Guardians of the Galaxy #25 – Review

By Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Brad Walker (artist), Andrew Hennessy (inker), Wil Quintana (colorist)

The Story: Thanos lives!!! And holy shit does he have an axe to grind…

The Good: Fellow critic Dean Stell and I were talking about this series the other day and we both agreed that one of the things that makes Guardians of the Galaxy (and really any of Marvel’s cosmic comics) such a fun read is how surprisingly accessible it is. Abnett and Lanning work hard to make every issue easy for new readers to jump into and rewarding for those of us that have been reading for awhile, and it never ceases to amaze me what a great job they do of walking that fine line month after month. It was also a great pleasure to see Walker back on the book. I never had a problem with Wes Craig’s art over the previous few issues, and am actually looking forward to seeing him come back to the book at some point, but I have to admit that Walker is the perfect artist for this comic.

Guardians of the Galaxy #21 – Review

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Brad Walker (artist), Andrew Hennessy & Victor Olazaba (inkers), Wil Quintana (colorist)

The Story: Following the events of last month’s issue, the Luminals have foolishly brought back an alien life form with them from their unwarranted expedition into The Fault. The Guardians want to send the abomination back to where it came from, the Universal Church of Truth wants to worship it as a god, and the alien wants to hibernate in somebody. Needless to say, it’s a bad day to be a Guardian of the Galaxy.

The Good: I’ll tell you what, taking a chance on this comic has been one of the best decisions I’ve made all year. I’ve picked up six issues so far (excluding the first two graphic novels I picked up to fill in the back stories) and every single one of them has been an astounding blend of political intrigue, manipulations, action, and science fiction ingenuity. With each new issue released under the “Realm of Kings” banner, you new information is revealed that makes the nature of The Fault all the more terrifying. Without giving anything away, let me just say that as a mild-mannered reviewer living with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, this issue’s revelation put honest to God chills down my spine and made my skin crawl. And shit, if you want to talk about terrifying, let me take a moment to talk about that alien life form. Abnett and Lanning, to their credit, somehow found a way to take all the utter creepiness of the movie Alien and condense it onto the printed page. Moondragon’s encounters with the xenoform are vile and disgusting, bringing to mind images of when the alien burst out of Kane’s chest in the movie. Abnett and Lanning excel at getting across the repulsiveness of life on the other side of The Fault and what a genuine threat it poses to our universe, and if they can pull that off with one measly alien, I can’t wait to see what they have in store when the story kicks into high gear.

Guardians of the Galaxy #7 – Review

By Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Writers), Paul Pelletier (Pencils), Rick Magyar (Inks), and Will Quintana (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: In my opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most consistently entertaining and visually impressive books Marvel puts out. It effortlessly blends action, comedy, and drama into one hell of a satisfying package. The question now is whether or not the series can maintain momentum since Secret Invasion pulled the team apart. My guess is that it can.

The Story: The issue opens with a glimpse into a devastating future as described by Starhawk, who is being held in captivity by Cosmo the dog for precautionary reasons. Apparently, humanity’s future is doomed unless Starhawk can manage to correct an error occurring during the present time. Meanwhile, Rocket Raccoon’s new team of Guardians answer a cry for help from a colony in need that seems to be facing problems strikingly similar to the ones Starhawk spoke of. Adam Warlock seeks to find out more information regarding the Church of Universal Truth with the help of Gamora. As for Drax and Quasar, they are out in search of answers regarding someone named Cammi. And Starlord? Well let’s just say that he’s got problems as well.

What’s Good: Despite all the characters in play in this issue, the creative team once again knocks one out of the park. While mostly set-up for the future, the storyline provides for some great character work and extremely good looking artwork. While I may not have fully grasped the implications regarding some of the plot beats, I found myself completely entertained, thanks to the colorful cast of characters. Simply put, Guardians of the Galaxy #7 is another great chapter in an awesome series that seems to get better all the time.

What’s Not So Good: My only major complaint with the issue is that I felt a bit lost regarding some of the plot beats. While I am sure Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will catch me up with everything next month, some of the impact regarding the story was simply lost on me.

Conclusion: If you aren’t reading Guardians of the Galaxy, you should be. ‘Nuff said.

Grade: B+

Looking for a Response: Anyone want to catch me up on what I might have missed regarding some of the stuff in this issue?

-Kyle Posluszny