Guardians of the Galaxy #4: Ready…Aim…Rocket!

This book is only four issues deep, but this issue is by far the most emotional book of the series. What happens when TWO teams of Guardians, each containing a few of the original members, go up against each other? It’s like a really bad Thanksgiving dinner, eventually, someone ends up drinking and someone else ends up crying. Author Al Ewing gives us another installment in this really different Guardians series, one with no Starlord, a ream without a heart, if you will. Ewing gives us a really entertaining story that leads to a great climax/cliffhanger that will have you marking off days on your calendar until the next issue. One thing about this issue, and overall story arc, is how Gamora’s personality has done a 180 in this series. I know she just lost someone VERY special to her, but I find it a little hard to believe that a death would make her go back to an “I don’t care about anything, let’s just kill everyone” attitude. She’s the daughter of Thanos, for crying out loud, you mean to tell me she hasn’t seen her share of death before? It just seems a little out of character for her to do this, in my opinion.

Juann Cabal’s art this issue is right where it needs to be. It delivers the message that it’s in the Marvel universe, but you can clearly tell that they’re nowhere familiar in that universe, at all. You can tell very quickly that this isn’t New York City, and that it isn’t anywhere on the planet Earth. Cabal conveys a style similar to ChrisCross, but a little different. Artistically this reminded e of an issue of Captain Marvel by ChrissCross, except the art here has a little more depth to it. A very good book on all fronts.