As the movie continues to approach us, Brian Micheal Bendis brings us a fresh take on the Guardians of the Galaxy; that is more of an origin issue of the team’s leader, Peter Quill, than an actual 1st issue (which is probably why it was numbered with the .1), does it hold up?

Here is the summary from Marvel:

Move over Avengers…the Guardians got this. Star-Lord. Gamora. Drax. Rocket Raccoon. Groot. …and the Invincible Iron Man?! The Marvel Universe just got bigger as the legendary cosmic epic returns in the hands of superstar creators Brian Michael Bendis (Avengers, All-New X-Men) and Steve McNiven (Civil War; Old Man Logan). In this special prelude issue meet the man behind the Guardians: Star-Lord… and discover how this child of Earth became the leader of the rag-taggiest of teams in all the Galaxy. All setting the stage for next month’s historic Guardians of the Galaxy #1. This is the start of something big, Marvel fans.

This opening (if you can call it that) salvo is the origin story of the Guardians HHIC (Head Human In Charge) Peter Quill. He goes through to explain his half-human, half-spartaxian origins to the team’s newest member…Iron Man. We get a nice look into how Quill became the man he is today, mostly through the decsions he makes throughout his childhood. We meet his mother and his Spartaxan father who left before he was born (safe to say Quill has some daddy issues). Bendis adds alot of different elements in this issue, from romance, to drama, to excitement, & adventure.

His narrative fleshes out Quill as we learn more about him; succeeding in turning into a character that readers can care about and relate to…kind of. And makes the comic become more than just a movie vehicle (even though that will mostly likely help sales).

Steve McNiven (one of my favorite artists) does the art for this book and it is stunning to behold, as he is a master of drawing people. No detail is left out and each of the characters, from Quil himself to his schoolyard friend, are each given their own design. The alien Badoon are also detailed very well here as well. The splash pages showing Earth are breathtaking, expertly portraying how small Earth is compared to the rest of the universe, and the Guardians will be traveling all of it. John Dell’s inks add depth to McNiven’s pencils & Justin Ponsor’s colors are used to help convey the more serious aspects of the book.

While basically a super-sized origin story Guardians 0.1 is still and excellent tale chronicling the story of a boy who was forced to grow up too early, and accept an incredible journey and destiny thrust upon him. I am excited to see where this book goes.

4.5/5