Guardians of the Galaxy #5

It's pretty standard for the written word to get all the attention in a comic by Brian Michael Bendis, but in this issue of Guardians of the Galaxy, the nod has to go to the spectacular artwork by Sara Pichelli.

It kicks off with a dynamic double-splash introducing Angela, and rollicks through an adventure that's loaded with wonderful characters (and terrific designs), well-crafted facial expressions (often telling the story with a wry look), over-the-top battles and lots of strong subtle touches.

None of which is to take away from Bendis' story, which is all about moving characters into place.

We meet the mysterious Angela, a character created by Neil Gaiman in Spawn a couple of decades back. After an extended lawsuit, the character was returned to her creator, and now is (apparently) under contract to Marvel.

Here she jumps into the Marvel Universe with both feet (and a big honkin' spear) as she searches for the source of the time rip that happened in Age of Ultron. It's a mystery Star-Lord is also trying to solve, and he tracks down some surprising sources for information.

So, another strong issue, with lots of humor and action - in other words, a typical Marvel comic. We can only hope next year's film will follow suit.

Grade: A-

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