‘Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers’ review
By Brittney MacDonald, Senior Columnist
3/5
Award-winning writer Brian Michael Bendis gives us this fun, quirky reboot of the Guardians of the Galaxy series just in time for the release of the new Marvel movie. But unnecessary character additions and inconsistent art make this graphic novel far from perfect.
Unbeknownst to its residents, Earth has become the new hot commodity as villains from all over the galaxy fight tooth and nail to get their share. But the Guardians of the Galaxy won’t have any of that and declare that the Earth is off-limits. As they battle off invasions, Star Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot, Drax, and even Iron Man try and figure out why the scum of the universe are all of a sudden looking to Earth like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Cosmic Avengers attempts to capitalize on the popularity of the Avengers franchise, made obvious by not only the name but the new addition of Iron Man to the team. Unfortunately this particular volume is used to set up the new narrative for the series, so things are left unresolved and it lacks a complete story arc. Additionally, Iron Man himself adds nothing to either the narrative or the team dynamic, making him just a tag-along sidekick rather than the fan-favourite hero we all know him to be.
The art by Steve McNiven is for the most part amazing, but it lacks consistency. Done in a more traditional style with heavy inks, the issue lies in the anatomy. McNiven creates dynamic page layouts, but will oftentimes have one or two panels where the anatomy of the subject is simply off.
Overall I enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone looking for a series commitment that’s a little less serious.
