Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians 3000 #2

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Guardians 3000 #2Only two issues in the latest series featuring the original team of the Guardians of the Galaxy begins to stall. Although Guardians 3000 #2 ends on an interesting note involving a Tony Stark reference, the events of the latest issue don’t do much to push forward the near-identical (but now less interesting) series of events from the first issue. Plus we don’t get any dimensional swapping meaning we’re left with a version of the Guardians with a female Starhawk and no Aleta that just feels wrong.

Featuring plenty of action, the second issue suffers from the same roid rage muscle art from Gerardo Sandoval that hurt last month’s issue. And when he attempts to tone down that style characters often look oddly stretched as if they are standing in front of a fun house mirror. I gave the art in the first issue a pass because I was so happy to have the Guardians back, but with this issue no missing three of its core members (the real Starhaw, Aleta, and Nikki) while dragging its feet while developing its reality-bending plot it feels less and less like the team I know and love. Hit-and-Miss.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #4

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Rocket Raccoon #4Rocket Raccoon #4 wraps up the two ongoing stories of the series as Rocket comes face-to-face with both the other raccoon who has been framing him for murder (who turns out to not be a raccoon at all) and the army of pissed-off princesses who he each saved, dated, and unceremoniously dumped.

The reveal that Blackjack O’Hare is actually the one who has been masquerading as a Rocket lookalike feels a bit like a cheat, but Skootie Young’s final page means there’s still quite a bit left of this story to explore and Rocket, whether he knows it or not, is not alone. The use of O’Hare also ties back into Rocket’s bizarre comic past and the planet of Halfworld where both crazy creatures came from.

Rocket beating down his angry exes provides quite a bit of fun as well as the comic’s second ongoing story arc comes to a close with a battle royal which Rocket stumbles out of victoriously. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Guardians 3000 #1

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Guardians 3000 #1Continuing the back-up story from Guardians of the Galaxy #14, Marvel’s original team of Guardians continue their adventures in the alternate future of the Marvel Universe where the Badoon are overruning the galaxy and leaving very little left alive in their wake.

Taking a page from Edge of Tomorrow (which coincidentally hits shelves this week on Blu-ray and DVD), the Guardians and their new charge find themselves reliving slight variations of the same day’s events as the group attempt to warn their remaining supporters about a disruption to the timeline which Geena Drake is somehow the key to fixing.

Once the time loop is broken it will be interesting to see which versions of Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Martinex, Yondu, and Starhawk the comic leaves us with (I’m hoping for the starry-version of Starhawk). Although I’m not overjoyed with some of the heavy ‘roid rage action scenes by Gerardo Sandoval, it’s fun to see these characters back in action once more. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #3

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Rocket Raccoon #3After breaking out of prison and surviving a murderous armada made up of dozens of Rocket Racoon‘s pissed-off ex-girlfriends, Rocket, Groot, and their friend/hostage take a bizarre trip to Sendak and Funtzel’s Intergalactic Towing and Recovery Service (of course that’s after Rocket goes super-violent on a couple of amateurs foolish enough to refer to him as a “raccoon”).

There’s plenty of mayhem and crazy violence for fans of Rocket Raccoon here along with finally giving a hero a look at the impostor who has been killing in his name. Longtime fans of the character should also be keenly aware of the mention of the Book of Half-World foreshadowing where this journey may ultimately lead our hero.

We’ll have to wait at least another month for the story behind the other raccoon, and probably even longer to find out how the latest setback effects Amalya’s murderous plans, but Skootie Young delivers yet again matching art and story for some bizarre fun. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Guardians of the Galaxy #18

/ / Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #18The conclusion of the Cancerverse storyline which ended the previous run of Guardians of the Galaxy on a cliffhanger with the fate of Star-Lord, Thanos, and Nova in doubt is addressed for the first time in three-and-a-half years in Guardians of the Galaxy #18 as Gamora confronts Peter Quill about what really happened.

I’m assuming the Original Sin tie-in helps explain the lengths Gamora goes to in order to elicit the information out of Star-Lord in this issue (but since I’m not reading the event I can’t be sure). Whatever the case, the story jumps from narrated flashbacks to a discussion between the two Guardians (one of them tied to a chair).

Incomplete, the comic ends on yet another cliffhanger (this one involving the Cosmic Cube), the story works although by now most readers have long moved on. I was slightly disappointed that the comic doesn’t address the original Guardians who were a part of Cancerverse arc as I’ll always root for appearances of Starhawk and his teammates. For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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