A review by billyjepma
Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett and Lanning: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Brad Walker, Wes Craig

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A fun, but choppy read. It struggles with the same issue a lot of Marvel’s comics have, which is scale. When the cast can explore their dynamics, Abnett’s writing works really well—believable relationships, nuanced motivations, and even some meaningful (albeit fleeting, because this is comics) consequences. It’s good stuff! But the larger threats about time and space collapsing on themselves get too dizzy for my brain to care about, which is when my mind starts to drift. The plot is so dense and tries to juggle so many threads—some of which are resolved without any fanfare or not resolved at all—that it lost the charm and character that initially drew me in. Those bits are still here, but they’re shakier and spaced out. The artwork is nice, though, and I’m a big fan of the colors and momentum of the characters across panels and pages. 

The ending is also very abrupt and unsatisfying. There’s a huge twist and a notable death, and then the series ends before they can sink in. Based on what I know, it seems like it sets up another bigger storyline, which is annoying. Aw well. This was a fun series, still. The first half is a lot stronger than this half, but it scratched the itch I got from playing the (surprisingly good and underrated) Guardians of the Galaxy video game last year, so I can’t complain too much. 
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