Guardians of The Galaxy #1 Review

Not too long ago in a galaxy far, far away….

There’s a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! No one!! Why has Earth become the most important planet in the Galaxy? Join Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Racoon, Groot, and Iron Man, as the new Guardians of The Galaxy!

Guardians of The Galaxy #1 Review
By: Jay

The King of the Spartax Planetary System tells his son Peter Quill: The Star-Lord that by Galactic Rule Earth is off limits to all extraterrestrials including him. Star-Lord knows this rule will only make Earth a target without anyone to defend it and disobeys his father. Star-Lord arrives with the Guardians of the Galaxy just in time to help Iron Man repel an alien attack, after the battle Gamora’s feeling proves to be all too prophetic.    

I really enjoyed this issue. I started off  my review by paraphrasing the famous "Star Wars" opening crawl because Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven bring you into that type of a space opera setting. I had to read this book twice, but not because I felt lost or I didn’t understand something, it was just that entertaining from beginning to end. This was an enjoyable read.

Bendis really brings us a cosmic tale on an epic scale using some classical archetype relationships: the absentee father/son (Peter and his father), the “buddy cops” (Groot and Rocket), the honor between warriors (Gamora and Drax), and then we have Iron Man who is used as the focal point for the audience to relate to these otherworldly chaacters. In the best of ways Bendis brought back memories of classic space movies like "Star Wars" and "Flash Gordon" for me, especially how the King had this Ming-like presence.

McNiven’s art really brought Bendis’ story to life. I have always loved McNiven’s art ever since I saw it in Marvel Knights: 4, and it has only improved since then. McNiven brings each character to life by giving each of them their own style. McNiven made a bold choice in redesigning Star-Lord’s distinct helmet that I think paid off. The new look allows him to showcase his finesse with conveying the story and allowing the character to emote through his facial expressions while allowing the reader to connect more with him.

There are two minor things that kept me from giving this a perfect five stars. The first is story-related. This is a first issue and it needed to be more new reader friendly. Sure we got an in-depth origin for Star-Lord in Guardians of The Galaxy #0.1 but we have nothing about the rest of the Guardians so far. Who are they? What are their motivations? Why should we invest in them emotionally? The second issue I found is with the art. While McNiven kills with each and every page, I just think Star-Lord looked a bit too young.

All-in-all this was a really great solid issue that I highly recommend everyone pick up. Now that you know my thoughts on this book, let us know what you think in the comments.