With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 heading towards theaters in the not too distant future, now’s the right time for a new “Guardians” comic to catch us up with some of the team’s most beloved members. Well, that’s what you’d expect, but the new run is less “found family in space” and more “space western with an oncoming apocalypse.” But any concept is a good concept if the team behind it has the skills to bring it to life, so let’s see how the new run of “Guardians of the Galaxy” begins.
And given some of the plot points this covers, expect spoilers.
Written by Jackson Lanzing and Colin Kelly
Illustrated by Kev Walker
Colored by Matt Hollingsworth
Lettered by VC’s Cory PetitOne year ago, the Guardians of the Galaxy were destroyed. Their optimistic future shattered by the betrayal of one of their own. Now they ride the space lanes of a lawless corner of the galaxy, trying to outrun their tragedy. Can they rediscover their heroism and humanity on the bleakest frontier? Can they forgive the failures of their past? Or will they fade into the dark, eternally unforgiven? Writers JACKSON LANZING and COLLIN KELLY (CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY) team up with artist KEV WALKER (PREDATOR) for a Guardians story like no other!
This new run of “Guardians of the Galaxy” has a very different vibe and feel to it than previous runs. We’ve had a rag-tag band of misfits, we’ve had superheroes in space, now we have what is very literally a space western, with Star-Lord as a long stranger who rides into town complete with a sheriff, saloon, and bandits.
The comic brings us in to the story as it’s already developed, leaving us with many questions for future issues to answer. And while the end of the issue gives us some idea of what happened, the how and why are still very much up in the air.
Naturally, an upcoming movie featuring the Guardians of the Galaxy means that this comic will want to focus on the characters for the film, and we do get most of them: Peter Quill, Gamora, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula are all there, as shown on the cover. However, Nebula hasn’t exactly been a full-fledged member of the team before (although she was part of Starfox’s Dark Guardians), so her joining here is likely for movie synergy, and will be shown in the comics in due time.
As for Rocket and Groot, well, we do see Groot at the end, but not as we know him. His new state serves as a hook for readers and sets up both an overarching question and threat that will also be explored in later issues.
(Yes, “questions will be answered in future issues” is a recurring thing with this issue.)
The characters that are here have also been changed by their currently unrevealed experiences. Drax appears to be wearing his finest “Conan the Barbarian” cosplay, for instance, while Mantis appears to be able to transform between a burlesque saloon performer, fighter with a power-armored fist, and a child-sized form.
With that said, the team’s core mission this issue is still heroic at heart: save as many lives as possible. But they’re also jaded to the point where Gamora sees everyone as “already dead” and the team sees a 50% rescue rate as as close to a win as they can get. So clearly a lot has happened.
Regardless, this gives us plenty of action to kick off the issue, complete with a brief but fun fight scene and a high-speed evacuation chase. That chase scene also adds plenty of excitement, including a giant robotic spider, and culminates in what can only be described as “eldritch abomination Groot” descending.
So a lot happens in this issue. Now how does it look?
The artwork by Kev Walker is overall solid, especially when it comes to environments, ships, and robots. The town of Solitude has a great aesthetic about it, which I’d describe as “science fiction outpost made of rusted ships turned into an old western town.” The ships and aforementioned giant robotic spider carry on that aesthetic, with rusted parts and black smoke billowing from them, which all adds to the feel.
Continued belowThe character designs are, for the most part, also very strong. Nearly everyone is given a new style and outfit for this run, and they all look fittingly distinct and appropriate to their characters while matching the comic’s visual thematic elements, and most of them are given some quite cool introductions, using the majority of a page to show them looking cool, while Matt Hollingsworth’s color work makes them pop off the page with dramatic shadows against brighter colors.
The only areas where the characters fall short is when their faces lose detail. This isn’t a problem for close-up panels, where they’re given a nice amount of focus (give or take Star-Lord occasionally looking a bit out of the ordinary with his current scruffy design), but those tend to fade when they’re a bit further back. So while that’s occasionally inconsistent, it’s not a major issue.
And when we get Grootfall, the cosmic horror elements kick in. The massive black tendril-like roots, the twisted form of the massive Groot, and the way it seems to absorb and transform the people caught in his roots and vines are all appropriately creepy and terrifying.
The one issue I have is the odd decision to use transparent boxes for narration at the start and end of the comic. Without a single-colored backdrop to the narration boxes, the text has to stand out against the artwork and color work behind it, and the black text often can’t stand out against the darkness of space or the designs and details behind it. This gives us some spots where it’s hard to tell what the narration is supposed to be saying, which is a bit distracting, as nice as the art and colors behind it are (and they are quite nice indeed).
So, all things considered, how does “Guardians of the Galaxy” #1 go over? It’s a different type of “Guardians” story, but an engaging one with a distinct tone and style to it that comes through in the story and art. If you’re excited to see what’s next for the team, writers Jackson Lanzing and Colin Kelly have quite the story planned ahead, and it’ll be exciting to see where it goes and how it changes the team.
Final Verdict: 6.8 – A good start to a new run, raising a lot of questions that will keep us coming back for more and brings a lot of excitement, although there are a few small hiccups here and there.
