Before the Marvel NOW! relaunch news of it was spreading through the newswires like crazy. The buzz was there, and the marketing gurus hired by Marvel were doing their job--and doing it well. In particular, the stories pertaining to Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy intrigued me the most. I am a Star Wars and Science Fiction nerd-a-holic, and the idea of Marvel rebooting their space opera series with some their most underrated and coolest characters was tantalizing to say the least.
Rocket Raccoon and Nova are some of the best comic book characters ever created, yet in modern times they have fallen from the mainstream. However, sometimes a lull in characters is a good thing. It allows for a generation to forget narrative mistakes and embrace a reboot by allowing the time necessary to solely remember and focus upon the more interesting aspects of ill-fated characters.
Nevertheless, the characters are superb and it is an excellent ensemble script. Star-Lord is the leader of the group and stems from galactic royalty. His father is leader of the galaxy, while his mother was human. Created from a seemingly arrogant, uncaring alien father, Peter is the product of a tortured childhood and immense power. He vows to thwart his ambivalent father, while following a strict code of ethics. This willpower and charisma attracts the aforementioned characters to his side and thus the Guardians of the Galaxy were born. The group has always had close ties to Nova and the Nova Corps (a space cop agency of sorts), so with the relaunch of Marvel the titles of Nova, Iron Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy have all become increasingly intertwined in an effort to cross promote and explore characters that have either hit a wall or need a refresher.
The first issue of Guardians of the Galaxy starts off as an introduction to Peter Quill (Star-Lord) and his tumultuous relationship with his father. Brian Bendis starts small and then expands as the issue wanes to encompass the rest of theGuardians as well as setting up for the much larger issue at hand-- the protection of Earth.
Personally, I am not a huge Bendis fan, but my only exposure to him was his pre-Marvel NOW!work with the Avengers. However, his narrative here is exceptional and from a technical aspect incredibly polished and logically outlined. Steve McNiven’s artwork doesn’t draw that same nostalgic Science Fiction feel like Ed McGuinness does in Nova, but its scope is amazing the panels hit when they need to. I particularly liked the splash page featuring the Guardiansentrenched in a space battle with an alien ship. I am not a huge fan of the new Iron Man armor that Stark has been using since his journey into space, but I am not entirely sure who is responsible for the design. I am guessing that Iron Man artist Greg Land was instrumental in the design, and that other, follow-up artists are just following suit for continuity’s sake, but I have no hard evidence for that conclusion. However, I did enjoy McNiven’s character model for Peter Quill. I loved the first couple pages of the issue because it setup Star-Lord perfectly. He was unshaven and gritty, and having him introduced in a shady bar at the end of the galaxy harkened to Han Solo in the Catina in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Bendis and McNiven provide respect to those that deserve respect, while also creating a world of their own.
Overall, the issue is solid. The plot builds appropriately, and the art hits where it is suppose to. Thus far, I prefer Jeph Loeb’s technique in Nova over Bendis’ in Guardians of the Galaxy, but only by a hair. Ed McGuinness seems to focus more on Science Fiction nostalgia in Nova, whileSteve McNiven is driven by the moment. Both of which I appreciate, so as for favorites goes it is difficult to definitively decide. I would recommend giving both a whirl--you can’t go wrong.
Guardians of the Galaxy gets four-and-a-half stars out of five.
WATCH Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (2013) FULL MOVIE ONLINE STREAMING
Post a Comment