Review: Guardians of the Galaxy #8

Synopsis:

The nova corps has been decimated in one gigantic motion. The culprit is the patriarch, leader of the Universal Church of Truth. Thanks to engines that are run by life force, rather than faith, it’s deadlier than ever! Starlord led the Guardians on a rescue mission after J’son, his father, sent out a distress call. But, unknown to our heroes, they were flying into a trap as J’son was revealed to be the patriarch! Moondragon and Groot escaped and enlisted the help of the only other Guardian, the dying Rocket Racoon.

The Creative Team:

Donny Cates opens this issue with Moondragon communicating with Rocket Racoon telepathically. He’s telling her to get out of his head as she desperately seeks his help. I like how we get a chunk of Rocket’s back story as he shows Moondragon the tragic tale that is his existence. The circumstances that led to his creation and subsequent upbringing are painful, to say the least, and serves to flesh out the raccoon’s character. Watching Groot and Racoon argue about his fate makes for a compelling read and helps to draw us into their plight. It’s a great moment and brings us closer to the team as a whole. Great stuff includes Groot’s no-nonsense attitude in dealing with his friend and Patriarchs revelation of his work to Starlord.

Corey Smith brings us some fantastic visuals as we bounce from world to world. He’s helped to make Rocket Racoon a sympathetic creature and he looks so deathly ill that you can’t help but feel sorry for him. His work on the rest of the team is awesome as well. Highlights included the splash of Rocket showing Moondragon “hurt” and Rocket’s montage of battles as he recounts his most glorious moments.

In Conclusion:

This issue brings us to the brink of despair as we don’t know if Rocket will help his former teammates or not. Indeed, we don’t even know if he’ll survive in time to help said teammates. We’re getting down to the wire and it’s not looking good for our heroes. The situation becomes direr as Patriarch leads them into a chamber and shows them the length of depravity he will go through to achieve his goals. Starlord suspects the worst but even he isn’t ready for…to be continued. ***1/2 (8.7 rating)

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Writer – Donny Cates
Art – Cory Smith
Colors – David Coriel
Letters – VC’s Cory Petit
Publisher – Marvel

Author Profile

Kevin Given

Kevin Given has studied with â€œ Longridge Writers Group â€ and â€œ Writerâ€™s Boot Camp â€ a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the â€œ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter â€ franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of â€œ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter â€ # 1 and â€œ Files of Karl Vincent â€ # 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series â€œ Dracula Rising â€ (working title) and developing â€œ Foul Blood â€ into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given