Remember that hit movie from the summer with the walking tree and the talking raccoon? Well it was actually based on a comic book series that hardly anyone had ever heard of, but ever since writer Brian Michael Bendis restarted the title it's been a hit comic book series.
In the third volume of the GotG reboot the Guardians are on the run from Star-Lord's father, the king of the Spartax Empire, who has a bounty on all their heads. One by one the Guardians are picked off and separated to various parts of the universe. Rocket is back to being a science experiment, Drax is put on trial by the Shi'ar Empire, and Peter's dad gives him one more chance to join him or be executed. Their only hope lyes with the Guardians newest recruit; Venom, a.k.a. Flash Thompson.
I've always enjoyed Bendis's work but now that he writing Guardians of the Galaxy as well has several X-Men titles I find myself reading his words more than usual. The book starts out with Tony Stark asking Venom to take his place with the Guardians as Earth's representative. I like the newest interpretation of Venom in the Marvel U as a dark/slightly unstable hero. Flash's journey ends on a sour note, but I'm curious if they'll dive more into the symboite suit's origin since every alien Flash runs into seems to know more about it than he does.
Bendis writes the characters very well, giving them each their own brand of personality and fun. Captain Marvel shows up to help lend a hand; out of nowhere I might add. It's never really explained what she is doing on that side of galaxy so I guess we're just supposed to roll with it. The end of the book gives you previews into the current Captain Marvel and Venom comics with the purpose of getting to know Carol Danvers and Flash Thompson a little better, whether it be for the sake of the book or other "cinematic" reasons. Another preview in this book is Guardians of the Galaxy 3000. If you've read the previous GotG series you'll recognize the leader carrying Captain America's shield as Vance and even Yondu from the 2014 movie.
The main artist in this volume is Nick Bradshaw, who previously worked on Wolverine and the X-Men, but Michael Oeming does finish off the storyline. I'm not a fan when a book switches artist mid-story but I'm sure something came up since it's not that common. I do, however, miss the art of Steve McNiven from previous GotG books, but Bradshaw is a decent substitute. And while I don't dislike Oeming, I don't think he's right for GotG.
Guardians Disassembled was a good four-part story but felt I like it could have been a better six-part plot. The end of the book was full of teasers from Captain Marvel to Spider-Man that I really wasn't interested in. I feel like since this is the first GotG graphic novel released post-movie they filled it with other titles they want you to read, knowing people who liked the movie might pick up this book. From a marketing perspective it's good move, but as a regular reader I'd rather get more story.
This volume does make a good starting point for anyone who just saw the Guardians of the Galaxy and wants to dive deeper. Tony Stark even explains each Guardian, and their history, to Flash and new readers. As long as Bendis keeps writing Guardians of the Galaxy I'll keep reading it.
Worth A Read: Yes
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