Nova #5

Jan 1977 · Marvel · 0.30 USD

📊 ~39,540 copies sold its debut month

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“Evil Is the...Earth-Shaker!”

★ 1st appearance — Josie

About this Issue

Nova #5 stands out in the series not for a first appearance, but for a genuinely unusual piece of Silver-to-Bronze Age craft: writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Sal Buscema insert themselves as fictional characters into the story itself, visiting Richard Rider to research a comic book about him and even pitching the idea to an in-story Stan Lee — who rejects it. This layer of self-aware, behind-the-curtain meta-fiction was rare for Marvel superhero books of the period and gives the issue a distinct personality within the young series. Combined with a Jack Kirby cover — one of only three he contributed to this run — the issue captures the eclectic, anything-goes spirit of Marvel's mid-1970s expansion phase. It remains an early example of the kind of creator-as-character storytelling that would resurface much later in the medium.

writer Marv Wolfman · artist Sal Buscema · artist, inker Tom Palmer · colorist Michele Wolfman · letterer J. Costanza · cover Jack Kirby, Frank Giacoia

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $6

CGC 9.8 · 34 in census $155

CGC 9.6 · 40 in census $51

CGC 9.4 · 18 in census $40

CGC 9.2 · 15 in census $33

CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $26

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $20*

Show all 16 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 · 4 in census $20

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The issue was written by Marv Wolfman, with interior art by Sal Buscema (pencils) and Tom Palmer (inks), and colors credited to Michele Wolfman, making it one of the earliest instances of a creator's spouse receiving a coloring credit on a Marvel superhero title. The cover was provided by Jack Kirby, part of his freelance cover contributions to Marvel during that period. Nova as a concept had roots stretching back to Wolfman's 1966 fanzine Super Adventures, where an early prototype called 'Black Nova' appeared; by issue five, the series was firmly established in monthly rhythm, using done-in-one villain encounters to build Richard Rider's world before the longer Sphinx-driven arc kicked into gear with issue six.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title of the story: 'Evil Is the… Earth-Shaker!' — a standalone done-in-one adventure featuring subterranean villain Tyrannus and his giant drilling robot, the Earth-Shaker.
Cover date: January 1977; actual on-sale/release date: October 19, 1976 (Marvel's Bronze Age dating practice placed cover dates roughly two to three months ahead of release).
Credits: Written by Marv Wolfman; pencils by Sal Buscema; inks by Tom Palmer; colors by Michele Wolfman; letters by John Costanza.
Cover art by Jack Kirby — one of three covers Kirby contributed to the original 25-issue Nova (1976) series.
Unique meta-fictional subplot: Wolfman and Buscema appear as themselves within the story, shadowing Nova to pitch a comic book series about him; they bring the idea to a fictionalized Stan Lee, who turns it down on the grounds that Nova is 'too young' for his own book — a self-deprecating joke from the real-life creative team.
Other real Marvel staffers appear as fictionalized characters in the story, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, and editor John Verpoorten (who berates the in-story Wolfman for being late on Tomb of Dracula).
No major first appearances in this issue; the series' key villain debuts (Condor, Powerhouse, Diamondhead, Corruptor) had already occurred in issues #2–4.
The entire original 25-issue Nova (1976–1979) run, including this issue, was collected in the Nova: Richard Rider Omnibus (2023, ISBN 978-1302950941).