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Roger Ash
by Roger Ash
Marvel has released two new continuous series in their cosmic line of books, Nova as well as Guardians of the Galaxy, that I want to take a look at. however very first I want to take a look back at a few of the history of the characters, including my history with them. (And yes, I understand that Wayne Markley composed about the Guardians recently, however ideally you’ll indulge me.)
Fantasy masterpieces #8, my very first exposure to Warlock.
Back in the late 70s/early 80s, there was a series called fantasy masterpieces which reprinted the traditional Silver Surfer series by Stan Lee as well as John Buscema. I truly took pleasure in the series, however problem #8 truly knocked me for a loop. in that issue, marvel began reprinting Jim Starlin’s Warlock stories as a backup function in the book. To state I was blown away is an understatement. The story was like nothing I had seen before. We have a hero who is battling an evil version of himself from the future (the Magus) who has developed up a religious beliefs around himself. Warlock’s companions are a wise-cracking troll named Pip, as well as Gamora, the most hazardous lady in the galaxy who was trained as an assassin by Thanos (who’s likewise her embraced father). as well as Warlock likewise had a gem, the spirit Gem, attached in his forehead that might take the souls of his enemies. Starlin’s art was stunning as well as in shape the trippy story to a “t”. as well as then fantasy masterpieces was cancelled before the Warlock story was completed. I went on a back problem browse as well as ultimately discovered the Avengers as well as Two-In-One Annuals that completed the story. This cemented my like for Marvel’s cosmic characters as well as stays one of my all-time preferred storylines. Years later, I discovered that this Warlock story constituted the second part of Thanos’ preliminary story, with the very first part being in Starlin’s traditional run on Captain Marvel.
The Defenders satisfy the Guardians of the Galaxy in Defenders #26.
My very first exposure to the Guardians of the Galaxy was during Steve Gerber as well as Sal Buscema’s traditional run on the Defenders, which I checked out as back issues. The Defenders travel to the future where they assist the Guardians complimentary the earth from its conquerors, the evil alien race called the Badoon. however this group of Guardians is extremely different from the present group. The Guardians at first included Vance Astro, Martinex, Charlie-27, as well as Yondu, who are later joined by Nikki, as well as the mysterious Starhawk. The story was truly fun as well as interesting as well as featured lots of Gerber’s thinly veiled social commentary.
Marvel preview #11 featured a Star-Lord story by Claremont, Byrne & Austin.
I did not checked out the preliminary story that introduced Peter Quill as Star-Lord by Steve Englehart as well as Stan Gan, however encountered him later. Star-Lord was an fascinating function to me as a visitor as the very first couple stories I checked out of his were by innovative teams that would ended up being well understood for their work on other books; Chris Claremont, John Byrne & Terry Austin (X-Men) as well as Doug Moench & expense Sienkiewicz (Moon Knight). There’s likewise a stunning special drawn by the late gene Colan. I took pleasure in the stories well enough, however it was generally because of the creators involved, not Star-Lord himself. It wasn’t up until years later as well as the Annihilation event that my viewpoint of the character changed.
The original Nova #1.
Nova is the superhero identity of Richard Rider as well as appeared in his own series written by Marv Wolfman as well as featured art by creators including John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, as well as Tom Palmer. He would later go on to be a member of the prominent team, the new Warriors. Honestly, while I understood of the character, I was not truly familiar with him up until Annihilation.
Infinity Gauntlet
Fast ahead a number of years to Infinity Gauntlet where Jim Starlin with artists Geroge Perez as well as Ron Lim bring Adam Warlock, Gamora, as well as Thanos back to the marvel world as Thanos tries to court death (literally. He is madly in like with a personification of Death.) by assembling the Infinity Gauntlet; a gauntlet that homes all of the Infinity Gems, including the spirit Gem. This series, together with the comply with ups, Infinity war as well as Infinity Crusade, cemented Thanos a major player in the marvel Universe. This continues today with Thanos handling lots of of Marvel’s heroes in the upcoming Infinity event.
Annihilation
The cosmic heroes stayed around however type of faded into the background as the years went on. That altered with the Annihilation event writtenby Keith Giffen. This brought the cosmic heroes front as well as center as well as featured a number of associated miniseries. one of the very best was Annihilation: Nova, which was written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (DnA) as well as drawn by Kev Walker. This was not only the beginning of DnA’s association with Nova, however with the marvel cosmic heroes; an association that would produce, in my opinion, a few of the very best comics marvel has published in recent years. The led to the Annihilation: Conquest event, which furthered the story of the cosmic heroes in the marvel Universe.
Annihilation: Conquest
The present version of the Guardian of the Galaxy is rather different from the original version of the Guardians as well as sprang from the Star-Lord minseries by writer Keith Giffen as well as artist Timothy eco-friendly II that was part of the Annihilation: Conquest. In the miniseries, Star-Lord teamed with Mantis (the Celestial Madonna from Avengers), Bug (from Micronauts), Captain Universe, Rocket Raccoon (not truly a raccoon, however he appears like one), as well as Groot (a tree monster originally drawn by Jack Kirby) to battle the menace of the Phalanx. While not the present team, the story set the precedent for pairing unlikely heroes as a battling group. Annihilation: Conquest spawned the Guardians of the Galaxy as well as Nova continuous series, both written by DnA. The Guardians roster different as well as in addition to the present team of Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Racoon, Drax the Destroyer (who was produced to ruin Thanos), as well as Groot, other members included Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Bug, Mantis, as well as Captain marvel (Phyla-Vel). Their base of operation ended up being Knowhere, the hollow head of a dead Celestial that is a base for lots of alien races. The safety head of Knowhere is Cosmo, a telepathic Russian Cosmonaut dog. It’s a extremely diverse as well as strange team, however DnA mad it work brilliantly.
Thanos Imperative #6
I’m not going to go into every experience Richard Rider Nova as well as the Guardians embarked upon, however there is one of fantastic value that began with a battle between the leader of the Inhumans, Black Bolt, as well as the leader of the Shi’ar, Vulcan. during their battle, they produced a rift in area that opened into what ended up being understood as the Cancerverse, an alternating dimension full of Lovecraftian monsters set on conquering our universe. Richard Rider, the Guardians, as well as Thanos (yes, the circumstance as was that dire) traveled into the Rift to discover a method to close it as well as save us all. They were successful, however in an attempt to rid our world of Thanos, Richard Rider as well as Star-Lord tricked him as well as all three were sealed in the Cancerverse.
Annihilators
This led to the formation of the Annihilators, a cosmic incredibly group composed Quasar, the Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, Ronan the Accuser, Gladiator, as well as a new character named Ikon, who is one of the Spaceknights, as the Guardians dissolved without Star-Lord. This is what occurred before Avengers Assemble #1-8 by Brian Michael Bendis as well as mark Bagley that restored Star-Lord as well as the Guardians who joined forces with the Avengers to deal with Thanos. That storyline is truly the beginning of what’s happening in Guardians now.
Nova #2
And that brings us to the present Guardians of the Galaxy as well as Nova series. The title character in Nova is Sam Alexander, a young kid on Earth, whose daddy is a member of the Nova Corps, who are type of like a galactic authorities force (and yes, there is a similarity to DC’s eco-friendly lantern Corps). However, something occurs to his daddy as well as Sam is recruited into the Nova Corps. Jeph Loeb as well as Ed McGuinness are crafting a extremely satisfying story about an outsider youngster trying to in shape in as well as do good. He even gets some training from the Guardians’ Gamora as well as Rocket Raccoon. I do miss Richard Rider, however Sam is an satisfying character as well as I look ahead to seeing where the experience takes him. DnA added lots of characters to the Nova world as well as I hope they’ll ultimately appear in the book.
However, I am dissatisfied that Loeb as well as McGuiness are leaving after the very first storyline. like lots of fans, it’s discouraging for me to get hooked on a series only to have the innovative team change. I hope that Zeb Wells as well as Paco Medina do a great task choosing up Sam’s story as well as stay around for a while.
Guardians of the Galaxy #7
Guardians of the Galaxy by Brian Michael Bendis as well as Steve McNiven & Sara Pichelli, while a team book, has so far been squarely focused on the team’s leader, Star-Lord Peter Quill. Quill is the kid of an earth lady as well as the alien King of Spartax, J-Son. He has plans for Peter, however Peter wants nothing to make with them or his father. however being a king, J-Son doesn’t takePeter’s action well. He will have what he wants. This sets up the action of the very first few problems of the book, which includes making earth off limits to alien races, the return of the Badoon, as well as a new member of the Guardians; Iron Man. I comprehend wanting to add a “known” character to the group, both to lure new visitors to try the book as well as to provide those unfamiliar with the Guardians somebody familiar to experience these characters through. Tony Stark makes sense as he’s both human as well as a superhero, however so far, to me, he still feels like an outsider. I’m hoping that as time goes on, he will be a much better in shape for the team.
We’re likewise losing as well as getting a couple members on Guardians. artist Steve McNiven is gone as of problem #3, however Sara Pichelli’s early work on the book looks gorgeous. Also, spinning out of age of Ultron, Angela will be joining the book, together with her creator, Neil Gaiman, as co-writer. I’m not sure exactly how that will play out, however I’m interested to see what happens.
There are still great deals of concerns up in the air about both books that I hope will get responded to sooner rather than later. The greatest of which is exactly how did Thanos as well as Star-Lord get out of the Cancerverse as well as what occurred to Richard Rider? Bendis has pointed out the Cancerverse in his stories, so I understand he has something up his sleeve for that. Are the Annihilators still a team? What’s up with Knowhere as well as Cosmo? I’ll be sticking around to discover the solution to these questions.
I truly like books that star second, third, or lower tier characters. partly since I discover the characters fun. Rocket Raccoon as well as Groot as well as fantastic characters as well as a great team, as well as nobody else in comics is rather like them. Also, you can make genuine changes. For example, when a major character dies (Captain America, Superman, etc.), you understand they’ll ultimately be back. however if something drastic were to occur to Rocket Raccoon, that’s likely to be a long-lasting change. The stakes seem to be higher. That, for me, is part of the draw of Nova as well as Guardians of the Galaxy. If you’re not already reading the books, provide them a try as well as see what you think.
Now, go checked out a comic!
Want to understand more? There are great deals of fantastic collections featuring Marvel’s cosmic characters, though regrettably much of Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning’s work on Nova as well as Guardians is out of print. right here are a few recommendations to get you started.
Avengers vs. Thanos SC
Avengers vs. Thanos SC – This volume features Jim Starlin’s traditional tales from the 1970s pitting Thanos against Captain Marvel, Warlock, as well as the Avengers. Comics don’t get much much better than this.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow’s Avengers
Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow’s Avengers SC – features the very first adventures starring the original Guardians, lots of written by Steve Gerber.
Thanos Imperative
Thanos Imperative SC – This is the climax to Abnett & Lanning’s work on Guardians as well as Nova.
Nova: Origin
Nova: origin HC – Collects the preliminary Nova story by Loeb & McGuiness.
Avengers Assemble
Avengers Assemble by Brian Michael Bendis – Collects Bendis & Bagley’s run on the book which serves as a great lead in to the new Guardians series.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Avengers
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers HC – Collects the preliminary storyline by Bendis, McNiven & Pichelli.
Classic comic covers from the Grand Comics Database.