COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Guardians of the Galaxy #4

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Art by Sara Pichelli

Colors by Justin Ponsor

Published by Marvel Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy has been the book that keeps on giving. Every issue has been filled with action, political intrigue, great story telling and some really good art. Issue #4 proves to be no different. The Guardians are celebrating on the heels of their escape from the Spartax, and that means blowing off steam. Where better than a run down galactic bar suggested by the king of debauchery himself, Rocket Raccoon. In the midst of the celebration we get some pretty interesting plots going on, Groot finding his place with the team, Tony and Gamora getting it on and then having an awkward moment, a bounty on Gamora’s head and Spartax guards on the hunt for our heroes.

I have to say, I was never really a big Guardians fan before MarvelNOW!, I had read a couple free issues on Comixology, but nothing really more than that. Bendis has made me a believer! He can be hit (see Spider-Men) or miss sometimes (see second half of Age of Ultron), and with the Guardians he is 100% hit. I love the story he’s been taking us through, someone on Twitter said it’s reminiscent of Star Wars, and I have to whole-heartedly agree. It’s been a ton of fun. In fact the scene where the Spartax Royal Guard show up at the bar looking for the Guardians and they all put their heads down almost seemed like it was pulled right out of Mos Eisley. We get a cool bar fight, a cool fight with Gamora and new baddie Maxilin the Accuser, and to top it off we get a very ominous cliffhanger. Kudos to Bendis for his awesome work in this issue and the book itself.

Every Guardian fan knows there’s one character above all the others who is the coolest. He’s the Wolverine of the team, Rocket Raccoon. I can’t say enough how much I love reading him; he has easily become one of my favorite comic characters hands down. I seriously cannot wait to see him on the big screen. He has a lot of great moments in this issue, from his bar banter to the ending fray. I now understand why friend of the site Alex (@RockitRaccoon on Twitter) chose him for his Twitter avatar. He is such a great character and if you aren’t reading this book check it out for his dialogue alone.

On the art side of things Sara Pichelli definitely does the deed. I became a big fan of her work after reading Spider-Men and here she continues to flourish. I especially like the costume redesigns with the more galactic armor look over the uniforms they used to sport. One thing I loved about her work in Spider-Men was the ability to deliver a subtle panel that shook the whole issue to its core. Here again she delivers those trademark panels with the very last page of the issue. I seriously got that creepy feeling inside when I saw it and understood what it meant.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this book. I am a huge DC fanboy but books like this as well as Nova and some of the X-books have pushed me more towards Marvel than DC lately. If you aren’t reading Guardians of the Galaxy, a fan of space adventures or not, than jump on board before this train is too far gone from the station, I promise you fun and adventure lie ahead.

5 out of 5 nerds