E-Man #8
Published and © by Charlton, May 1975
Title: “The Inner Sun”
Synopsis: The hunt for the Boar takes E-Man to the center of the Earth – and charges Nova into a super-powered future!
Writer: Nicola Cuti
Artist: Joe Staton
Review: E-Man stretches out for a rare full-length adventure in a story that’s a bit of a game changer. On one level, it’s more of the same: An old villain returns with a new nefarious plot, one that takes E-Man and Nova to Nuclia, this Earth’s Pellucidar. Old supporting-cast favorites like Michael Mauser return, too. But the big change is the powering up of Nova Kane, E-Man’s lady friend and this series’ most interesting character. Honestly, her origin story doesn’t pass the “makes-sense” test, but it will be fun to see what’s in store for Nova as E-Man’s super-powered equal.
Grade: B
Cool factor: Nova keeps getting more interesting. Also, every Earth needs a Pellucidar (or Savage Land, or Skartaris, etc.)
Notable: First appearance of super-powered Nova. … First Teddy Q.
Character quotable: “John Byrne Run Down by Wolverine” – A newspaper headline that would prove quite prescient
A word from the writer/co-creator: “A lot of people were enraged when super-Nova made her first appearance – they felt that we had ruined a good thing. The anger cooled when Joe and I demonstrated that we could have a super team without disrupting the unique relationship between E-Man and Nova.” – Nicola Cuti, in Art & Story #1, 1976
Editor’s note: This review was written Aug. 27, 2021.
