Guardians Of The Galaxy #1

Guardians Of The Galaxy may seem simple, however it is anything but. All of the characters within this title are really complicated due to their decades of backstory.  Peter Quill was originally introduced in the 70’s. With some of that in mind This first issue is a bit of a mixed back. The last time we saw characters like Thanos and Richard Rider they were dead. Seeing Peter Quill have a casual conversation like nothing happened is a disservice to the character. Most of these stray thoughts are echoed in the letter column in the back of the issue but the fan is told to simply keep reading. Characters in the title that have been essential members are also missing like Jack Flag and Moondragon. Whenever there is Thanos there must be Adam Warlock, who is also absent from the title.

Marvel would like their readers to simply sweep all of this continuity mess to the side and enjoy the story at hand. The 0.1 issue of Guardians Of The Galaxy made this simple because it focused on specifically on Peter Quill. Opening up the scope to the rest of the team causes vast problems.

Brian Michael Bendis has a solid script and a great handle on all of the character in the issue. His plot structure of the piece is strange and the focus is not quite appropriate for a comic of this size. There is so much explaining to do in these pages, while the small character scenes are well written all around the comic loses sight of what is truly important; establishing the different relationships. What exactly Peter Quill has to do with Gamora or the rest of the team is simply glossed over. The angst regarding Peter Quill’s father is very well written and highlights the status of the relationship currently. In these pages the characters that have been absent for a long period of time make a small appearance have been missing like the Supreme Kree Intelligence.

Iron Man has been consistently stealing every scene he has been in. Current writers have been taking the character and using a Robert Downey Jr. interpretation that suits the issue for the better. Any scene blending this current interpretation of Iron Man and Rocket Raccoon makes for great comics. These scenes perfectly illustrates frustration with the issue at hand; nothing in this script has time to breath. Scenes are crunched together fiercely with no space for the reader to interpret what exactly they are reading.

While the script is frustrating Steve McNiven’s pencils are quite the opposite. The issue is hyper detailed and clean. The shading on heads that are specific to McNiven art is rendered for a more serious and detailed face on Peter Quill’s father. McNiven is a versatile artist and brings different traits and styles of drawing to each piece of work. With detailed line work and great designs, McNiven needs to stay on this title as long as possible in order to establish this new cosmic world.

While Guardians Of The Galaxy is a frustrating read for longtime fans, those who are new to the property should find no problems at all aside from being slightly confused. The pencils by McNiven show a seasoned artist adept at sequential storytelling. Hopefully moving forward this comic book will grow into the incredible title it has the potential to be.