Guardians of the Galaxy #21
Written by: Brian Bendis
Art by: Valerio Schiti
The Guardians of the Galaxy are on fire this year. The movie, bringing Marvel all kinds of success, the launching of solo-books for the majority of the team’s characters. Rocket Raccoon was even the highest selling comic of August. Which makes me question, why is their ongoing series so mediocre? Brian Bendis is a talented writer (see his Daredevil run) but the Guardians are just not part of the comfort zone that he has trouble breaking out of. There isn’t anything horrible about this comic, it’s simply insipid and has so energy to it.
The issue starts off with an irrelevant and typical speech about why Earth serves no purpose to the galaxy beyond being an irritation. It leads on to a bar scene (a lot of this book’s scene take place in bars for some reason) with Flash losing control of his symbiote and asking people to help him find the Earth. We then skip to a few scenes with the Guardians doing what they do. Peter talking to Kitty, Drax fighting a monster. These scenes all felt like they were filling a 16 page script into 22 pages. Kitty and Peter interact in every issue of Peter’s solo book and the scene feel more relevant and interesting there, which has me wishing Sam Humphries got the chance to write this book. There isn’t much of a plot, just decent character interactions, a passable fight sequence and some set-up.
At least Valerio Schitti's there to help. This guy is definitely my favourite new artist of the year. His pencils are detailed, vivid and just great to look at. He’s a perfect fit for the zany Guardians of the Galaxy and putting him on this book is a genius decision. He draws an amazing Rocket Raccoon and a stunning venom. The one area where his art falters is his Drax, who looks like a smaller and bald version of the Hulk. Even with his weaknesses, Schiti always impresses me and he is the only reason I read this book.
If I could describe this issue (story wise) in one word, it would be average. There is very little flair to this comic. The plot is merely set-up and the cliff hanger, despite being a cool idea, will most likely lead to an overlong fight scene taking up half the pages in the subsequent issue. When Bendis is inspired, he can be one of the best writers in comics and unfortunately, I don’t see much inspiration here. Valerio Schiti’s sublime art can only do so much to make this comic enjoyable but with such a dull script, I can’t give it a recommendation.
Art by: Valerio Schiti
The Guardians of the Galaxy are on fire this year. The movie, bringing Marvel all kinds of success, the launching of solo-books for the majority of the team’s characters. Rocket Raccoon was even the highest selling comic of August. Which makes me question, why is their ongoing series so mediocre? Brian Bendis is a talented writer (see his Daredevil run) but the Guardians are just not part of the comfort zone that he has trouble breaking out of. There isn’t anything horrible about this comic, it’s simply insipid and has so energy to it.
The issue starts off with an irrelevant and typical speech about why Earth serves no purpose to the galaxy beyond being an irritation. It leads on to a bar scene (a lot of this book’s scene take place in bars for some reason) with Flash losing control of his symbiote and asking people to help him find the Earth. We then skip to a few scenes with the Guardians doing what they do. Peter talking to Kitty, Drax fighting a monster. These scenes all felt like they were filling a 16 page script into 22 pages. Kitty and Peter interact in every issue of Peter’s solo book and the scene feel more relevant and interesting there, which has me wishing Sam Humphries got the chance to write this book. There isn’t much of a plot, just decent character interactions, a passable fight sequence and some set-up.
At least Valerio Schitti's there to help. This guy is definitely my favourite new artist of the year. His pencils are detailed, vivid and just great to look at. He’s a perfect fit for the zany Guardians of the Galaxy and putting him on this book is a genius decision. He draws an amazing Rocket Raccoon and a stunning venom. The one area where his art falters is his Drax, who looks like a smaller and bald version of the Hulk. Even with his weaknesses, Schiti always impresses me and he is the only reason I read this book.
If I could describe this issue (story wise) in one word, it would be average. There is very little flair to this comic. The plot is merely set-up and the cliff hanger, despite being a cool idea, will most likely lead to an overlong fight scene taking up half the pages in the subsequent issue. When Bendis is inspired, he can be one of the best writers in comics and unfortunately, I don’t see much inspiration here. Valerio Schiti’s sublime art can only do so much to make this comic enjoyable but with such a dull script, I can’t give it a recommendation.
A Look Inside
