Guardians of the Galaxy #12

By Donny Cates, Cory Smith, Victor Olazaba and David Curiel

Donny Cates has been a stud at Marvel since he signed on with them. His books like Venom have transformed the character and shown us a different side of Eddie Brock. Silver Surfer Black was a trippy ride that had cool art and colors. His Thanos run introduced Cosmic Ghost Rider too. Needless to say, he’s made his mark on the comic book industry. Cates run on Guardians of the Galaxy may be coming to a close, but he has done some good things here too. There are many questions that need answer, chief among them being, What will happen to Rocket?

As we end this chapter on the Guardians of the Galaxy mythos, we look forward to where the team will go after this adventure. Donny Cates delivered a mind bending story that put the lives of our favorite space heroes at risk. Star-Lord had to move on from his father. Rocket had to risk his life to save friends who he didn’t see eye to eye with anymore. The theme of family was very present in this issue. Star-Lord was willing to fight his biological family to save the family that has always been there for him. Cates writes Rocket in this issue masterfully. We really do feel for a hobbled raccoon as he attempts to save his friends. Cates show us a chunk of the battle with Drax as well. As a reader we need to see this. Family fighting to save one another is important and it especially rings true for the guardians. The ending to this series is fitting and sweet. One of the most important things Cates does with these characters is write their voices well. The series wraps up, and if you’re a fan of the characters, you should be nothing but satisfied.

The pencils this issue are handled by Cory Smith with inks by Victor Olazaba and colors by David Curiel. There are also splash pages by Dylan Burnett, Geoff Shaw, Tradd Moore and Ariel Olivetti. Cory Smith’s pencils on this issue are integral to the tone and feel of the book. He draws Rocket so withered and sick that it kind of makes you sad just looking at him. The inks by Victor Olazaba smooth out lines and help Smith’s pencils. Drawing an intergalactic book can be difficult at times because of all the weird space stuff, but Smith is on point here with his planets and ships. Everything looks very good and Smith is just a talented artist. The colors by David Curiel are good, as always. He uses a really nice vibrant purple on Drax that is eye catching. The cool thing for a colorist in space books is that they can make skies weird colors. Curiel uses a red sky on one page and purple and black on another. The colors are great this issue, but I would expect no less from David Curiel.

Guardians of the Galaxy #12 ends Donny Cates run on the title, but he has written a good story. This issue is a good send off that has nice character moments that should make fans happy. The art was all around wonderful with vibrant colors and well drawn battles. The finale of Donny Cates run is a fun ride for anyone who loves emotional space adventures.