Guardians Of The Galaxy #4

The Team
Writer Brian Michael Bendis Artist Sarah Pichelli

As a reader I am not quite sure what is better about Guardians Of The Galaxy at this point, art or writing. Steve McNiven has now stopped drawing the title, normally this would be a huge loss for any book. Then again most books do not have the incredible Sarah Pichelli on the pencils. Thanks to single artist on the title, the book feels even more consistent. This is one of the strongest comic books that Marvel is publishing right now. One small problem that stays with that is lingering among these pages, is how exactly the heroes got out of the Thanos Imperative alive. That storyline was so vicious and dark, that in fact many characters simply died in that storm. Seeing them back from that story with no sense of consequence for that death, cheapens superhero comics to a certain degree. When Thor fell in Ragnarok and was relaunched, the issue which featured him coming back was payed off immediately. In a certain way that made sense to new and longtime readers.

Hopefully this is a problem that will be addressed sooner in the title rather than later. Everything here clicks into place quite well, the scene which features a different kind of romance between two character is tastefully written. A small glimpse of Pepper Pots adds some of the humanity here that could be missing in another kind of title. The way the Brian Michael Bendis writes Rocket Raccoon is something to be admired. While he does talk quite a bit, everyone seems to really admire him. This makes interactions with him and the others quite fun. Groot is also a character that should not work as well as he does here, but everything comes together quite well.

Page layouts, expressive faces, beautiful colors, and a better drawn Rocket Raccoon is all presented here. Sarah Pichelli and Justin Ponsor should both be acclaimed highly for how beautiful this title consistently continues to look. These are some of the strongest comic book pages being published this side of Marvel. While mentioned earlier it’s the facial expressions here that really set the issue apart. Even in some of the smaller panels that do not matter, the characters are still acting here. Ways that the pages in this title are laid out really make this book feel special. The colors are also well chosen with some pages practically being a light show, including bright pastels flying all over. Others have blacks and pinks that bring out the more intimate moments of the script, and add weight to the wonderfully constructed pencils of Pichelli.

Guardians Of The Galaxy has a high level of craft rarely seen so consistently in a comic book. Few have achieved some of the soaring heights lovingly rendered in this title. This story seems to be on course for an equally strong future with Neil Gaiman coming on board for some co-writing on the next installment. This is nothing but a good thing, as a curve ball like Angela this issue would have been hard to properly orchestrate without a proper creator. Continue to believe the hype, as this title has a bright future ahead.