I had to stop myself from ripping the comics to pieces (they weren't mine).
Now, the Fabien Nicieza reboot, that was a good series. And the Post-Annihilation stuff, also awesome. And of course, the original Marv Wolfman run was good, too (I believe he was the first Super Hero who told his family--and at least one friend--his secret identity. At a picnic!) I remember being pre-adolescent and seeing Nova pop up in crowd scenes, and not do much, just look cool. I was always interested in more, but it wasn't until I read vol2 that I knew he was more than just a neat visual hook.