War of Kings ended with a bang, literally. The best thing about the entire series is how much each page managed to surprise me, a jaded comic book reader. Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett are an awesome pair that crafted one of the best event comics of the year.
Marvel put the pedal to the metal recently, with their overall storytelling and is showing no sign of letting up, the best part of War of Kings is that the outcome wasn’t wrapped in a nice bow; there are still many questions to be answered. But I digress, let’s take a quick look at the series and do a little recap.
War of Kings got its start when Gabriel Summers seized control of the Shi’ar Empire. He then began to expand his powerbase, bringing him in direct conflict with neighboring nations. This conquest could not go unchecked; enter the Kree who had recently had a power shift of their own. The Kree came under the rule of Black Bolt and the Inhumans their own ancestral creations. The Kree were promised a new age of prosperity after suffering at the hands of the Annihilation Wave.
The war itself involved several characters and locations; my only complaint is that series feels rushed in places. Due to the short issue count there are a few things you don’t get to see, mainly the war itself. As the reader you’re given snippets of the overall action but mainly we stay behind the scenes of the conflict. Abnett and Lanning do a good job of giving you sense of the war, but outside of a few key battles…
The series also visited a few tie in issues of Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. As a matter of fact the most exciting element of War of Kings are the tie-ins. Guardians of the Galaxy certainly takes an exciting turn that keeps in line with the events of War of Kings.
The best aspect of War of Kings has got to be the fact that the story ends on a huge event, a tear in the very fabric of space. The tear has huge implications of the future and tells you that Marvel isn’t done adventuring in space quite yet.
