Guardians of the Galaxy is a relaunch of a series that has been around, in various forms, over the years. The original Guardians were around in the 70's and were a totally different team- this version harkens back to the 2008 version. I've only read the 2008 version sparingly so this was all new to me- I came into this one pretty new.
Cosmic Avengers gives us the origin story of Peter Quill, also known as Star Lord, the leader of the group. His dad, J'Son of Spartax, crashlanded on Earth 30 years ago, and was taken in by an Earth woman. They fell in love (or had a fling, anyway) and then J'Son had to leave, to return to his own world and the war raging there. Meredith realizes after he leaves that she's pregnant. Fast forward 10 years and young Peter Quill is growing up and restless. One day some Badoon (the race Spartax is at war with) show up and try to kill Peter- turns out he is the heir to Spartax- he escapes and we then see that in the present he is the head of the Guardians.
So in the present Iron Man (from the Avengers) has joined the team- or is just visiting. This is more a gimmick than anything else- Stark doesn't add much here. This group of Guardians are a pretty ragtag crew- besides Star Lord we have Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. This group is pretty much just hanging out when Iron Man arrives, and then Star Lord's dad shows up. He basically tells Star Lord that Earth off limits and Star Lord is not to go there- this doesn't sit well. Apparently the off limits thing doesn't mean much to the Badoon however, as they launch an attack on Earth and the Guardians come to earth's defense.
I thought this started out well- the Star Lord origin was decent- but after that I got bored towards the end. I made myself finish it but it was not that great. The writer tries to make Rocket funny and hip but I just yawned. Gamora I like- she has a long history at Marvel and used to be a badass- she still is here, I guess, they are trying but she doesn't seem as dangerous and mysterious as she used to. Drax is also disappointing. And lastly Star Lord- he's okay, portrayed as a somewhat dashing young guy, a rogue with a heart of gold maybe, not the serious Star Lord of old. He has potential. I'm not sure I would continue this series, frankly, not much is happening, but I know that this title crosses over with All New X-Men in the future and I like that book. I will read this for at least that long.
I really wish they would have rebooted the older, classic Guardians team- the 30th century survivors of the Badoon wars. I think that Guardians team, done well, would be way more interesting than this crew. This version of the Guardians is just okay and this book is pretty lackluster, but not a bad place to start if you're interested in the movie.
I don't remember hearing of this series but this version sounds pretty lame. Star Lord bears a strong resemblance to to the movie StarMan with Jeff Bridges. I think I can skip this one.
ReplyDeleteYou know I never thought of that, but yeah Starman did have a similar thing going on. And you're right that pic does kinda look like him!
DeleteCongrats on your new feature which most of us will appreciate here! How cool that you found the store in your own hometown--serendipity! I am not into comics, but my eldest daughter and son-in-law were and they bought some first edition signed copies in a plastic sleeve by some guy, I have no idea who he is. This was before they had kids, lol, but said it could be an investment.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week..note that I have moved my blog and bloglovin has not caught up yet. :)
Thanks Rita fteor stopping by- I was really surprised to find that cool store right here in town! I used to have quite 'm just buying collections like this one. They are hit or miss.
DeleteThank you for lettingme know about your blog, I will update my links ans be over to check it out!
I really don't know about the old Guardians. I hadn't even heard about the Guardians until the movie. So that is why I even picked this comic up. I think I did enjoy it more then you did. Though I agree.. this isn't some badass evil team. Like Suicide Squad. I didn't actually realize they were even supposed to be an evil team (from this comic). I thought 2008 was the first time it came out.. I didn't even know about the 70s issues. Great review.
ReplyDeleteYou know, as much as I like the old Guardians, I can see where they might not work today without a substantial revamp. Although I guess one of the old Guardians (Yondu) will be in the movie, so I'm excited about that. I want to like this series so I'm going to stick with it for a while.
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