Asgardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: The War of the Realms

Asgardians of the Galaxy #6-10

by Cullen Bunn, Matteo Buffagni (Artist), Matteo Lolli (Artist)

The Asgardians of the Galaxy are back and will face off against more familiar faces to keep the galaxy safe. Then it's the tie-in you've been waiting for as the WAR OF REALMS hits the Marvel Universe! The Asgardians must contend with the forces of Malekith and deal with the loss of one of their own.

COLLECTING: ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 6-10

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fantasy, Mythology, Adventure

112 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2019

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Cullen Bunn writes his own comics like The Sixth Gun or Harrow County, they're fantastic. But his work for the big two tends to be lackluster at best. That's what we have here. This comic should fit in perfectly with War of the Realms. However, the story feels rushed and ancillary. It's nothing more than filler. The art is sloppy and rushed as well. Even with a different artist on each issue, the art lacks detail. Some pages look like rough sketches more than finished art.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, Jason Aaron certainly screwed this book over with some of the events of War of the Realms. Most of this second, and final, volume of AOTG is taken up with Cullen Bunn trying to write his team out of the corner Aaron had written him into. Not a pleasant task for Bunn, I’m sure.

The best part of this book was the artwork on the two issues illustrated by Matteo Buffagni. I’ve not encountered his work before, but I absolutely loved it.

Well, I suppose two volumes isn’t too bad for a book featuring a bunch of not very well known characters and a terrible pun for a name.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given that the entirety of Asguardians of the Galaxy was part of some event or another, you'd think it'd be better at making the event work for it and not the other way around. The first volume was only tangentially related to Infinity Wars, but War Of The Realms steamrolls right into the last arc of Asguardians by stealing it's main character and forcing the others to all deal with that in what becomes a very crowded story full of too many things going on, and not enough time given to the series' characters in favour of a slew of guest stars instead.

It's all a bit of a mess, unfortunately. When the book gets it right, it gets it right - the Valkyrie stuff is wonderful, and the finale with Annabelle and Ren is lovely, but the rest of the book is overcrowded, and can't seem to work out what it wants to do with itself most of the time, which is understandable given that most of its agency has been sapped by War Of The Realms.

Even the art falls apart, with series artist Matteo Lolli only pencilling one of the five issues, with the others split between other, similar artists like Paolo Villanielli, Matteo Buffagni, and Luca Maresca. None of these fill-ins seem to have had much time either, with the art often looking blocky and rushed - Buffagni's issues especially look nothing like this usual style.

This is a book that should have been much better than it was - the care and love for the characters that Cullen Bunn has is obvious, but he can only do so much with his hands tied. A shame.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 1 out of 5]

And that's how Asgardians Of The Galaxy, the only-by-name cool title was written.

Avoid AT ALL COSTS!

[Eva B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) Angela is so incredibly hot.
2) Is it just me (it is) or did Frank and Sif kinda have some chemistry during the final battle-

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a mess, to be honest. Some really poor artwork here, interspersed with the merely okay. The story feels rushed, too many characters, no real stakes. It's hard to care about anything that happens in this book.

[Adelaine Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of this was bad it just wasn’t really for me. I didn’t feel connected to these characters at all.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mediocre comic its first time out, the second volume of Asgardians of the Galaxy stumbles to its conclusion.

That begins with a two-issue story about Ego that mainly feels like wheel spinning before the main event.

That continues with *two* of the main characters being destroyed as fodder for the War of the Realms grist mill.

And then, of course, three issues of War of the realms that try and make the Asgardians relevant to the big story (and mostly succeed within the context of *this* comic).

Sadly, most of the great characterization of the first volume is gone. Anabelle pretty much carries the comic on her own, but there's only so much she can do. At least she gets a good ending, even if the other half of her psyche gets anti-climaxed by the newest crossover.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think if there's a team that you wouldn't care about any of the characters of said team, this would win the cake. This team right here is the most boring team out there. Not that I ever cared about Angela, she was boring ever since them Spawn days, but still. Still boring and uninteresting.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why am I like crying during this? There were some really sweet parts, and some really potentially sad parts. I need to read the actual main event though to get a better picture.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

War ganz nett. Muss aber leider sagen, dass mir das Nachwort wohl besser gefallen hat, als die komplette Story des Heftes... Die Panels waren aber auf jedenfall hübsch :)

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ego the planet & alter-ego, the moon. LOL. Comics are great. I didn't get as into part 2 as I did part 1, but still an ejoyable read.

[Pat_creative · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entretenido y con bastantes sorpresas...

[Ronald · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, story starts strong with some weird team up on Ego the living planet and its moon.
But then an otherwise stellar comic gets dragged into another world changing, world ending, things will never be the same "SUPER CROSSOVER EVENT" that was super lame. That lameness ruins an otherwise great comic with forced crossover into another lame "event" that was not just dumb but so late it made no sense in the end. Just like the excellent and ground breaking Fearless Defenders this comic was ruined by an event. I'm so bleeping tired of events and comic book companies being unable or unwilling to go a year without resetting to issue #1 and changing the universe forever. So disappointed.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if it's the team made up of uninspiring B-and-C- list characters or the fact that this series got steamrolled over by events for pretty much its entire duration, but this book struggles to reach and hold onto the lofty heights of mediocrity. This second volume sees the team getting pulled into the War of the Realms event, and most of these issues were just one rushed chaotic battle sequence after another with very little context or expression of what the stakes actually were. Malekith wants to destroy all of the realms for some reason, and Midgard is last on his list.

Angela continues to be an absolute bore, Throg continues to barely be a character, Thunderstrike continues to be an annoying dude-bro--nobody shows any growth or development from where they were at the start of this series. Oh, and there's a new addition to the team, a dwarf named Urzuul, but don't worry, he never manages to do anything interesting, being relegated to piloting the team's spaceship and staying behind to guard the team's spaceship during the times when it doesn't need piloting. In between issues, Valkyrie dies, which is recapped briefly at the start of an issue (always a great idea, having one of your main cast members die off-page--which I realize was probably outside Cullen Bunn's control, but it really doesn't help a book that already has some major problems), and then she inspires 100% regular mortal woman with zero powers Annabelle Riggs to stand up and fight against the massive army of dark elves and corrupt angels armed with nothing but a spear. The fact that she not only doesn't turn into a smear on the pavement three seconds into the battle, but actually survives the entire ordeal is a testament to her incredible plot armor.

The art duties here are shared by Matteo Buffagni and Matteo Lolli, and there is absolutely nothing noteworthy to say about either of them. The art was simply there, neither being bad enough nor interesting enough to comment on. This series is really nothing more than a cute title with very little to back it up, which is a damn shame, because I'd hoped that this would be a fair amount of fun when I first heard about the series. Absolutely skippable.

1.5 STARS

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I obviously have not read any of this series and just jumped into this as part of discovering this crossover event, so my biases probably come from a lack of knowledge and prior affinity for these characters beyond some do their appearances in film (Valkyrie, Skurge, and a cameo from Yondu). Some things I liked: the narrative wasn’t afraid to make sacrifices, though anyone who died seemed to have a foretold resurrection down the road; the queer representation was fun, but a bit shallow; and I thought the art style in the fifth issue was pretty good. Otherwise, the narrative felt a bit all over the place (does this typically run concurrently with another series in some capacity?); Throg is maybe one of THE silliest comic characters I’ve ever seen, but while he felt underwritten, so did most of this particular team; played couldn’t find the core narrative thread (find a pair of lost girlfriends, who when found, either join or don’t join the team and cause the plot to fizzle?); and, hoo boy is the art and writing in the first four issues rough. I just...don’t think I’ll be reading any more of the AotG anytime soon...

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eu sei que eu costumo gostar das coisas que o Cullen Bunn escreve e a maiorida das pessoas não considera ele um bom ou sequer um escritor regular. mas eu acho ele, pelo menos, um escritor bom. Nesse Asgardianos da Galáxia, infelizmente, eu não consegui ver esse escritor bom que eu tanto defendo. O primeiro volume foi difícil de defender Cullen Bunn, mas nesse segundo volume ele acabou dando extertores de algumas coisas divertidinhas, como o encontro dos Asgardiano com a equipe espacial que era do Drax, série que ele também escreveu ao lado do lutador de WWF, CM Punk. Contudo, só vai gostar e "entender a referência" quem leu a série anterior do escritor. Os desenhos nesse segundo encadernado, feito por uma penca de artista nascidos noa país em forma de bota é uma das partes bastantes agradáveis do encadernado. Mas a série que veio para exatamente cumprir uma lacuna para a minissérie Guerra dos Reinos da Marvel, acabou não dando conta do riscado, sendo o seu tie-in com Guerra dos Reinos deixando muito a desejar. Uma pena mesmo essa série não ter agradado tanto.

[Adan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection suffered from early cancellation, like cancelled series usually do. The first story featured the Asgardians meeting with the new Ravagers, featuring folks like Yondu Udonta, Pip the Troll, Cammi (of all people), and most importantly Sera, Angela’s love. They have an adventure together, but must still separate after because corporate superhero comics.

The second story features the Asgardians helping out during the War of the Realms, and explains that while Brunnhilde was getting got in the main story, Annabelle Riggs was being saved. Which is nice because at least one couple should survive this series. Also, the MacGuffin they took in the first collection is put to good use as Angela gets her revenge on Heven, but maybe someone should explain the doctrine of proportional response to her? Because damn.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

We get two issues dealing with Sera before cutting back to War of the Realms for a premature death of this series. There are some stand-outs, like Valkyrie and Throg, but it's mostly some background stuff to the event that doesn't do anything on its own. Asgardians of the Galaxy #9 is actually one of my favourite War of the Realms tie-ins for how it gives depth to Valkyrie's role in the event, and has some fantastic art by Paolo Villanelli, but the rest of the issues are a let down. War of the Realms is some generic fight, characters stand around never really impacting anything, and aside from Valkyrie no one actually gets a character arc so it's all hollow generic fight scenes.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
The end of this short lived series is more tie-in to War of the Realms.
Overall, we lose Skurge (off to Valhalla) and the realm of Heven is destroyed (I'm thinking so that Marvel can go back to the whole "Nine Realms" mythology they've had forever). We don't really get any resolution to the character arcs, but still continues to feel like a "B Team" book. Where these characters will end up next? Unknown.
Still a decent read, especially if you are following War of the Realms. Semi-recommended.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Asguardians of the Galaxy series is wrapped up quite abruptly in this War of the Realms tie-in. The characters who were so fun and dynamic in the previous volume get little room to breathe or grow as they're thrown from battle to battle. I suppose it's all exciting and well-illustrated, but it didn't get me excited for these D-list characters like the previous volume did. So long, Skurge, Throg, and others, it was nice to know ya.

[Eldrid Lokson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this at the library along with a bunch of other Marvel comics. Even though I haven't read #1 -5, it was pretty easy to pick up. This was so fun to read! I am absolutely giddy over Throg, and I can't wait to read more!! 🤗

I really enjoyed this and im really wanting to collect the whole series! Some of the commentary made me giggle hysterically but I was super giddy over Throg. How cute is he, seriously.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel has really gone downhill. Too much repetition of kissing and fighting and one-sided dogma. That's not developing real characters. That's just taking one or two myths and ideas and running them over and over and over. Creativity flounders at modern marvel; those who started the real Marvel would be sad.

[kelsey daffodil · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don't know anything else bunn has written but i fully trust him to write serangela. aside from asgard's assassin - which still has some cringe in it - this is the first time sera doesn't stop to say some SUPER cringe-worthy popular culture reference. though i'm mad at bunn for not letting angela and sera stay reunited, i am happy he gave us something.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

COLLECTS ASGARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ISSUES ISSUES #6-10

This collection completes the short-lived series, and ties in pretty directly to the 2019 Marvel event, "War of the Realms." I skimmed through most of this.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was a mess. tried to cover too much ground in too few pages. There were a TON of characters, and none really received justice as the story steamrolled along. Sad to say, Bunn is no Jason Aaron!

[Alex Sarll]

Born of one event and ending with a dovetail into another, one could wish this series had had more time to breathe, not to mention more fittingly epic art. But this feast of double-page spreads, cosmic lesbianism and guest stars (the Punisher gunning down hordes of angels!) was still a lot of fun.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one suffers a bit from having to fit in a crossover, but we get Ego the Living Planet having a bad mental health day and the Executioner gets to be awesome. So not a bad turnout, even if it feels like this mostly just reset things to a bit of a status quo.

[Maxoel Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestamente, eu acho que é um título que deve ter sido melhor aproveitado por quem acompanha desde o início, já que se baseia inteiramente em background de personagens. Porém, tem uma escrita que não compromete.

[Shibosan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Серию изрядно портит то, что на нее пришлось два глобальных события Марвел, так что пришлось ее увязывать с их событиями, по пути теряя героев. Не отказался бы прочитать самостоятельную серию, потому что подбор персонажей был очень интересный. Может когда-нибудь перезапустят.