Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Steve McNiven
Inks: John Dell
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letters: Cory Petit
When Marvel announced that the Guardians of the Galaxy would be coming to movie theaters it was really only a matter of time until the much maligned series made a comeback. With the oddly numbered #0.1 the team of Bendis and McNiven has got the series off to a flying start with a simple origin story for the leader of the guardians, Star-lord which sets things up very nicely for when the series kicks off next month.
The story this issue is by no means a complex one, nor is it particularly original following a relatively simple origin arc involving a young Peter Quill coping with an absent father figure, the death of a love one and coming to grips with his extra terrestrial heritage. Bendis however does a fantastic job of making us care about Star-lord as well as firmly anchoring him within our own world. This last point will be especially important when the story really spreads its wing and gets more galactic in its scope.
The story is also perfectly complimented by the fantastic work of Bendis (and Dell of course) who does a great job of really selling each and every emotional beat of the story. The artwork is simply great throughout the book including an extremely cinematic opening, a genuinely touching romantic arc between J’Son and Meredith as well as the superbly executed finale. The final two page spread is also pretty awesome and got me genuinely excited to see what comes next.
There has been a bit of criticism aimed at the book for the fact that nine pages of it have already been published in a Marcel presents issue some time a go, however even if you have seen those pages the remainder of the book makes this issue more than worth the money and I am really looking forward to seeing how Bendis and company decide to tackle one of the most challenging team books in Marvels line up. I’m with Tony Stark on this one, I’m all in.
Liberty Island Cantina 