The Guardians of the Galaxy are off on a new adventure, and the odds are already delightfully stacked against them.
In this era of continuous relaunches and new #1 issues, there’s a tendency to look at every restart strictly from the perspective of how it works as a new beginning. That’s true, of course, but the real trick is having a first issue feel like the start of something new while fitting in seamlessly as a part of a greater whole. That balance is something All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #1 manages to pull off with style.
Writer Gerry Duggan and artists Aaron Kuder and Ive Svorcina have boiled the Guardians down to their most familiar form, concentrating on the movie lineup of Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Drax. That’s probably not an accident with a certain movie you might have heard about coming later this week.
But while the Guardians of the Galaxy might be up to their old tricks, accepting a job they clearly don’t know enough about before pulling it off, they’ve got new concerns based on recent Marvel Comics developments. Drax has embraced pacifism. Gamora has something going on that she won’t even share with her teammates. Most mysterious of all, something is wrong with poor Groot, trapping him at baby size and leading to the issue’s final page cliffhanger, one that promises to be a tale all its own.
Duggan has long been one of Marvel’s best writers at blending action and humor, something that any Guardians of the Galaxy book requires. He’s also playing with some cool toys right off the bat with not one but two Elders of the Universe (also Galactus … sort of). Kuder’s redesign of the Grandmaster might be another MCU-related decision as he looks a little less alien, but overall, the artist’s pencils are a snug fit for the book’s tone, and Svorcina gives the visuals the kind of retro technicolor palette that we’ve seen so much of in the marketing for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
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Perhaps the best part of the entire issue is Rocket reflecting on the challenges the different team members are facing and coming to the sobering realization that Star-Lord is “the most put together of all of us!” Seeing why that’s true might be reason enough to dive into All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #1. And if you’ve been on-board with these characters for a while, simply sit back and enjoy this new ride.