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A review by taliesinrex
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Legacy by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm an avid lover of the Guardians, and my comic knowledge so far is patchy, so decided to start with the inception of the "modern" team in the 2008 run. unfortunately, this first volume did not grab me in large part due to the confusingly-rendered art (should you be allowed to work on a Guardians comic if you've never seen a raccoon in your life? the jury is still out on this one) and fast-paced but ultimately unengaging storyline. it is coming off the heels of annihilation saga, but also stands apart from it and most of the context can be picked up through allusions to the previous arc - and I do not think that having read annihilation saga (YET ANOTHER defcon-one galaxy-ending event in comic book history, which every arc of course needs to lead into or out of) would have endeared me much more to this first volume.
however! that is not to say that this is a bad comic. the character writing, for the most part, is quite fun and the inclusion of "mission debrief" panels throughout the comic give further great glimpses of each character's personality and outlook, as well as interspersing some humor without it feeling forced into the primary high-octane battles going on. towards the end, the story momentum begins to settle into a more reasonable pace when the Guardians return to Knowhere and have to deal with a potential impostor in their midst. that leads into a much higher-quality second volume, and subsequent storylines that feel like they have more care and intrigue given to their writing and to the characters whose individual development gets to be further explored. all in all, a rough start for me personally, but worth sticking with through the additional three volumes as there's some cool stuff in there.
however! that is not to say that this is a bad comic. the character writing, for the most part, is quite fun and the inclusion of "mission debrief" panels throughout the comic give further great glimpses of each character's personality and outlook, as well as interspersing some humor without it feeling forced into the primary high-octane battles going on. towards the end, the story momentum begins to settle into a more reasonable pace when the Guardians return to Knowhere and have to deal with a potential impostor in their midst. that leads into a much higher-quality second volume, and subsequent storylines that feel like they have more care and intrigue given to their writing and to the characters whose individual development gets to be further explored. all in all, a rough start for me personally, but worth sticking with through the additional three volumes as there's some cool stuff in there.