It is most likely that this review will be a failure in describing with proper volume how much I enjoyed it.
The gang is back together.
Some new members, some old ones changed in ways others don’t fully comprehend, but after two issues focusing on just two member’s journey, I’m pleased to be back to the team that made this title one of Marvel’s best over the last year or so. How do you present a reassembly not bogged down into too many, space consuming threads, and pull off a very capable and quick roll call simultaneously? You take it back to the tradition of a bar fight – and as alluded to with the very first line, we don’t really care about the why or how. While the reintroductions have little use to long time readers of the series, they are well placed considering the deviations represented by the previous two issues, and also offer basics to readers who may be jumping on, and catching an (for them) irregular chapter of War of Kings.
The levity of the narrative and dialogue can be misleading. We cannot forget the name and cause they have given to themselves: The Guardians of the Galaxy. Among them is the man who ‘killed’ Thanos; the new avatar of Death; and Warlock, who at one point was he master of time, space, mind, soul, reality, and power. While a motley crew to be sure, these guardians represent a significant unit with legitimate powerhouses. The team mobilizes to intervene in the Kree/Shi’ar War, the – at the moment – chief backdrop of the War of Kings. The decision is made to split the team, one to attempt to ‘speak’ to Black Bolt and the Inhumans (who now rule the Kree) and the other to do the same with the Vulcan-led Shi’ar.
I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that there are instances of being a bit too free with the dialogue in this series, but oh how much I have missed it from the ensemble! It doesn’t go so far as to laugh itself, but there remains this perpetual possibility of a delightfully preposterous wink that reminds you that this is classic, unabashed Space Opera. My favorite part of the issue, is a single, nine-panel page called ‘Tactics’ where Peter Quill and Rocket Raccoon divvy up the team for their respective missions. It’s informative and droll at the same time, just over the top enough to remind its on self:
“Don’t ruin the moment”
Brad Walker’s art excels in this issue in the non-action scenes. Along with aforementioned scene, there are some great facial expressions, from Quill welcoming Warlock back, to Black Bolt’s reply to a request of reason, and the reaction it garners from the team. The big action scenes struck me as slightly rushed, especially a slash page featuring Vulcan and Warlock – or rather it could just be that I think any page displaying Warlock getting jumped must somehow be flawed Still, it’s certainly solid and not something that takes you out of the story, and there are legitimate, noteworthy ‘moments’ in this issue that Walker imbues with the perfect amount of tension, irony, and/or humor.
From the beginning and sprinkled throughout are panels with characters explaining the action, accordingly breaking the rule of show and don’t tell, as you get the feeling that Abnett and Lanning continue to offer guides for the Marvel Cosmic-unenlightened– after all, epics need their narrators. If prior issues were aiding in setting the board for War of Kings, it is in this issue where moves are being made, as the Guardians attempt a two-pronged, preemptive stalemate. Shut down, smacked down, and some Starjammers later, it’s time for a new strategy. Not for Abnett and Lanning though.
Long live the gang.
- Jay Tomio
Jan-ken-pon is the time traveling, force-walking, multiverse crossing column of Jay Tomio, owner of 1/3 of everything you see currently on screen, and the editor of Heliotrope. Some call him the Bodhisattva.
