Guardians of the Galaxy 100th Anniversary Special
Story – Andy Lanning, Ron Marz
Art – Gustavo Duarte, Edgar Delgado
Publisher - Marvel
We are living in some sort of Marvel Cosmic heyday. With the release of Marvel Studio’s film adaption of Guardians of the Galaxy, we were treated to a landmark FOUR Guardians of the Galaxy related comic releases in July. If you asked me in 2008 if that would ever happen, I’d probably have laughed at you. Then I would have gone back to bumping Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop.” Because, 2008.
The most “off-the-wall” of the July Guardians releases is part of Marvel’s 75th Anniversary “100th Anniversary” series. The Guardians installment features a familiar cast shoved into the middle of a massive cosmic event. Seminal Marvel Cosmic scribes Andy Lanning and Ron Marz bring the story with art from Gustavo Duarte and Edgar Delgado. It’s hard to really nail down who shines the most in this issue. When you’re torn about which creative side did the best, you’re in for a good read. The Lanning/Marz team has crafted a future that all at once seems completely crazy and entirely logical. This is a story set several years down the road for our characters, so there is a great deal of backstory that is glossed over, but touched on just enough to whet the reader’s appetite. There is a certain amount of ridiculousness inherent in Marvel’s set of anniversary stories. Lanning/Marz embrace this and still present a story with a bit of heart, a bit of action and a lot of laughs.
When it comes to the art, Gustavo Duarte was a surprise. He’s not an artist whose work I’m immediately comes to mind, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the book. I was extremely pleased with the outcome. Duarte has a very cartoonish approach, bound to draw comparisons to Skottie Young’s work. While the majority of the characters are existing properties, Duarte was given to opportunity to design a few new characters. These include a trio of Rocket’s “nephews” and a future version of Iron Man composed entirely of “Iron Manites.” The designs meld well with the existing characters, especially the “classic” Drax we are given. I will definitely be searching out more of Duarte’s work in the future.
This comic was a welcome surprise. A majority of the characters we know and love from the current Guardians run are there as well as a few welcome additions. I generally don’t get my hopes up for anniversary events such as these, but this brought a lot to the table. I credit the creative staff for bringing a lot of energy to this story and making it far more than merely average. In fact, I’d love to see this team tackle future stories in the cosmic universe. Their take is fresh and fun, something sorely missing from the darker, serious tones of a lot of the books out there.
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Matthew can be found on Twitter as @mahargen. As he’s sad before on numerous occasions, Marvel Cosmic is his jam.
Art – Gustavo Duarte, Edgar Delgado
Publisher - Marvel
We are living in some sort of Marvel Cosmic heyday. With the release of Marvel Studio’s film adaption of Guardians of the Galaxy, we were treated to a landmark FOUR Guardians of the Galaxy related comic releases in July. If you asked me in 2008 if that would ever happen, I’d probably have laughed at you. Then I would have gone back to bumping Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop.” Because, 2008.
The most “off-the-wall” of the July Guardians releases is part of Marvel’s 75th Anniversary “100th Anniversary” series. The Guardians installment features a familiar cast shoved into the middle of a massive cosmic event. Seminal Marvel Cosmic scribes Andy Lanning and Ron Marz bring the story with art from Gustavo Duarte and Edgar Delgado. It’s hard to really nail down who shines the most in this issue. When you’re torn about which creative side did the best, you’re in for a good read. The Lanning/Marz team has crafted a future that all at once seems completely crazy and entirely logical. This is a story set several years down the road for our characters, so there is a great deal of backstory that is glossed over, but touched on just enough to whet the reader’s appetite. There is a certain amount of ridiculousness inherent in Marvel’s set of anniversary stories. Lanning/Marz embrace this and still present a story with a bit of heart, a bit of action and a lot of laughs.
When it comes to the art, Gustavo Duarte was a surprise. He’s not an artist whose work I’m immediately comes to mind, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the book. I was extremely pleased with the outcome. Duarte has a very cartoonish approach, bound to draw comparisons to Skottie Young’s work. While the majority of the characters are existing properties, Duarte was given to opportunity to design a few new characters. These include a trio of Rocket’s “nephews” and a future version of Iron Man composed entirely of “Iron Manites.” The designs meld well with the existing characters, especially the “classic” Drax we are given. I will definitely be searching out more of Duarte’s work in the future.
This comic was a welcome surprise. A majority of the characters we know and love from the current Guardians run are there as well as a few welcome additions. I generally don’t get my hopes up for anniversary events such as these, but this brought a lot to the table. I credit the creative staff for bringing a lot of energy to this story and making it far more than merely average. In fact, I’d love to see this team tackle future stories in the cosmic universe. Their take is fresh and fun, something sorely missing from the darker, serious tones of a lot of the books out there.
Matthew can be found on Twitter as @mahargen. As he’s sad before on numerous occasions, Marvel Cosmic is his jam.
A Look Inside
