A Review Of Guardians of the Galaxy #7
Writer: Ewing
Artist: Takara
Colorist: Blee
Cover Artist: Albuquerque
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed herein are purely the opinions of the author of this article and do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of CosmicBookNews. Timelord regularly reviewed the 2007 “Nova” and 2008 “Guardians of the Galaxy” series with his reviews directly sent to the books’ editors and creators. Timelord’s reviews have been quoted by Marvel in cover blurbs, press reviews, and solicits.
Warning: Contains some spoilers.
A murder mystery? I had mixed feelings about this issue.
On the one hand, as we would expect from Ewing, it was well-written and well-paced. There was plenty of character development and the character development was consistent with historical portrayals for the characters. It was good to see the characters beginning to move through the grieving process for Star-Lord and approaching resolution. I was happy to see Nova get some respectful time in the spotlight and see him comporting himself as the Nova Prime should. Finally, the events of Empyre were finally directly addressed by the Cosmic characters.
On the other hand, a murder mystery seems to be a pretty mundane, low-key affair for the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yes, I know it involved a Regent and, historically, both major and minor wars have been started by assassinations of Regents. It just seems like something with which the Guardians would not normally be involved. It felt a bit contrived – like any one of the mediocre murder mysteries shown weekly on American TV shows. I guess it reminded me of Bendis’ “television show” approach to Guardians of the Galaxy just a little too much for comfort. I’m also worried that it will be a turn-off not only to regular buyer Cosmic fans but to potential new fans of the franchise just trying an issue for the first time since it’s an Empyre tie-in. I’m not sure this franchise can afford to bleed regular and potential new buyers as it is selling just above cancellation threshold and I’d hate to see it go as Ewing’s is the best iteration of the franchise since DnA.
Takara continues to deliver solid interior art and Albuquerque’s psychedelic cover art was eye-catching. Blee’s colors perfectly complement Takara’s art. I hope this artistic team stays on the book for the foreseeable future.
I suppose Ewing had to address the events of Empyre somehow. I hope that next issue he shows us why he made this choice and lifts this story out of mediocrity and up to the truly Cosmic standards we all expect from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Article author: Timelord
Guardians of the Galaxy #7 preview:
