COMIC BINGE: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY – VOL. 1: COSMIC AVENGERS (2013) & VOL. 1: LEGACY (2008)
PLOT: There’s a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! But why has Earth suddenly become the most important planet in the galaxy? That’s what the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to find out! Join Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and – wait for it – the Invincible Iron Man as they embark upon one of the most explosive and eye-opening chapters of Marvel NOW! The secrets these galactic Avengers discover will rattle Marvel readers for years to come! But while London deals with a brutal invasion by the Badoon, the fate of the Guardians may have already been decided millions of miles away! Why wait for the movie? It all starts here! Collects Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1-3 & #0.1 and Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow’s Avengers #1.
REVIEW: In preparation for the new movie, I am reading through some Guardians of the Galaxy graphic novels to further my knowledge. I was not familiar at all with the group of superheroes until recently, so all of this is very new to me. As some of you know, I’m not much of a fan of the titles in Marvel NOW! except for a few. Granted, I wasn’t a fan of many Marvel titles previous to the major reboot, but I thought I would pick up a few more favorites during the NOW! initiative. This was one of the late books to come out of it, and I was so surprised that this was the real winner of the running titles. I’ve read everything from X-Men to Avengers, and Hulk back to Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. This Guardians of the Galaxy book has it all, and is probably one of the more, if not the most, complete book or first volume I’ve read from the reboot group. Thor may be at a tie with it, but it doesn’t quite have the “fun factor” this book has and while it does not suffer for it, it’s just an element of a comic that you sometimes want to have. This book also includes a large collection of cover variants and such in the back, so don’t forget to leave the book open after the last page of the comic book itself. Some of the Deadpool variants are fantastic. As you can see on the front cover as well, Iron Man is in this book too for added shenanigans and laughs.
Cosmic Avengers’ strength though is that it is extremely funny and the equivalent of a blockbuster popcorn flick in book form. It presents an intergalactic story with new characters (for some) and does it all within four issues which is really spectacular. Most volumes or collections of comics have at least five issues in them to tell a story, and sometimes the introductory volumes can be even larger. What this book accomplishes in four issues is amazing, and that is why I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you read comics or not. It is the total package, and it starts with one of my single favorite issues in the Marvel NOW! era. The first issue is #0.1 and is the story of how Star-Lord a.k.a. Peter Quill came to be, and it is done so well. It captures you interest from the get-go, and that issue leads right into the current story with the Guardians and holds you all the way until the end. This book will make you laugh, as Groot saves the day and Rocket “Blam! murdered you”’s everyone. This book will make you cry (if you’re weak like me), as Groot saves the day and Peter grows up without a father. This book will make you read and pay attention to every detail, because the Guardians of the Galaxy are awesome and Brian Michael Bendis is one of the Marvel masters behind this book. A must read for fans and outsiders alike, and an excellent introduction to a new favorite group of heroes come August 2nd.
RATED : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 10 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 10 / 10 )
PLOT: Launching out of Annihilation: Conquest, Marvel’s sci-fi heroes unite to protect the cosmos. Back-to-back Annihilation wars have weakened the boundaries of our universe. Dark gods and monsters are seeping through the cracks, reigning horror upon those still reeling from the recent calamities. In the face of terror, who stands to defend a desperate universe? Star-Lord and his squad of butt-kickers – the modern day Guardians of the Galaxy. You’ve heard that Annihilation: Conquest rocks – the guy at the comic shop keeps telling you to try Nova – well, now’s your chance to experience the glory that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and artist Paul Pelletier can unleash. All this…plus a wise-cracking raccoon and a telepathic dog. C’mon, people, time to lock and load Collecting Guardians of the Galaxy #1-6.
REVIEW: So it probably doesn’t help that I read the Marvel NOW! Guardians title first, but I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as that. I was disappointed because I purchased this one to brush up before the movie, but the other I borrowed from the library. I’d like to trade this one in for the other, but this book is not without its plusses. I think one of the major reasons this wasn’t entertaining for me is that I have not read the event that took place before this book to kind of set it up. The Guardians team assembled in this book is also a little different than that of the movie coming out, or in the NOW! team. All of the normal people are there, but there is also Quasar, Warlock, and a telepathic dog. Yeah, a telepathic dog. It’s definitely on the spacey wacey type of mojo that typically dominates older Marvel titles, which is yet another reason I’m more of a fan of the DC Universe. However, I did mention those plusses and it would be fair to share those too before the book has been completely ruined.
As usual, Rocket Raccoon dominates every frame and page he’s on. His humor in these books is just so doom and gloom, but with a hint of sarcasm to make it hilarious. He’s really much funnier in the newer books, but he had a great running joke throughout the second issue of this book. While they are trying to figure out their team name, he can be spotted every other frame or two suggesting names and bugging the other team members. Eventually they just give in to get him and shut up, but its his persistence despite the team’s reaction to him that draws the laughs. The main plot really isn’t as great as in Cosmic Avengers, but from what I’ve read there seems to be some basis in here for the movie coming out. I’m not sure what they’ll use, but I’d imagine if anything it will probably be very lightly lifted from this book. I think the new book benefits from the existence of the movie, as it was created after the movie’s inception. This volume of Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett is hard to find right now, but it appears that it will be published in trade paperback for the release of the new film. It’s a pretty well-reviewed volume or Marvel stuff, so if space, time, and superheroes in the Marvel Universe is your thing, I’d still give this a shot. I’m just not huge on the extraterrestrial realms of Marvel, and I think that is why the NOW! title exceeds this one because it is accessible to any reader unlike this one.
RATED : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 5 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )