Thursday, December 11, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1

   This may look like just another Guardians of the Galaxy Annual, but it's actually a love letter to artist Jim Steranko.

    Written by Brian Michael Bendis, the story features the Guardians, guest stars Captain Marvel and Venom, and a guest appearance by Nick Fury and his Agents of SHIELD.

    The two groups team up to battle an invading horde of Skrulls - but there's a lot of mystery at work here, and things are not as they seem.

   But the real star of the issue is artist Frank Cho, who fills the pages with stunning tributes to the amazing work of Steranko (right down to a splash page that recreates one of the most legendary covers ever).

   Cho's a terrific artist, of course, and one of the few who can create work that's at least in the same neighborhood with Steranko's.

   The story's mighty thin (and could actually be viewed as an indictment of comic books in general), but the art and the sheer fun of the story make it worthwhile.

   A gift for any longtime fans.

Grade: A

------------------------

3 comments:

Cephas said...

I picked this up on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. Almost what Annuals are supposed to be!

Dwayne said...

Agreeing with Peter! Yes, Chuck, the story could be seen as a little thin, but it's "one and done," the way annuals used to be: a fun story, with great fun art!

Chuck said...

I agree, this is much more along the lines of what annuals are supposed to be - a special story with great art, "done in one" (issue).