Overall Critique: Nothing stands out as being of poor quality. The artwork, dialogue, and storyline are all tight and solid. My rating has nothing to do with the overall quality of the issue; I just dont have a lot of buy-in with this storyline. It just seems that there are too many massive changes that will affect all of the major comic universes going on at this time to really keep my attention. Read Full Review

All in all, Annihilation #1 is a great start to a very promising miniseries. With rich characters, witty dialogue, and an against-all-odds storyline, this stacks up pretty highly on my favorites list. For fans of Giffen, Nova, epic storylines, or people wanting to try something not affiliated with Civil War, pick this up. Read Full Review

But somehow it just doesnt excite me the way Infinite Crisis and Civil War do. Maybe its because Earth isnt involved that I cant get excited about this war. Maybe Ive seen too many alien invasion stories to be interested in this one. Maybe Ive just become jaded to big fight stories like this. Now theres a depressing thought: I have seen so many sci-fi comics and movies that Im bored by a good outer space war. So if you arent bored by stories of intergalactic war and giant bug monsters, then youll certainly enjoy Annihilation. Read Full Review

Im being picky, but its merely because at its core, Annihilation is a very strong bit of storytelling, and that only makes the flaws stand out in sharper contrast. In taking a very simple premise and building upon it with strong characterisation and dramatic plotting, Giffen and his collaborators have easily outperformed the ambitious, pretentious and illogical Civil War. That said, a touch more ambition and inventiveness on the creative side of things would perhaps make this story excel in its own right, and not merely in comparison with Marvels bloated and shambolic main event. Read Full Review

All in all, this first issue of Annihilation is a thrill-ride that you dont want to miss, even if you didnt read the Prologue or the four mini-series preceding this. In all honesty, you dont need that much background to get into the proceedings here. All you need is a general knowledge of the Marvel Universe and a love for the kind of all-out action that only super-hero comic books can provide. Sorry, Paul Verhoeven! Read Full Review

I was bored halfway through this comic and seriously doubt I would buy or read future installments. Read Full Review

Divitos images are clear and sufficient to capture most of the drama, but not all that exciting. Though Galactus ancient foes have interesting designs in classic Marvel style, the scale of his defeat doesnt quite come across. Though that might be the way the script renders it through detached narration, too. Read Full Review

Perhaps if this series were set outside the Marvel U with different characters, it would be at least harmlessly mediocre, since it wouldnt be trying so hard to be something its not. What Annihilation wants to be is a serious space war set in the Marvel Universe, and what it turns out to be is a cheerless hack-and-slash fest founded on silly characters and sillier premises. Read Full Review