For four bucks you get a new adventure with our favorite Guardians, plus the first issue of the classic 1990 series? All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #1 may not be here just yet, but Guardians of the Galaxy: Dream On just might tide us over. Giddyup, but is it good?
Writer: Marc Sumerak
Artist: Andrea Di Vito
Publisher: Marvel Comics
So what’s it about? Read our preview to find out!
Why does this book matter?
The new story offers a lot of fun in a small package, allowing us to see each of the members of the team’s (who also are the members of the team in the movie) dream life. That’s a rather neat way to peer into the characters’ minds. You also get to see how radical the team was in 1990? Sign me up!
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
This is the type of comic that screamed cash grab to me since it’s coming out a few weeks before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and it’s buffered with an old issue. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s extra sized for starters, and for the price it’s not a bad deal. The new story is fantastic too. Opening with Drax, Marc Sumerak writes clever dream lives for each of our heroes. Some are as you’d expect (Drax killing Thanos) and others no so much (Drax ends up becoming a popular musician!), but all of them are fun and interesting. These dreams are explained via a rather fun villain who we haven’t seen too often (though he did appear in X-Men ‘92 Vol. 2) which is a nice blast from the past.
Sumerak writes each character well and you’ll swear he’s been writing them for years. Overall this new story offers a fantastic action sequence and proof they can fight together. Artist Andrea Di Vito keeps each of the characters honest and of course Rocket’s machine expertise is used to full effect. The art is certainly great and you’ll never see a wet Rocket quite like this. Even the villain looks spot on, foursome, and right out of the 90’s.
The first issue of Guardians isn’t too bad either. It’s everything you’d expect from classic comics, which means lots of captions, characters screaming nearly non stop, and the entire endeavor feeling extreme. It’s fun to see how different the Guardians were in their first iteration and it’s easy to forget they were originally set in the year 3,017 fighting a villain who calls himself Taserface!
Shut the front door…Drax wants to be a professional musician!?
It can’t be perfect can it?
I can’t say Guardians of the Galaxy #1 holds up over time. It’s loud, in your face, and a slog to read through. That said, it’s from and older time and it’s nice to reminisce!
As far as the main story, it’s a fun done in one tale, but it’s certainly not going to change the characters. It feels separated from the current series and hell, it may be from the movie series and not the comics for all I know. That makes it feel less important in the grand scheme of things.
Is It Good?
Call me surprised, but this is a fun one-shot that’s satisfying for a variety of reasons. Give this a shot, because you won’t be disappointed. This is quite possibly the best way for longtime fans or new ones to enjoy the Guardians of the Galaxy.
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