If you’ve lived under a rock the last six months you’ll be knocked on your ass this week when you see Angela, originally an Image Comics property, going toe to toe with Marvel Comics heroes. Age of Ultron has sent her to the 616 permanently, but how does the issue hold up? Is it good?
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 #5 (Marvel Comics)
Check out our thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy #3 here.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis took over Guardians of the Galaxy, most assuredly because this is going to be one hell of a popular series come August 2014 when the movie of the same name comes out. Since taking over, Star-Lord has been given a bit of a revamp, his age reduced and his father a king. A king who wants to mess around with Earth. His UN-like cosmic assembly believes Earth needs to be destroyed to protect the universe, and after the Age of Ultron events they might be right. The fabric of space is tearing because of all the time travel and one of the results is Angela being forcibly sent to the 616.
Let’s do the timewarp againnnnnn!
This issue opens with Star-Lord seeking out Mantis to get some help on figuring out what happened. At the same time, Iron Man, Rocket Raccoon and Gamora are floating in space when they pick up Angela’s signal. Drax is doing his thing torturing some info out of some Badoon. Even though the characters are split up, Bendis does a good job pacing out each story. This is a great all around issue, with action, character tinges and some major developments afoot.
Raccoon has never been better.
It’s also important to note Neil Gaiman is credited as a consultant on this issue. It’s unclear what that means—maybe he only gave them notes on Angela—but maybe that’s why the quality of this issue is so good. The previous were good, don’t get me wrong, but the balance between the events is quite nice.
Don’t worry, she wasn’t busy in her original universe anyway.
Sara Pichelli takes full artistic credit this month and, call me crazy, but it shows. Previous issues were split between Pichelli and McNiven, and while their styles match pretty closely, it’s clear the pacing only gets aided when a single artist gets to steer the ship. Pichelli is just awesome, I dont’ think there’s anyone out there that will disagree, and once again her clean yet detailed lines are a joy to view.
Drax has a nice moment.
9.0
- Pichelli is nailing it
- Pacing is well balanced
- Rocket Raccoon continues to be the most interesting character
- Angela is flat and underused
It’s a little early to be demanding more characterization from Angela, but it is worth saying she doesn’t do much beyond sneer and fight in this issue. It’s all made up by the introduction of a classic Marvel villain on the final page, and the implications of this interaction are huge. Even though the team is broken up, we get a bit of everyone in this issue, and Rocket is once again hilarious and fun. I’m holding out hope Angela gets more to do in the next issue, as it’s an intriguing idea to thrust her into the Marvel U, and I know I’m not alone when I say I want to see more from this character besides a Hulk-Smash fill in.
Is It Good?
Yes. As far as Angela’s appearance you could wish for more, but overall a well paced and exciting read.
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