Rocket and Baby Groot by Paolo Rivera

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Cosmic Outlaws

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Cosmic Outlaws

By Nick Jones

DK Publishing
Hardcover, 200 pages

One of my earliest and fondest comic books from my youth is a battered copy of Astonishing Tales #29, which reprinted the first Guardians of the Galaxy story from Marvel Super Heroes #18. In those pre-comic book store days, it was difficult to track down their adventures as they appeared sporadically through Marvel titles, so they drifted by my short attention span.

I caught up a dozen years later with the 1990s Jim Valentino reboot, which was fun, but again the Guardians faded away into B-List Limbo. However, the 2008 cosmic reboot by Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett was a different story. Although this new iteration wasn’t quite my Guardians of the Galaxy, they successfully put together a ragtag team with the spirit of the old.

Okay, so all of that so far was a long-winded build up to my review of DK new book (which was kindly supplied to me for the purposes of a review). I was impressed as it would have been easy to stick to the current incarnation and leverage the 2014 film and it’s 2017 sequel, but author Nick Jones really did his home work. He spends a considerable time not only on the film version of the team, but on the 1970s and 1990s versions. His work also covers the post-2014 film expanded cosmic universe that the comic book heroes have been exploring and adventuring within.

In the typical and reliable DK fashion, the book presents all this information in an impressive and sometimes dizzying visual fashion with a lot of great art clips, covers, timelines, friends, villains, equipment, and character bios. Once you start reading, it's pretty hard not to flip through the whole book!

This hardcover is an impressive refresher on the legacy of the Guardians of the Galaxy and a great primer for the upcoming sequel.

Guardians of the Galaxy by Tom Whalen

Rocket Raccoon by Michael Golden

Rocket Racoon by Ron Lim

Starlord by Mark Laming

1981 - Star-Lord The Special Edition

Guardians of the Galaxy - A Spoiler-Free Review

Directed by James Gunn
Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro

Marvel/Walt Disney Studios pulled it off. I was just as skeptical as a lot of you when I first heard that they were going to make a movie starring the Guardians of the Galaxy. And not only did they pull it off, they hit a home run. It's a quirky, entertaining ride with a lot of feeling and emotions.

The story is a space opera of galactic proportions but it's the solid cast and writing that really stabilizes it, transforming it into a touching journey. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) brings together a group of ragtag loners on a quest to stop the destruction of the universe. Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace, was outstanding in the role of the Kree judicator and proved to be a great antagonist. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are the product of some spectacular CGI, and in particular, Cooper steals the show with a lot of great moments.

Don't hesitate to see this film, you won't be disappointed. My kids told me when I left to see it, that when I came back I just had to say that it's okay for them to see (as they had seen the trailer and loved it). Unlike Captain America 2, which was far too violent, and Man of Steel, which was simply a disappointment, Guardians of the Galaxy is a movie that I'd be happy to bring them to see. There are a few mature scenes, but you can really tell that Marvel/Disney worked hard to keep the film at a PG level. It also succeeds in striking a nice balance for non-comic book fans who can enjoy the film as a stand-alone entity, but also rewards the comic book fans with a lot of Marvel Universe references.

"I am Groot!"

(Found this fan poster at:
http://geektyrant.com/news/stunning-guardians-of-the-galaxy-poster-art-by-paul-shipper)

1978 - The Canadian Shield

On the origins of Alpha Flight from Byrne Robotics:

"It was Chris who came up with the name Alpha Flight. My name for the group, back when they (or some of them, anyway) were fan characters, was the Canadian Shield. This was not a reference to SHIELD, in the Marvel Universe, but to the arc of mountains that curve around Hudson's Bay. (Hudson's Bay also gave Guardian his real name.) 

Obviously, we couldn't use "the Canadian Shield" for the group in X-MEN, so after I gave up trying to come up with something better, Chris used "Alpha Flight", which I have never much cared for.

Guardian went thru something similar. I was told I could not use my original name for him because of the Guardians of the Galaxy. So Chris started calling him "Major Maple Leaf" and I was desperately afraid that would stick. I tried to come up with something else, but nothing worked. It was Chris who dubbed him "Vindicator", naming him after a WW2 fighter plane. When I asked what Canada had to "vindicate" there was no answer. Thus we got the first of many names that had nothing to do with what the character was all about.

By the time Alpha got their own book, I was able to argue in favor of restoring "Guardian", tho many still call the character "Vindicator", unaware of this "behind the scenes" stuff."

1980: Marvel's Two Writing One Part VI: The Thing With Movin' In & Out...

By Jef Willemsen (Clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

In the sixth chapter of Marvel's Two Writing One, Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald start to bring their early 80s collaboration on the Thing team up book to a close by giving the Guardians of the Galaxy a proper send off, reuniting Ben and Alicia while also setting up a future Avenger...

 " I wuz hopin' maybe you could help me figger out what ta do!"

Issue #69 opened with Ben still troubled by his break up with Alicia. And to think he himself ended the his relationship with the blind sculptress because he was worried for her safety, soon realising he was actually feeling more miserable without her. Unfortunately, when he went to her appartment to patch things up, he saw her leave with another man.

Demoralised, it took his FF teammate the Invisible Woman to convince Ben to give it another shot. But that's a story for # 70, because seconds after this nugget of wisdom ánd breakfast was served, Starhawk of the Guardians of the Galaxy beamed into the FF's kitchen looking for help...

"Were the two counterparts to meet, it would cause untold damage to the course of time
creating a catastrophe!"

How to explain the Guardians of the Galaxy? Well, first introduced in 1969, this team of 31 century space heroes fought menaces like the galaxy conquering Badoon. The team eventually travelled back to the 20th century in pursuit of their cybernetic archenemy Korvac. Together with the Avengers, they eventually tracked down and defeated him. That was back in 1978, you'd think they'd have left the next day... But by the time this story appeared it was almost 1981 and they were still here!

Fair's fair, they actually were about to return home... when one of their own went missing. Major Victory, better known as Vance Astro, went AWOL so he could have a little chat with Vance Astrovik, his younger self. Victory hoped to convince the teenager he shouldn't join NASA, otherwise history would repeat itself and he'd end up going mad in space for a 1000 years before the Guardians found him.

Sage career advice, but a meeting between the two was sure to rip apart the space time continuum, right? Well, surely, Victory wouldn't be so foolish to even look up his younger self. Let alone touch him...

"Hey, stop that mister... you're hurting me!"

... Or maybe not.

Yet, in spite of the Guardians' predictions, the universe didn't blow up. What actually happened was the sudden appearance of a massive, dense black fog that covered the area and brought out most of the New York based heroes, from the X-men to Spider-Man and the Avengers. Even the Fantastic Four joined Ben and the Guardians in their quest for clarity (literally).

In the end, the Guardians managed to find Major Victory and seperate him from young Vance Astro. But that didn't exactly solve the problem...

"I may be the catalyst, but I'm not the cause"

Long story short... Major Victory developed his powers over the millennium he spent in deep space isolation. Yet, somehow, his younger self triggered similar abilities during their meeting in Saugerties. Young Vance's uncontrolled telekinetic abilites caused the dark clouds and once he learned to control them, the threat was over.

The Guardians finally returned to the 31st century and Major Victory was pleased to know that while his own past wasn't changed, at least this younger version of himself would be spared the centuries long, maddening exile. And he was right, Vance Astrovik would grow up to become the New Warrior and Avenger known as Marvel Boy and Justice.

As promised, Marvel Two In One # 70 at last dealt with the break up between Ben and Alicia set in motion back in issue # 64. When Ben finally gathered enough courage to go up to Alicia's place again to plead his case, he was pleasantly surprised...

 "Baby, I want ya to move inta the Baxter Building."

Yeah, turns out Alicia wasn't out on a date with a potential suitor, she was just meeting her business manager. But Ben was too blind to see that, pun intended. Don't let the art fool ya, it only looks as if Ben's gone evil and is about to crush poor Alicia's skull... He's actually overjoyed and he wants to move in with her... at the Baxter Building. The one place all the FF's villains take turns trying to invade..

Sheesh Ben, if you broke up with the girl because you were afraid for her safety, why not move in with hér? But that bit of logic even seems lost on Reed who claims his latest security upgrades made the Baxter Building the safest place in the entire city. So, without furter ado...

"Welcome to the Fantastic Four!"

Safest place in the entire city my foot...

The rest of the issue deals with the big move and the villainy of Shellshot and Lariat, two half forgotten FF villains who got their super powered whip and gun from the Psycho Man. These low rent thugs figured a truck full of Alicia's sculptures would earn them big money on the black market. That's why they disguise themselves as employees of the moving company, load their truck and take off with the statues.

As soon as they drive off, Ben realises something is fishy and went after them. However, the two villains actually manage to almost knock out the Thing... If not for the timely intervention of the Yancy Street Gang. After all, no one is allowed to mock and humiliate Ben Grimm... except for them. A point they emphasize in the final panels of the issue when the recovered truck takes off for the Baxter Building...

"Looks like deep down they must'a realized what a great guy I am."

By the by, nothing ever came of Alicia moving into the Baxter Building. The Fantastic Four title never made any mention of Alicia's alleged presence. In fact, regular FF writer Doug Moench wrote several stories which had Alicia in her own place.

And they said continuity died in the mid 2000s...

Next, in the seventh and final chapter (promise!) it's the return of the Hydro-Men and the menace of Maelstrom in Marvel's Two Writing One: The Kirby Crackle Conclusion.  

1989 - Vance Astro by Liefeld

"Marvel Now-ish"

Have a read of Sequart's take on Marvel current direction in Marvel Now-ish.

"Marvel, on the other hand, pretty much admitted defeat in trying to expand their audience beyond the core super-hero fans. But even new titles and characters are given a link to an already established brand name..."

"This reeks of desperation – they basically admit to themselves that House of Ideas ™ has no new ones."

"Despite putting its people on the same-old-concepts, one cannot deny that Marvel employs some of the better writers and artists on the market; they have creators with extremely distinct voices that, thankfully, are not stifled by the weight of the titles they work on. One could easily argue about the quality of the titles Marvel produces nowadays (and certainly most of them will end up on my shelf) but not with their distinctness."

"There’s a sense of uniqueness to Marvel’s output. DC’s latest work seems, more and more, to be the result of committee"

Your thoughts? I find the lack of continuity in the Marvel titles distracting. While I love the creative direction of some of the Marvel books, I feel that they don't mesh well together. For example, Captain America is off in the Z-Dimension, but at the same time is being mind-controlled by the Illuminati and then leads the defence of the Earth against an alien attack. That's where the editorial control is lacking.

There's no overall attempt to help guide new readers, let alone old ones. If someone loved the Avengers movie, how the hell are they supposed to go into a comic book store and figure out which Avengers title to pick up. I can just imagine the look on their face as the comic book store guy breaks down all the Avengers titles. A great book like Fraction's Hawkeye is getting overlooked amid all the Avengers titles.

And then on the cosmic side, Marvel is actually doing a reboot of Star-Lord, Nova, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. This effort confuses me as the rest of the Marvel Universe isn't undergoing a reboot, so the inner fanboy in me struggles to reconcile past continuity. I'm also frustrated as I loved Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's run on Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy and I feel that this reboot wipes out the great run they had.

A Little Golden Book with a Rocket Raccoon twist!

http://jspiotto.blogspot.ca/2013/02/a-little-golden-book-guardians-of.html

Marvel Comics Solicitations for March 2013 - 1980s goodness

IRON MAN 2020 TPB
Written by KEN MCDONALD, FRED SCHILLER, TOM DEFALCO, SIMON FURMAN, WALTER SIMONSON & DANIEL GOODBREY
Penciled by MARK BEACHUM, HERB TRIMPE, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, BRYAN HITCH, WILLIAM ROSADO, BOB WIACEK, LOU KANG & MANNY GALAN

The armor is familiar, but the man inside isn’t who you’d expect! He’s Arno Stark, the cold and hard-hitting Iron Man of the future — and Tony Stark’s descendant has quite a legacy to live up to. Catch all the futuristic action as Arno battles Spider-Man and Blizzard in a time-traveling adventure to stop a nuclear terrorist; faces Machine Man at the behest of Tony’s old foe Sunset Bain; and clashes with the original Death’s Head, industrial saboteur Wellington Marcus and the high-flying Commodore Q! Can Arno overcome his foes — and himself — to become the hero he’s modeled himself after?

Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL (1964) #20, MACHINE MAN (1984) #1-4, DEATH’S HEAD #10, IRON MAN 2020 #1, ASTONISHING TALES: IRON MAN 2020 #1-6 and material from WHAT IF? (1989) #53.
304 PGS./Rated T ...$34.99

# # #

WOLVERINE BY CLAREMONT & MILLER HC
Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by FRANK MILLER & PAUL SMITH

Wolverine’s vacation from the X-Men is interrupted when he discovers that his beloved, Mariko Yashida, has been married off by her criminal father Lord Shingen! When Shingen humiliates Wolverine in front of Mariko, the hero loses heart, drowning his sorrows in beer, bar fights — and the arms of wild assassin Yukio. But when ninjas attack and betrayal strikes from a most unexpected source, can Wolverine reclaim his honor, and rescue Mariko and himself from the trap Shingen has drawn around them both? Then: The X-Men travel to Japan to rejoin their wayward teammate, but the villainous duo of Viper and the Silver Samurai want to guarantee that the mutants’ story won’t have a happy ending. It’s secrets, shockers and broken hearts in Wolverine’s legendary first solo adventure!

Collecting WOLVERINE (1982) #1-4 and UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #172-173.
144 PGS./Rated T ...$24.99 - Trim size: oversized

# # #

ROCKET RACCOON & GROOT: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION TPB
Written by BILL MANTLO, DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, KEITH GIFFEN, SAL BUSCEMA, MIKE MIGNOLA & TIMOTHY GREEN II

After the Guardians of the Galaxy disbanded, Rocket Raccoon settled into a quiet life with a steady job in a mailroom. But when a killer clown made of sentient wood attacks him at work, the trigger-fingered and quick-witted hero must journey to Planet X — home of his old buddy Groot, the giant tree-creature — in search of answers! The cosmic dream team is reunited at last! Then: Mojo, bloated entertainment mogul of the Mojoverse, battles Rocket Raccoon and Groot...onstage! It’s a high-stakes campy cosmic free-for-all! Plus: get caught up on the early adventures of Rocket and Groot!

Collecting INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #271; ROCKET RACCOON #1-4; and material from TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #13, MARVEL PREVIEW #7, ANNIHILATORS #1-4 and ANNIHILATORS: EARTHFALL #1-4.
264 PGS./Rated T ...$29.99

Original art for Rocket Raccoon #1 sold for $7,170!

Over at Heritage Auctions, the original art for the cover for Rocket Raccoon sold for 

the nice sum of $7,170 on Friday.

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7066&lotNo=93309

Here's the published version:

Marvel's Secret 2014 Movie Revealed - The Guardians of the Galaxy

According to GeekTyrant.com, Marvel president Kevin Feige talked about the adaptation confirming that the movie, The Guardians of the Galaxy would feature a modern incarnation of the team, including Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot and Rocket Raccoon.

Should be interesting. Loved that latest incarnation and would love to see more Thanos!