Guardians of the Galaxy #3

By Brian Michael Bendis, Valerio Schiti and Richard Isanove

Since the latest Marvel re-launch, and since Secret Wars is not over yet, us readers have had to piece together some of the things that happened post-Secret Wars. Some have been good and some have been bad, but Brian Michael Bendis is still on Guardians of the Galaxy, which is usually a decent thing to hear. Some things are starting to clear up as we enter our third issue, but we still have some lingering questions that need answered.

You can tell that Brian Michael Bendis has been writing these characters for a while. There seems to be an easy flow to the dialogue as they interact. Bendis also gives us some continuity, as Yotat, the villain from the Secret Wars, is a continued presence in this book. Bendis also continues to give us a bad ass villain in Hala the Accuser. She gets some good action scenes this issue as she rips apart ships and whoops the guardians. There are some good team moments this issue too, most of them between Rocket and Kitty. One small flaw with this book so far is that Venom has pretty much been a non-player. Another odd page has Groot and Rocket looking for a new ship while the rest of the team deals with Hala. In the next panel, they’re on the ship. Not that big of a deal, but the transition just felt a bit odd. Those two minor gripes aside, this was another good issue from Bendis.

The pencils this issue are handled by Valerio Schitit with colors by Richard Isanove. The pencils are smooth this issue and it is very cool to see all the odd creatures Valerio Schiti comes up with. While a lot of this book is a battle, Schiti doesn’t shy away from big explosions and total destruction in panels. Buildings and planes explode gloriously as Schiti draws them like the true professional that he is. There is also a touching panel as Kitty sees a motionless Rocket touches his paw and phases him underground. The look on her face as she stares down Hala is priceless. The colors by Richard Isanove are excellent as usual. His shading, like when Yotat decapitates a shop owner, is great in this issue; He brings Schiti’s art to life.

You really can’t complain about Guardians of the Galaxy. Many of the things that haunt Bendis, like slow-moving plots, and over-lapping dialogue are non-existent in this series so far. The art has been superb and has looked electric. This issue was action packed and should be a good read for anyone who buys it.