Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy (2008) #3-4

by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Alex Garner (Cover Art)

Can the Guardians of the Galaxy stop the War of Kings? As Black Bolt and Vulcan square off and the Inhumans and Shi'ar ravage entire planets, the Guardians are stuck in the middle! As new discoveries are made and old friends are betrayed, the new Guardians must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with cosmic legends to survive! But when the Fault, a massive rift in reality, releases a viral xenoform that threatens to destroy the cosmos, the bruised and batt ered Guardians must return the creature to its own dimension before the unthinkable happens.

COLLECTING: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2008) 13-25

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

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2014

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The inaugural run of Guardians of the Galaxy started out better than it finished. It started out with a pretty simple premise, and then got more complicated as it went on, when Abnett and Lanning started throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the narrative, including of course, many instances of characters coming back from the dead, among other cliches.

I still liked this overall, especially the first half of it. The characters are likable, the dialogue is snappy, the situations operatic. But I feel like the whole COSMIC TO DO of it all got in the way of those things this time around. It wasn’t exactly confusing, but sorting out all the plot threads got to be a bit tiring, and the more stuff got shoved in towards the end, the less I cared. Also in this one, like in the last one, I think Abnett and Lanning relied a little too much on characters and places that existed elsewhere in the Marvel chronology. There’s no reason it couldn’t have been a little more self-contained, even despite the fact that all these characters came from their own stories.

They also switch artists in this one, not quite in an alternating pattern, and this had the unfortunate effect of making me prefer one over the other. The one was more like the cover, supposedly ‘realistic’, and yet I found his panels cluttered and overdramatic. The other guy had a supposedly ‘cartoony’ style, but his art worked much better for the story. It simplified it enough for the story to shine and not come over nearly so overbearing. If the whole run would have been drawn by that guy, it would have been bumped up an entire star. (Not sure if it’s Walker or Craig that I liked more.)

Overall, glad I read this, but I won’t be buying my own copy.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the great Marvel cosmic saga continues

Loved this run. Loved the members on the team, their chemistry and their banter between each other. This book has it all, action packed, funny, high stakes, adventures, death and some good artwork. Sad that it’s over. Hopefully they will cameo in the Realm of kings!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

These comics are just a bit hard to get into. Which makes me sad. I was hoping I would enjoy them more. I think I'd like a bit more character development. There's just too much going on to really get absorbed into the story. There are too many characters to follow and the story's too big. There's just so much coming at you that it's difficult to enjoy.

Though I like these lines:

"I had to come up with a plan to stop their invasion of Knowhere fast…"

"'Scatter'? That's your plan? 'Scatter'?"

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall solid second half of Dan Abnett's run.

I just in general enjoyed the characters interacting. I'd say the weakest parts are when they are split up. Together? Pure gold. The twist and deaths also hit hard, especially the first half of this collection is golden. Overall can see why people hold this run of Guardians up there. This is probably either tied for first or my second favorite run.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ll go 1.5 stars on this one. While there were some fun moments in this, I just did not enjoy this run. It felt like there was so much going on and I couldn’t grasp at anything I felt like I fully understood.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to follow in places. I think Rocket Raccoon is what made it good. :)

[Judah Radd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently interviewed the writer Dan Abnett and it was fucking awesome! Check out part 1 here https://youtu.be/vWI5mkTn8Ws and part 2 here https://youtu.be/A_VQ0ieJvhg

***second read***

IMPORTANT: You will not enjoy this UNLESS you have a copy of War of Kings, Realm of Kings and Nova: The Complete Collection Volume 2 sitting next to you. This is not a complete work. It’s part of a larger series of stories.

That being said, now that I’ve read it correctly, I really liked it! The Guardians have heart, soul, energy and humor! These are great characters. Their piece of the War of Kings is a pleasure to read, and the art did a great job of telling these stories.

This leads directly into The Thanos Imperative and is, therefore, required reading for Marvel cosmic.

Minus a star for not being able to stand on it’s own, plus 4 stars for great writing, great characters, gorgeous art and a fascinating story!

*****first read*****

This would be a 5 if it didn’t have a huge, confusing, boring chunk in the middle.

The timeline, multiple reality stuff wasn’t fun. I kept getting lost, spacing out, and reading a couple pages without digesting them. Then I had to go back and read them again.

Thankfully, that’s only the middle third of the book. The first and last thirds are really awesome. It’s just that boring middle section that kinda murders the vibe.

The self referencing was cool for people who read Gauntlet/War/Crusade of the Infinity variety, but I could see it being really annoying for people who didn’t.

As always, I love Cosmo the Space Dog.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pleasant surprise. Most people subscribe to the Brian bendis school of boring ass comic book storytelling. Not Dan Abnett though. He writes old school comics. Epic scifi action packed fun comics. The kind I used to read as a kid. I've never read Abnett before but now I think I'll look for more of his work.

There were plenty of obscure characters in this including some I had never heard of before. Some older ones and some lame ones. But they all came together in a quirky ensemble that was refreshing. For me at least. The only thing I didn't like was the ending which I felt was a little rushed considering who the big bad was that they ended up fighting. They also seemed to have dropped the Adam Magus thing right when it was ramping up but Abnett may have been saving that for future issues. Overall a great comic that highly enjoyed.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 2 of the Abnett & Lanning run on the guardians of the galaxy. And this is like cosmic comics ought to be, very epic in scope with lots of characters. In this book the universe is damaged and all the possible futures are in jeopardy. It is up to the guardians to try and save the day while still overcoming all their internal differences.


very good comic, very nice art, a lot of interesting characters, cool plot twist and enough humor to make it all go down smoothly. I'm not sure in which Trade this story continues, but I will have a look around for the next episode in this story.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably give this one 3.5 because I enjoyed the story and felt like I was able to follow it, but a lot of the art was really ugly. It took away a lot of the enjoyment I would have had otherwise.

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

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. 

[Grace Arango · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're wanting to read the Guardians of The Galaxy comics after watching GOTG volumes 1 and 2, I would highly suggest you read Dan Abnett's take on the Guardians. A big reason why I understood all the easter eggs in GOTG Vol 2 is because I had read this series. It includes some important information about the cosmic universe, the universal church of truth and the Guardians 3000.

I enjoyed this series!

It's not my favourite Guardians series, but I learned so much about the world and the characters through it. One or two of the volumes took a weird turn, the first half was phenomenal. The second half didn't live up to the first, but overall I still enjoyed it.

Another con is that Phyla annoyed the crap out of me in this volume. SHe was growing on my in the first, but she put the Guardians in danger many times and I hated her for it!

Other than that, I liked this a lot.

I hope James Gunn (GOTG movie director) takes inspiration from this series for Vol 3. This comic book series is major key in this marvel cosmic universe.

[Fez Vaccaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my review for part 1, I complained about there being too much set-up. Well here DnA bring it home now and they deliver big. The collection starts off with the War of Kings crossover. The Guardians get in over their heads in the middle of a Galactic War between the Kree/ Inhumans and the Shi'Ar, led by the over-powered walking plot device Vulcan.

Later, there's crazy fun ideas like: an alternate Guardians team led by Killraven; a Celestial Dyson Sphere, and a handy cameo from Kang. The pace is breakneck with plenty of twists. The stakes are constantly high and a lot of characters have to pay a price to preserve the status quo. There's 2 artists here: Walker and Craig but their styles don't really gel. It would have been better to have split them in each half of the collection but they're tag teaming in and out for most of it.

Overall this is a really strong ending to the run. DnA have a great handle on everyone, even with the large team and everyone gets a moment to shine. A solid run that unfortunately didn't last longer.

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always thought Abnett’s purple patch was a fairly recent thing, where his solid and reliable writing for 2000AD and the Megazine suddenly blossomed into something unexpected and brilliant. But I’m beginning to think it might have started earlier, because this manages to do the Grant Morrison big ideas and cosmic nonsense stuff as well as rootling around in the great historical character toy box and takes them and turns it into brilliantly populist storytelling. It’s never astonishing, but it’s great fun and especially good at taking big ideas and doing them in a straightforward way. How much of this is because of him collaborating with Lanning, I don’t know but it feels like the big sudden swings in stories like Lawless, the Out and the recent reinvention of Sinister Dexter owe something to being able to practice doing similar things with characters who he has no personal connection to and who will undoubtedly be reset as soon as a new creative team turns up. Not quite a classic but hugely entertaining

[Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This concludes my review for the whole Guardians of the Galaxy run by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. My first take on the GotG team and like Jack Flag often quips, I am not much in to Marvel's cosmic story lines until curiosity got me digging the Annihilation event which opened up an amazing reading experience for me in graphic novel. The characters are so much better than their movie counterparts. Star Lord is not an idiot, Drax is not dumb and Groot is so much more! Loved the entire weaving of the story, even when the premise passes along the War of Kings event, missing it will not affect your overall reading for this. Abnett and Lanning managed a great job of making this somewhat self-contained. The art is better here in the second volume, but there were some issues where it gets cartoony. 5 stars for this volume and 4.5 stars for the whole collection. Great!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was definitely not as good as the first one... in fact, have you had one of those childhood friends who knit a lengthy yarn, tell a complete story with all the details you never knew you wanted, and then at the last moment they turn around and say "wait...remember when I mentioned that very first plot point, well ACTUALLY let's say that I hid a secret weapon in my back pocket and then I used it to transport us across the country..." basically a narrative that tracks back far too far and then creates this little-known, random, wacky action? Yah, that's this book. Beautiful artwork, and some great jokes, but sometimes the plot was far-fetched, yes, even for a comic.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never said this about a Guardians of the Galaxy collection but this one was a slog. It's never fun, what jokes there are fall flat and the art is average at best. I really couldn't wait to be done reading this. The lone exception to that was the first half of issue 24 but even then Abnett couldn't stick to the "This is how you fight" bit that would have been incredibly powerful if he had stuck with it throughout the issue but gave up on it after eight pages.

[Maesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. For me, it was a bit confusing to me, at first. I have not read the first one, which probably would've enhanced my experience because I would've known the characters better. I was hesitant to read it because I was planning to keep it in good shape, but i read it anyways. I got the edition from Amazon, and the pages were sturdy and comfortable for holding. Overall good book and I loved admiring the bold style of comic books in person.

[Philip Mastandrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only thing that brings this down to 4 stars was the ending was very open. Probably very normal for comic books, but I would have liked a neater ending. I'll do some research and figure out what comes next as this story line was just great. Lots of time travel, which can be tricky, but I thought they pulled it off with ease. Story was great, lots of action/twists.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Magus is such a tired side of Adam Warlock, and this version especially. And the "Cancerverse" as far as stories go? Christ.

[Mr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Megan (DaRcyWho) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I hadn't read the 1990s versions of the Original Guardians of the Galaxy comic volumes, I would have been super confused!

[Marshall Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bouncing back and forth between the Walker and Craig art is extremely jarring and I think Craig’s art takes the gravity out of those issues.
Liked it a lot more than Vol. 1

[IamT-Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible

[Matthew RC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of hard to get into. Some droll dialogue but didn’t love the art and the plot is hard to follow with so many characters jumping around all over the place. Left me feeling pretty meh.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Gamora and Cosmo... everything else was fine lol

[Jarrod Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but it’s starting to get a little convoluted. The Thanos appearance is all that’s really worth seeing here.

[Mei Ridorsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretingut, però un pas enrere respecte l'anterior. La trama sovint no té sentit i no em calia veure el cul de Thanos durant tantes vinyetes. El disseny de Gamora aquí segueix lamentable.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jestem osobą, która może się podać za "obytą" w świecie Marvela, a przyznam, że nieraz tu było o dosłowny włos, aby pogubił się w tym zalewie postaci, jakimi raczy nas Abnett. Samo to w sobie nie byłoby złe, tyle że mamy tu dwa, (a w zasadzie trzy) różne masywne wydarzenia marvelowskie, na przestrzeni kilku zeszytów, które sporo zdradzają. A omawiany tytuł zalecam stosować jako takie uzupełnienie po lekturze Wojny Królów i Domeny Królów, bo można sobie naprawdę DUŻO zdradzić...

Strażnicy Galaktyki to formacja, która zyskała na ekranizacji i chyba każdy kojarzy z ekranu jakieś postacie. A tego tu jest więcej. Sam początek to próba zażegnania konfliktu na większą skalę, która jednak nie idzie dobrze. Grupka herosów, jaka udała się na widzenie z władcami Inhumans podpada dosyć szybko Black Boltowi i Meduzie, zaś Adam Warlock staje do walnej bitwy z Gabrielem Summersem. Żeby tego było mało, Phyla uprowadza członka rodziny królewskiej, czym zaognia tylko i tak nieciekawą sytuację, w zasadzie umiejscawiając Strażników na środku konfliktu.

Ten jednak w komiksie trwa kilka zeszytów, a z grona sojuszników wyłania się niespodziewany wróg. Jednocześnie część grupy z Star-Lordem czy Mantis trafiają do dalekiej przyszłości, napotykając grupę o podobnej nazwie, która również stara się zachować pokój w Galaktyce, ale wredni Badooni psują im szyki. Nasi bohaterowie dołączają do tej wesołej gromadki i szukają odpowiedzi. Na dodatek w całym tym zamieszaniu występuje jeszcze Kang Zdobywca...

I uwierzcie mi moi mili. To nie koniec. Co tu robi ciężarna Moondragon? Co to za dziwni wyznawcy Powszechnego Kościoła Prawdy? Kto odrodzi się tutaj z popiołów i ponownie zasieje strach w sercach herosów? Jak to się skończy?! Mówi się, że od przybytku głowa nie boli, a jednak...

Kłopot miałem z kreską, bo o ile początkowe zeszyty stylistycznie mi pasują do prowadzonej, ponurej historii, tak dalsza kreskówkowa krecha nijak mi do pewnych akcji nie pasowała, ale to subiektywne odczucie. I jeszcze ten ostatni, wskrzeszony jegomość, który wyglądem przypomina tego filmowego, a komiks wyszedł grubo przed filmem - kolejna z zagadek kosmosu do odgadnięcia...

PS. No i mało śmieszny ten Rocket, o Groocie nie wspominając. W dodatku mocno niewyględni... to już argument z de...

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

These issues took a really great thing and made it unnecessarily complicated. It's like they lost sight of what made this run interesting (the characters and the premise of the Fault) and started adding a whole bunch of extra characters who kept dying, coming back to life, and spontaneously traveling through time. I got confused about who was who, especially at the beginning, because the characters were added in batches rather than one at a time. The friendly method of introduction through the mission logs just wasn't there in this case. I want to know more about individual characters, but with all of the jumping between crisis to crisis, there wasn't any time to get to know them. That said, I was entertained and I thought that the author did a good job tying all of these disparate elements, despite the fact that the story could have been pared down a bit.