CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 3.5/5 – The Original Guardians of the Galaxy are Back.
by ComicSpectrum reviewer Shawn Hoklas
For a lot of long time Marvel readers, the Guardians of the Galaxy are not the characters from the recent comics and the movie. Combining Star-Lord, Groot and Rocket Raccoon into the Guardians team that the public at large knows was first introduced in the late 2000s. The original Guardians of the Galaxy originated in 1969 in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes and set in the future of the Marvel Universe instead of the present day MarvelU that is the home to the team with Rocket and Groot. After bouncing around throughout the 1970s, the original team hit their stride in the early 1990s with a series that lasted for over sixty issues. Capitalizing on the popularity of the movie, Marvel has introduced a new on-going series with the original team back in the future titled Guardians 3000.
The story by Dan Abnett does a nice job of introducing the reader to these long-time Marvel characters, but this first issue still suffers a bit when it comes to the overall story. The Guardians are attempting to stop the Badoon and the story is narrated by a brand new character Geena, who so far didn’t stand out for me, but serves to help the new reader get to know these characters. As the Guardians look to gather together allies from across the universe to stop something even greater than the Badoon threat, time starts to unravel. The dialogue suffers at times from “futuristic” slang and dialect. And except for Starhawk all the characters seemed similar to one another. Hopefully with time Abnett will be able to flesh these characters out a bit more, giving each their own unique personality.
The art by Gerardo Sandoval is kinetic He uses a lot of quick action and dramatic facial expressions to tell the story and add excitement to the page, there’s a definite energy behind his pencils. Although the scripting and dialogue can weigh the story down at times, Sandoval’s art has a way of making the story feel quick. He has an unrealistic approach that made the interior of the book clash a bit with the painted Alex Ross cover. That may turn off some readers expecting something different after picking up the book for the cover, expecting a different art style.
Although this first issue is hampered by some clunky dialogue and a lack of depth to the characters, it’s still an enjoyable read with some fun action that will hopefully bring readers back for more. Dan Abnett has proven many times over to be a fantastic writer, especially in the world of the Marvel Cosmic. Although this first issue didn’t “Wow” me, it still provided a solid setup with characters that have proven in the past that they’re more than capable of carrying their own series.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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