Rocket Raccoon 1, Legendary Star-Lord 1

Rocket Raccoon 1
S. Young (w and a) and Beaulieu (c) and Eckleberry (l)

Rocket Raccoon, gun-toting rogue and last of his species, takes a date to a wrestling match between his friend Groot and another powerful alien. However, things take a turn for the worse when Rocket and the girl are caught on the kiss-cam and the arena's jumbotrons immediately begin to out Rocket as a wanted criminal. He's forced to flee through the sewers with guards in hot pursuit, leaving his date behind and picking up a splinter of the nearly destroyed Groot from which the tree will once again grow. He tries to call for help to Star-Lord and his fellow Guardians but they're a little busy on their own, though Peter is able to discern why Rocket's a wanted raccoon. There are plenty of cases of murder open on him, which Rocket contests, believing any murders he's committed were done on the down low or with the rightful conviction of the law. It gives him pause, wondering if rumors he heard about another of his kind looking just like him might not be true. Thinking about it, he turns himself in to the authorities, hoping to bring out another like him. Meanwhile, the many ex-girlfriends of Rocket, who set up his new date in the first place, continue their own quest to stop the wiliest Guardian.

Skottie Young, who in recent days has been known for his Marvel babies variant covers (which are all fantastic), returns to Marvel for a full ongoing, one that he both writes and draws. This first issue, I'd say, is a phenomenal success for him, hitting its mark exactly where it wanted to hit. It's an incredibly fun and frantic book with plenty of genuine humor and action to match Young's art. It's very clearly a book that knows what it is right out of the gate and is more than happy to embrace that, even going so far as to include fun sound effects (like Rocket's dropping his gun when surrendering himself to the authorities with the apropos "mmmmmmmm DROP") and plenty of censored swearing. There are books where, as readers of this blog know, I'd be hesitant to accept things like that (or those oft-maligned and dreaded "funny introduction captions") but that's always because they don't work with the book they appear in. Here, Young very clearly establishes a fun/funny book that isn't trying to toe a line or keep its foot in the door for a dark or gritty series. The only falter of the book in my opinion is that the plot gets a little muddied in the first issue with tons of different settings and perhaps a little too much exposition to kick things off. Regardless, don't let that dissuade you from at least picking this book up and feeling out whether it's for you or not. I think you'll know in the first five pages or so if it's your kind of book. Also kind of nice, as much as I do love those baby variants, to see Young get to spread his wings again and draw people and aliens of all size and shape and age, not to mention backgrounds and settings.

Total Score: 5/5


Legendary Star-Lord 1
Humphries (w) and Medina (p) and Vlasco (i) and Curiel (c) and Caramagna (l)

Star-Lord finds himself face-to-face with the Badoon as he and the aliens both try to steal the Mandalay gem, an incredibly powerful artifact, from the walls of the orphanage in which it's been hidden. The woman in charge of the orphanage had previously though Star-Lord was there to help protect them from the Badoon but begins to realize he's maybe only there for the gem himself, putting him at odds with everyone in the room. The Badoon knock him out and take the gem themselves, but Quill has a few tricks up his sleeve, or rather in his boots. He calls home briefly to flirt with Kitty Pryde (seems to be no other reason for the call) and then uses his rocket boots to break his way out of his cell, recovering his element gun (tuned only to his DNA so only he and those related to him can use it), and breaking his way out of the ship with the gem. He returns to the orphanage with a bag of cash, telling the woman in charge that he fenced the gem, worried that it would continue to draw unwanted attention to the orphanage and giving the profits to her. He leaves, revealing that he actually just gave over his own savings and kept the gem. Unfortunately, he immediately runs into more trouble as a member of the royal Spartax guard shows up with a gaggle of other guards and claiming that she, as the daughter to J-Son, must apprehend him on behalf of the former emperor. Star-Lord is shocked to find he has a sister.

I KNOW, my summaries always seem to run long. However, in this one, there's kind of a reason for that. This issue kicks off with a bit too much exposition for my tastes (and maybe a bit too many exclamation points, truth told) as Humphries really wants to get the audience caught up with just about everything that's been happening with Star-Lord. There is a sense of the sort of movie-ization of Star-Lord here as he begins to take on a very distinct persona and look, one that seems to match Chris Pratt in the trailers for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. It's one of those times where comic fans are reminded that this beloved entertainment is, in fact, a business and businesses set out to make money. Tying to a major motion picture release certainly is a key way to do that, especially in the wake of so many previous successes for Marvel going that route. I'll give Humphries credit for not going too overboard or getting too cynical in the attempt to tie to the movie and perhaps tying to the movie will work wonders for this book and for the GUARDIANS brand as a whole (bit early to tell) but right now it's a little too hard to tell. Still, the book didn't really blow me away and I couldn't help but be a little colored by the similarities (even insofar as Quill stealing a powerful artifact, losing said artifact to an enemy, and blasting his way with his boots and gun to freedom from said enemy) to just the trailers of the upcoming film. Okay, so maybe it was a little cynical.

Total Score: 3/5