Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: War of Kings, Book 1

Guardians of the Galaxy (2008)

by Dan Abnett, Paul Pelletier (Illustrator), Brad Walker (Artist)

Collects Guardians of the Galaxy #7-12. If the Guardians have broken up, who will save the galaxy from the Church of Universal Truth, the Badoon and King Blastaar? Fear not, for a new team has risen, including Bug, Major Victory, Gamora, Groot, and led by Rocket Raccon. And they are ready to put a beat down on any bad guys bent on destruction.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 10, 2009

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The problem with finding great comic books is that once you latch on to an interesting story/title, you feel compelled to dig up everything else you can find on it.
War of Kings is something I've been meaning to get to for a while, but now I'm going to have to bump it up to the top of my list.
I have to know what's going on here!

I liked this volume even more than the first one. It's still got quite a bit of humor in it, but now the plot is advancing at a pretty good clip.
Star-Lord's plan to warn the Kree about the Skrull invasion backfires spectacularly. Drax and Phyla-Vell take of to see if Heather is maybe alive. Rocket recruits a new member (Bug) to the team, and Adam and Gamora face off with that creepy Church.
Good stuff!

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation I was singing Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga the entire time I was reading this.

The Guardians of the Galaxy had a falling out among themselves after learning that their leader Peter Quill (a/k/a Star-Lord) had used an underhanded tactic when recruiting them. Now Quill has vanished and some Guardians are off running personal missions, but the universe still needs saving regularly so Rocket Raccoon has pulled the remaining members back together as well as adding some new ones. Because when you need a team of universal champions, who better to lead them than a heavily armed talking raccoon?

As the Guardians get a warning of an alien threat that will eventually destroy humanity in a future timeline, Star-Lord ends up in the Negative Zone facing an old enemy, Adam Warlock tries to make a deal with the Universal Church of Truth and a couple of other team members get killed. Don’t worry, they’re only mostly dead.

There’s several story threads going on here, and I particularly enjoyed the parts with Rocket leading the Guardians while Quill deals with a situation in the Negative Zone. I’m also liking the intriguing hints of a future timeline catastrophe, and even though I don‘t know much about Drax or Phyla-Vell acting as Quasar, their storyline was also very well done.

The only downside was that a lot of this was obviously built around the War of the Kings crossover, and I‘m always disappointed when I see a series put its on-going stories on the back burner. It looks like that event would dominate the rest of Dan Abnett’s run on the book, and I would have enjoyed more time reading about GoG turning into the cosmic team that was hinted at in the first volume rather than having them thrown into a giant event so early into their run.

(Updated 3/15/14 - After reading the second collection of GotG with the War of Kings crossover, my opinion of the this jumped up a notch and I added an extra star.)

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quill: You never heard of us?
Prisoner: No one has.
Quill: We're the guardians of the galaxy.
Prisoner: You're a liar. You made that up.
Quill: No, it's real.
Prisoner: Are you kidding me? I thought you were going to bring the fucking avengers!

This, to me, was a ton of fun if not a tad confusing.

So the guardians are on missions with different groups. Of course Quill's dumbass is alone but when he goes to a prison, hilarity begins, and holy shit is it funny. Then we have Rocket and his group taking on villains while Adam Warlock and his crew head off to the biggest fight of their life to change their fate of the galaxy. Oh and Drax and company head to...hell? yeah, this is a zanny adventure right here.

Good: The art worked on all levels, and some of these spreads and epic fights are stunning. The humor is so fucking funny at points. Quill was cracking me the hell up. Also, the last two issues are really interesting and something way different.

Bad: It can be confusing. There's a lot of guardians and so some I'm just like 'Uhhhh okay"

Overall, fun and exciting. This is what I wanted from the first volume. It amazes me this is the same guy who's writing the current Titans series (it sucks). This is a 3.5 out of 5, but I'll bump it to a 4.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half (well, two thirds, technically) of this collection has Rocket Raccoon stepping up to the plate as team leader and putting together a new line-up in the aftermath of the team fracturing at the end of the previous volume. I was overjoyed to see my favourite Micronaut, Bug, joining the team, but that was the only real high point for me. The bulk of this section was taken up with an almost pointless battle in the Negative Zone that brings Star-Lord back to the team.

I'll be honest; it annoyed me that the whole reason for Star-Lord's leaving the team wasn't even touched upon. I'm sure it'll be dealt with in future volumes, but I wanted it to be addressed here, damnit!

Anyway, the second half (final third) of this collection switches focus to Quasar and Drax on their mission to bring Moondragon (Drax's daughter and Quasar's lover) back to life. Why not, eh? She's been dead all of five minutes! The usual comicbook resurrection grumbles aside, I did get a kick out of seeing Oblivion again, from my much-beloved Iceman mini-series back in the '80s. Yeah, I'm old and love '80s comicbooks! You got a problem with that? Screw you, buddy! (Apologies; I'm currently marathoning 'Maron' on Netflix and I think his attitude is rubbing off on me. Yes; just like your mum. Blimey; there I go again...)

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, another great GOTG book from DnA! The team is ruptured and leaderless, and the time/space continuum problem is still looking to happen. Lots of good fight scenes, as well as some Marvel lore I'm not familiar with, but DnA, once again, have a way of making the obscure/past references make sense to the new/casual reader.

This volume, and the next, cross over with the War of Kings event, so I'm gonna have to read that series to see wtf is going on. Meanwhile, on to vol 3!

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part two of the Abnett run on the cosmic space opera that is Guardians of the Galaxy. I rather liked this one as the scope of the tale has expanded into some of the cosmic areas that are rarely explored in some of the other titles.

After the debacle of the first formation falling apart due to the revelations of Peter Quill's mind manipulation-the team fractures. Everybody seems to go on their own way and many after their own projects. Drax and Phyla-Vell go looking for some little girl Drax wants to rescue; Star Lord is making friends with Ronan and then eventually Blastarr; the "Guardians" with Mantis, Groot, Rocket and major victory are trying to hold down the fort and recruit new members such as Bug and others. Strangely these disparate storylines all begin to come together in the end which is interesting, but would be spoilers.

The artwork has been solid all thoughout. I came in expecting cosmic storylines and cosmic characters- I can say that both requirements were met. This has a cosmic feel much like Silver Surfer. The humor isn't bad and the major story arcs are fascinating- from the Warlock as Messiah to the rescue of Star Lord (and that great scene of that weird guy with a gorilla body yelling "Space Lord? Space Lord?!!! What kind of a name is Space Lord? It's gotta be a trick!") and the potential reformation of the team and the Badoon storyline- I'm going to say a lot is going on here. SO far I am liking what I am reading and will continue on the Guardians run. If you like big cosmic plots and characters this is a good read.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume left me a little disappointed. This one is much better, and more of what I was expecting: cosmic super hero stories with a good sense of humour weaved into it. I probably enjoyed this volume a bit more because I knew the characters better, so I was connected to them more emotionally.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

More GotG Cosmic inflected fun, with the added bonus of D-Listers like Maelstrom and Skeleton Ki popping up just for the LOLz.


In Truth, Back in 2009, I Hadn't Either!

It's taken years but I'm finally cluing in to the source material that must have attracted James Gunn to bringing the Guardians to life on the big screen, and am the happier comics reader for it.

[Khairul Hezry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly enjoyable. I say surprisingly, because I was expected a rehash of the Guardians of 20 years ago. Glad I was wrong. Smart writing and nice pencils make me a happy boy. Also, it has Groot, a sentient tree who likes punching people. Sometimes all you need in a comic book is to see a talking tree in a jumpsuit punch bad guys, y'know. Stupid awesome stuff like that is why I'm reading this book.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

War of Kings Prelude (7-12). An interesting volume in part because we get so many different stories, all of them interesting. Somehow DnA manage to give strong attention to all of these castmates, including some new ones. The result is an expanded universe that feels like it's revealing a galaxy that's bigger than ever, while I'm also intrigued to see where some of these stories are going [8/10].

[Andrómeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star-Lord (Peter Quill), Gamora-Adam Warlock y Drax el Destructor-Quasar (Phyla-Vell), están separados del grupo y es interesante ver las venturas de cada uno de ellos, mientras tanto el peculiar Rocket Raccoon forma su propio grupo temporal porque no puede dejar la Galaxia indefensa. Muy buen volumen.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

More action packed nacho cheese goodness. I can tell this is a set up story for the overall plot. Having the Guardians spread out across the galaxy and other dimensions was a little jarring but I look forward to the reunion surrounded by a real plot.

The last two issues were slow and weird. I'm not sure if I missed something in some crossover bullshit. Still fun overall.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

These may not be Marvel's cosmic characters as we remember them, but Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning do a solid job of mixing space opera with super heroics. Frankly I could have done without the whole Dragon of the Moon part of the storyline.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanta!

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and brilliant. The standards are set high and these are very enjoyable.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently the edition I read was an omnibus of volumes one and two. See here for my review.

[Jesús · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not until reading this volume had I thought of the Guardians of the Galaxy as a properly “cosmic” title. But, wow, this was a pleasant surprise, especially after such a bog standard action plot in the prior volume.

The creative team lets loose and breaks with Marvel’s increasingly rigid and predictable style, settings, and plots. Perhaps the Guardians were seen as a low-risk or inconsequential property for this creative team to play with? Whatever the reason, the result is an inventive and unpredictable cosmic romp.

This book may look like it comes out of the new, ultra-corporate Marvel, but it feels like something from the publisher at their old-school best.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Немного невнятная последняя четверть. И рисунок странный. В целом неплохо.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, first: there's no reason this has "War of Kings" in the title, other than perhaps to grab readers. It gets the characters in place for the main event, but doesn't appear to have anything to do with the events of WoK, otherwise.

So, at the opening of this book the characters that are interesting (Groot, Raccoon, Bug, Mantis) have separated from the boring ones (Warlock, Gamora, Quasar), so we start with a good plotline involving them, and their (currently lost and in trouble) leader, Peter Quill. It involves Blastaar and company trying to take over the prison placed in the Negative Zone during the Civil War. This was actually a really interesting idea, and something I hadn't thought about during the Civil War prison scenario. So: a good twist, cool characters, some nicely creepy villain designs...lots of fun.

Meanwhile, the other characters do something I care nothing about. The last two issues follow Drax and Quasar as they try to resurrect Moondragon again, or something. I'm not sure what all happens there, except Quasar gets another re-design (which makes about 5 redesigns or so in the last 2 years), and Moondragon may or may not come back. Again.

So, this series is at it's best when it doesn't take itself too seriously (so, scenes with Star-Lord, Groot, that dog, or Rocket) and both standard and cosmically boring (pun intended) when it tries to be all serious (so, every scene with Warlock, Quasar, Moondragon, or Gamora.) This series would be a lot of fun if it could just decide exactly what it was going to be, because this isn't one of those things where mashing two things together (like my current favorite peanut-butter-and-dill-pickle-sandwich) makes them better.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cosmic extravaganza from Abnett & Lanning. These guys know what the hell they're doing, and seem to be having a ton of fun doing it. This book is considerably funnier than the first volume, with the writers appearing to have relaxed into the Guardians dynamic a little more. I particularly love how they take a dysfunctional team to the highest level of dysfunction (total distrust and dissolution) and still manage to write the book that feels like a team book. Threads spread out all over the place in this, seeming to have little connection, but then damned if the writers don't make everything connect in very satisfying ways.

The only negative I'll give this book is the Drax/Phyla storyline set in Oblivion. I was pretty confused for a chunk of it, as it seemed to rely heavily on previous Cosmic Marvel mythos that I just am not aware of. However, by about halfway through that particular story I was back onboard and enjoying it in spite of these issues, so I won't knock it too hard.

This series really feels like the kind of nothing series Marvel tosses writers in attempt to be like "Eh, whatever, go nuts," which almost always end up being my favorite series. Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol (which, granted, is DC), Frank Miller's Daredevil, Jason Aaron's Punisher Max, Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force, Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, on and on. When Marvel doesn't seem to attach a lot of weight to a franchise they hand over to a skilled writer, magical things tend to happen. This seems like one of those series. I'm grateful for publishers not giving a shit! Give less of a shit, publishers!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid. I read the first volume sometime before the film came out last year, and I liked it. So it's been a while since the Dan Abnett volume 1 (took place during the Skrull Invasion), but man this one just pulled me right along. Everything ties together nicely: I liked Peter Quill's negative zone journey and run-in with Blastaar; I liked Rocket and Co's Badoon fighting romp (great art on that section); I liked Drax and Quasar's search for his daughter; and I liked Gamora and Adam Warlock's continued meddling with the Church of Truth - a futuristic version of scientology (don't squirrel me, dude). Kinda wish they'd resolved that last part, it had a lot of potential. Anyway, I think Dan Abnett's writing is stellar, and old Bendis could take a few lessons from him in how not to make all of your characters sound the same (ouch). This is prime cut right here, folks.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much going on...the original Guardians have split up so Rocket and Groot fill out the ranks with Bug, Mantis, and Major Victory.

Meanwhile Drax is searching for his daughter, Gamora is taking on the Universial Church of Truth, and Starlord is stuck in the Negative Zone.

It's been a while since I read volume 1 so I was a little lost at parts. There is little to no recap and the briefings I enjoyed are sparse and far between.

Starlord's Negative Zone battle was definitely the highlight with tons of action and humor. The last issues focused on Drax in a weird afterlife deal dealing with a dragon and Maelstrom this was probably the most confusing what with existential concept avatars and what not.

A nice fast paced read with great art.

[Untimely Gamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the volume where the storytelling went full comic book. I am a neophyte to the Marvel universe, so I enjoyed the team dynamics of the first volume that kept the lore to the minimum. This volume, by contrast, divides up the team into several parallel stories. It's a bit confusing for me, and I had to consult Wikipedia constantly while reading. The art, however, is nice and has some pretty dope moments. I can only hope the third volume returns to the team shit that defined the first volume.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a rough time with this one versus the first volume, mainly because it feels like I'm missing a chunk of the story. There are a LOT of character introductions in here that occur without much more information than hteir name. I understand that comics have a MASSIVE history, and they can't keep rehashing it for new readers, but I found this story to be fairly off-putting because of that.

All that being said, I still enjoyed the story. I like the Guardians as charcters, and seeing how drastically different they are from their MCU counterparts is compelling and exciting.

[Raks Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't a huge fan of Guardians of the galaxy even after watching the movies.

But recently i got a chance to play the game on my PS4.
And guess what, i just loved it .
So i started to look into their history and came accross these books by Dan Abnett, and i can assure it was worth the wait for me.
These books are soo good , the team dynamic the mysterious aspects and the whole loads of cosmic stuff.
I was glad that i invested my time in these gems.
My favorite is GAMORA , she's soo good , hot and strong and i love her

[Maxwell Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fun comic that fills the quota of "traditional Marvel story arc"-- superheroes masquerading around within a fantastical plot with a handful m of pleasingly absurd problems to solve. But much of the dialogue, as well as several of the stereotypical character depictions, definitely reflect the period in which the comic was written--to the point where it's even a bit shocking to see how much comics have progressed (while still far from perfect) as far as tolerance and inclusivity.

[Terry Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is it.

This is how you write multi-strand, character-based stories and make them work.

You don't front load them with needless action, and you don't just tease the reader.

This is absolutely stellar storytelling, and something that I want to see more of.

[Judith Groen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how fast paced and interesting this Guardians of the Galaxy series is so far. The humour is fantastic and the art work is amazing. This builds up to the War of Kings and I am really excited for it!

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cosmic comics at their finest. Abnett and Lanning in top form, Paul Pelletier joined this volume by Brad Walker and Wesley Craig continues to deliver top notch art. Even being tied to major crossover events doesn't hinder this book's awesomeness.

[Chris Kester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guardians to the rescue!

Star Lord messed up big time by trying to force the guardians into the team by using Mantis' mental powers. The team is disbanded and fragmented. Drax is meanwhile on the hunt for his missing daughter.