Yes, we did already review Guardians of The Galaxy The Telltale Series “the game”. This is our review of Guardians of The Galaxy The Telltale Series “the comic book”, issues #1 and #2.
About This Comic Book Series
Guardians Of The Galaxy The Telltale Series “the comic book” is best described by writer Fred Van Lente as “the greatest comic book based on a video game based on a movie based on a comic book in Marvel history!”. This five-issue mini-series serves as the official prequel to the Telltale Series episodic game. Fred insists at the start of this series that it will be a spoiler-free set-up to the conflict with Thanos and kicks off that series leading into the game. If you played the three existing episodes of the game, then this series is meant to be an “enhancer” that will briefly flesh out some of the mythology in the game. It does beg the question as to why this comic book series wasn’t released before the game much like Marvel does with their movie “prelude” comic books.
Technically Speaking
The first thing that jumps out at you when reading these issues is the art style and coloring. The coloring is vivid and bright while Salva Espin’s art is a bit softer, less threatening, almost as if paying homage to the cartoon style in the GoTG animated series on Disney XD. In fact, in some of the panels Rocket’s eyes are big and round and he kind of looks too “cute” for the gruff “Trash Panda” we’re familiar with. I’ve read other comics with Salva’s pencils in them and I’ve never had this reaction as I had reading these issues. It initially caught me off guard a bit.
Fred Van Lente was coincidentally, or not, part of the writing staff on Telltale Games’ Walking Dead games, more specifically the Michonne mini-series. His writing style in the first issue pays a certain homage to the episodic game series itself. Each issue starts off with a “Mission Log” page, i.e. what happened last issue, and ends with a “Mission Debrief” page. This is the page where a creative staff member can say a few words. In fact, it was the “Mission Debrief” page from issue #1 that we got many of the Fred Van Lente quotes above from. Also, Fred uses “episodic panels” on some pages where Star-Lord is presented with a choice, much like in the video game, e.g. “Which will it be, Peter? Stealth, or guns blazing?”. Peter makes his choice and explains why these are very nice touches throughout. Fred also does a great job of keeping these characters in line with their beloved comic book personas. It all plays off true to their infamous comedic form and none of the dialogue should surprise any GoTG fan.
The Content
These are standard size issues coming in at $3.99 USD an issue. Issue #1 seemed to be a vehicle to introduce these characters to people who might not be overly familiar with them. Most of the issue was devoted to a quest that seems to have little to do with the game. Issue #2 starts the crew on their “real” mission with a few events that seemed like distractions but end up circling back around into the main story by the book’s end.
The essential point is, the series seems to be worthwhile to read, especially if you haven’t started the video game and you’re a Marvel lore junkie. Since I’ve not played the game yet I can’t comment on what you’d miss by not reading this series. If your intention becomes, like mine, to finish this series, then start the game, then you’ll have three more months to wait with me before playing! Excelsior!
Comic Score: 7 / 10
Pros:
- Unique writing style features
- Vivid, colorful art
Cons:
- Should have been released before the game
- Each issue released monthly
- Artwork at times a bit “cutesy”
