Marvel
As the latest superhero film looms large, some of my friends—the kind who show up at comic shops for movies the way some people show up at church for Easter and Christmas—inevitably ask me if there’s anything they should buy. Admittedly, Marvel usually does a pretty good job of making films that anyone can enjoy, but if you want to dig into the space adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy ahead of the Aug. 1 premiere (or just want to know what’s up with that raccoon) here are five comics that can help you get started.
The Legendary Star-Lord (2014)
The easiest place to start is surely the comics currently sitting on the shelves. Marvel just released an all-new ongoing series about Peter Quill/Star-Lord—the roguish space cowboy played by Chris Pratt in the film. Short bio: He’s half-human, half-alien and kind of an asshole (but he’s actually a sweetheart, naturally). Star-Lord writer Sam Humphries describes him a bit more generously, as a Han Solo-esque space outlaw with a heart of gold, and offers a succinct summary of the series: “Frontier planets, bounty hunters, fast hustlers, big guns, big treasure, and dirty bastards.”
How to read it: Available digitally or at your local comic shop.
Rocket Raccoon (2014)
Yeah yeah, everybody loves Chris Pratt. But how can you resist a smart-mouthed space raccoon packing heavy artillery? It’s the kind of character that sells itself, and the new Marvel comic series about Rocket is just as silly and action-packed as you’d hope. Featuring the lovely, whimsical art of Skottie Young and at least one scene where a sentient tree fights a giant slug in a professional wrestling match, this one should be an easy sell. If you think you’d enjoy a comic with the title Rocket Raccoon, this book is here to prove you right. (For more on the bizarre history of Rocket, check this out. For more on the tragic history of his co-creator, go here.)
How to read it: Available digitally or at your local comic shop.
Annihilation: Conquest (2007-2008)
Superhero comics have a long-running love/hate relationship with crossover events, the universe-wide stories that regularly sprawl across numerous titles. In 2006, the big Marvel crossover was the space-themed Annihilation, and its 2007 sequel Annihilation: Conquest featured the return of Star-Lord and the gathering of the characters we would come to know as the Guardians. It was effectively the prequel to the big Guardians of the Galaxy reboot comic that followed, so if you want to see where their modern era began, start here.
How to read it: Available digitally or at your local comic shop.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2008-2010)
This is the book where Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot—the heroes you’re soon to see on the silver screen—finally came together for the first time under the Guardians of the Galaxy banner. (Previously, it was a completely different group of space heroes.) Scripted by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, authors of the Annihilation: Conquest miniseries, this is perhaps the most seminal source material for the heroes you’re about to know and love. Also, their chief of security is a psychic Russian dog named Cosmo, if you’re into that sort of thing.
How to read it: Available digitally or at your local comic shop.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2013)
The most recent comic incarnation of the galactic misfits launched last year, with an A-list creative team and an interesting concept: What happens when Earth—which is seen as an “insane asylum” by alien worlds—joins the larger galactic civilization? There’s lots of background on Peter Quill, and—for some reason—Iron Man and Angela from Spawn show up. The comic is still ongoing, so if you like what you see, there’s plenty more to come.
How to read it: Available digitally or at your local comic shop.
No comments:
Post a Comment