CBN community, who followed the character of Nova since his not-so stellar beginnings, was like a dream come true, that silly c-list Marvel hero has finally achieved his great potential.


However, after Thanos Imperative, Marvel cancelled the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's Nova and the GOTG comics and closed their entire cosmic line with the exception of Jonhatan Hickman's Fantastic Four run. The members of the Cosmic Book News community were united in sorrow but never abandoned their love for the once short-lived line of cosmic comics.

In 2012, Marvel announced the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, along with new comic book series for both Nova and GOTG. Think about it, those frequently ignored cosmic characters, including Jim Starlin's characters Thanos, Gamora and Drax, managed to set foot on the big screen.

But Cosmic Book News will not give up the ghosts of Dan Abnett, Richard Rider (the original Nova) and Wendell Vaughn (the original Quasar). The administrators and community of Cosmic Book News have thorougly rejected the runs of GOTG and Nova by Brian Michale Bendis, Jeph Loeb and Gerry Duggan.


One columnist of CBN, under the name of Timelord, made a series of vitriolic and condescending reviews on the Marvel NOW series of GOTG and Nova by Bendis and Duggan, mentioning frequently continuity errors, incoherent characterisations, too much focus on Earth and low brow humor as the sins of those controversial runs.

Posts like those reviews have earned Cosmic Book News the negative reputation as one of the most cantankerous communities in all of comic books. They are definetely right about one thing though: Brian Bendis run on Guardians of the Galaxy is a very different beast from Keith Giffen and Dan Abnett's cosmic comics. A more slow paced and much less epic beast.

What do you think of Cosmic Book News? To me, they are the Marvel equivalent of No Mutants Allowed (the website of oldschool Fallout fans). They seem to be obsessed a bit too much with Nova, Quasar and Guardians of the Galaxy and their odd idea that its thanks to them that we have the GOTG movies, ignoring the possibility that it was because the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer weren't avaiable for Marvel Studios to use. Their articles are among the most toxic examples of fanboy rage that i've ever read. Plus the hawkish political opinions of the CBN forum users were off putting.

HOWEVER, i do agree with them that Dick Rider and Wendell Vaughn deserves more respect since Keith Giffen and Dan Abnett's stories were good, action packed space opera comics (albeit without Jim Starlin's psychedelic charm) that gave us the modern version of the GOTG and turned one-dimensional jobber villains like Ronan and Super Skrull into badass and honorable anti-heroes reminiscent of 2000 AD comics, to say nothing of Marvel's editors who love to pretend Rider and Vaughn don't exist. Rider and Vaughn are basically Marvel's redheaded step-children. I also agree with them that Bendis run on the GOTG comics was awful. I agree with them that the SJW pandering needs to stop.

But it's their bitter, smug and angry attitude that makes visiting their website hard for me. They are bitter, smug and angry because they have a genuine love for Marvel's space themed heroes and villains, of course. Their hostility towards Bendis fans and Sam Alexander fans is what gives them a negative reputation that could harm their website's role as a bastion for fans of Marvel's cosmic characters. But they won't stop being bitter and smug because theres no other comic book website that supports Marvel or DC's cosmic comics and keeps the memory of the original Nova and Quasar and the cult following of those characters alive.

Thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are millions of kids who claim to be huge Guardians of the Galaxy fans that are missing out on a foundational piece of the story. In the media, there will be dozens of reviews for Avengers Infinity War, Captain Marvel and the third GOTG movie that won’t analyze their place as adaptations of Jim Starlin, Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's blood, sweat and tears. Maybe they don’t have the knowledge, or maybe they just don’t care. Yes it’s a fact of life, yes there’s nothing you can do, but amidst universal praise and Screenrant screeds, Cosmic Book News will forever honor what they think is right.


I don't support CBN's arrogant attitude, but i deeply understand where they are coming from.

[Cap808]

Richard Rider and Wendell Vaughn are my favorite two characters, so I'm very thankful that someone stands up for them.

[davew128]

Give me a hell yeah.

[milton75]

I haven't read their articles (although I will, as I'd be interested to see whether I agree or disagree), but from what you've said it seems more as though the tone of their writing is the issue rather than the content. i.e I guess what I'm saying is that pretty much everyone agrees that Starlin and DnA's takes on Cosmic is better than that of Bendis et al. If they were able to communicate this in a less forthright and (dare i say) unpleasant manner, than you'd broadly agree with them?

I suspect I'll largely agree with the message if not the way they go about it. For me Marvel's direction on Cosmic over the last decade has been a major step backwards.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

I haven't read their articles (although I will, as I'd be interested to see whether I agree or disagree), but from what you've said it seems more as though the tone of their writing is the issue rather than the content. i.e I guess what I'm saying is that pretty much everyone agrees that Starlin and DnA's takes on Cosmic is better than that of Bendis et al. If they were able to communicate this in a less forthright and (dare i say) unpleasant manner, than you'd broadly agree with them?

I suspect I'll largely agree with the message if not the way they go about it. For me Marvel's direction on Cosmic over the last decade has been a major step backwards.

It's stille pretty pretentious that they think there wouldn't be the GOTG movies if It wasn't for their site.