Worth A Read? Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians Disassembled

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

The Guardians of Summer Entertainment

If you're one of my Facebook friends then for months now you have seen me post numerous things about the  film, The Guardians of the Galaxy.  It's based on an obscure little comic book that even most fan boys have never read, which is why so many of us scratched our heads when Marvel Studios announced it's 2014 release.  

I will admit, I had never read any GotG(Guardians of the Galaxy) before I heard they were making the film.  I knew the names Rocket Raccon and Groot, but not much more than that.  I decided to check out the source material, the 2008 comic book series by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan.  And I LOVED it!  It was so different from the superhero-style comics that Marvel put out.  It was weird, a little quirky, and didn't really take itself seriously. In 2013, Brian Michael Bendis relaunched the series to help people get acquainted with these heroes before the film opened, and it's been a hit ever since.  Seriously, check it out, you'll get all those Peter Quill "dad" references in the film.

Because this property was so unknown the film was Marvel's Studio's biggest gamble since their first film, Iron Man.  Park and Recreations star Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, a human who grows up with a band of intergalactic thieves. Quill finds an orb that everyone is after, including that purple guy who was at the end of The Avengers, Thanos.  Peter then finds an entourage of misfits and outsiders who decide to come together to protect the orbs power from Ronan the Accuser, a Kree criminal who wants to kill billions of people on the planet Xandar.

This film felt like The Avengers in that it was fun as hell!  There were a lot of laughs and a lot of action to make it the perfect summer popcorn film for everyone to watch.  The characters were really the thing that made it pop.  The five leads just sitting around talking were some of the best scenes.  And these characters could have turned out sooo bad.  

Being familiar with Pratt's work I wasn't worried about him carrying this film at all.  Zoe Saldana as Gamora was probably the safest bet; her being a veteran to sci-fi films like Star Trek and Avatar.  Vin Diesel's unique voice was perfect for the character of Groot, who only is supposed to say three words, ever.  But I'll get to that.  Pro wrestler Dave Bautista could have also been bad, but Drax the Destroyer seemed to be tailor made to fit his "range" as an actor. Finally, Rocket Raccon was voiced by Hollywood pretty boy, Bradley Cooper.  Sure there were dozens of animators that helped bring Rocket to life, but I think Cooper did a great job of bringing this character out, so much that sometimes I forgot it was Cooper, and isn't that the point?  

The other actors were small and really unimportant. Lee Pace as Ronan was effective, but not memorable and complex like Loki.  Djimon Hounsou(who I think should be playing Black Panther) was a waste of talent in this film.  Meanwhile, award-winning thespians John C. Reilly and Glenn Close didn't even have enough screen time to have character personalities.  The best supporting role I felt was Karen Gillan as Gamora's sister, Nebula.  She didn't say much, but carried that character with attitude.  I would have loved to have seen that sibling rivalry more, but that's what sequels are for.

Now for the knit-picking kids!  First off, the Nova Corps is Marvel's version of the Green Lantern Corp; each with tremendous power.  So why did they seem more like a pathetic, galactic, military.  None of them showed the strength a Nova Corps member was supposed to have. GotG is about opening up the Marvel "universe" so let's see the universal police be badass so people will say, "I want to see more of that."  As of right now I don't want more Glenn Close unless she plans on boiling a bunny.

Gamora seemed a little too good.  This is a girl who was raised as a warrior to kill and is the most feared woman in the galaxy.  Why did she seem as pure as Princess Leia?  Right now I fear Black Widow more than Gamora. 

"I am Groot".  That's all I've ever read Groot saying in any comic book, EVER. "We are Groot" does not make sense.  It took me out of the film.  In fact it made some people in the audience laugh at a moment that was supposed to be sad and sweet. I am Groot. That's all we'll ever need.  And as for the post-credit scene?  I found it funny, but these extra bits at the end usually add something to what is to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Is this a hint of things to come, or just a silly thing to make people laugh and say WTF?  I'm gonna go with option B.

I had high expectations for this film, and although I really liked it, I didn't LOVE it. It's a great sci-fi/comic book film that I can't wait to see a sequel too, but the plot was simple and nobody outside of the main cast is worth remembering. Well, maybe Michael Rooker.  However, I do hope this shows J.J. Abrams what today's audience is looking for in it's sci-fi/fantasy.  I had a blast watching this film, and I'm glad everyone else did too.  Now, to all of my Facebook friends who got annoyed with all my GotG posts.  You're Welcome. 

Rating:  B+

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