Friday, September 25, 2009

Guardians of the Galaxy #18

As a Wonder Man fan, the minute I spotted "Hollywood" on the cover of Guardians, I knew I was in for a treat. Sure enough, DnA handle the character like the experts they are. Wondy is important to the plot, still kind of a bad-ass in his old age, and actually turns into a mentor type character to some alternate universe Guardians.

Starlord and his timelost crew get shunted to what is essentially the Earth of Killraven, an Orson Wells-inspired Earth where Martians have enslaved the human race. There's some weird aging going on, with everyone getting older or younger (except for Jack Flagg, who has some important destiny, it seems). The aging is played to good comedic effect, especially with the playful Cosmo the telekinetic dog. The bulk of the issue has the merged Guardian teams working against the Martians until the core cast is blinked out to another alternate Earth. I'm not sure if the Magus-ruled world at the end is the "main" timeline, but it certainly doesn't bode well for Starlord's crew.

This book is so much fun. This issue has it all, great guest-stars, classic villains, comedic interaction, and a strong cliffhanger. I've said it before, check out this comic.

Wes Craig's art is decent, but not quite as strong as the hyper-detail of Brad Walker. Craig does a good job too; I just prefer the regular penciller's take on these characters.

Excellent

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