Review: Guardians 3000 #5

Guardians 3000 #5
Written by Dan Abnett
Art by Gerardo Sandoval
Colored by Edgar Delgado
Published by Marvel Comics

Back before the movie and Brian Michael Bendis and the spinoffs, there was Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Along with its sister book, Nova, by the same writing duo, GotG was easily one of my favorite titles to check out each month. It featured epic adventure, Marvel’s cosmic characters at their best and some of the most creative, fun stories I had read in years.

When the book, along with Nova, was cancelled in the wake of The Thanos Imperative miniseries, I was heartbroken. And while the new Bendis-written GotG series has been good, it hasn’t even come close to being as much fun or entertaining as that original run of 25 issues.

So when Marvel announced that their latest GotG spinoff series, Guardians 3000, would not only feature the original far-future version of the team but be written by none other than Abnett, I signed up almost immediately. And after reading the fifth issue, I can say that Guardians 3000 has not disappointed me in any way.

Taking place in 3014, the series follows the original version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who are leading the resistance movement against the Brotherhood of the Badoon as well as dealing with a collapsing timestream. Add in the last of the Nova Corps and a race of sentient machines that look suspiciously like Iron Man, and you have all the makings for classic space opera in comic book form.

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Now working solo, Abnett is mining not only the best elements of his and Lanning’s run on GotG but the old Jim Valentino series as well. The result is a storyline with a clear sense of history, one that rewards old readers while making a new reader feel right at home. In addition, the plot and script read with an intensity and sense of purpose that has been sorely lacking from the current Guardians of the Galaxy series. Bendis may be the master of decompressed storytelling, and most of the time it works, but Guardians 3000 makes Bendis’ scripts seem to crawl along at a snail’s pace by comparison. It feels like in only five issues, Abnett has given the reader more plot, story and action than we’ve seen in Bendis’ entire run so far.

Part of the reason for that may be attributed to the art of Gerardo Sandoval, whose work has a frantic, over-the-top quality that moves the story along at warp speed. There is just so much going on in each panel, it can be tough to follow along in spots. But the art is so good and has such a distinct style that you don’t mind reading an issue twice if necessary.

As well as some kick-ass action, Sandoval has done a great job updating the look of the original team, keeping the classic elements but giving everything a fresh coat of paint. And his redesigned Nikki Gold has to be seen to be believed.

Honestly, the only things I don’t like about Guardians 3000 are the covers by Alex Ross. Compared to the interior art, they seem boring and a bit dull.

The Bottom Line: Guardians 3000 is like a love letter to all of us who have had an empty space in our hearts since the cancellation of the original Abnett and Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy series. If you’re a fan of Marvel’s cosmic characters, or just great space opera, this is the series for you.

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