ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy,’ Issue #11

After the Guardians of the Galaxy manage to fight off Knull’s dragons, there are still more problems. Mainly in the form of a gaggle of gods who are extremely upset with being exiled by Peter Quill. But now that they are back in this realm, they’re out for blood. Guardians of the Galaxy #11 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Al Ewing, with art by Juann Cabal, colors by Federico Blee, and letters by VC’s Cory Petit.

Quill knows the Olympians are on the way. To stop them, he’s got a plan, but the Guardians need to return to a place from their past; where the team was born. But the surroundings bring up tumultuous memories. Can the Guardians get their heads in the game before the Olympians show up?

After the single King in Black tie-in issue and Star-Lord’s sudden reemergence, just in time to save the day, this issue is slower and mainly consists of dialogue. The change in pacing from the last couple of issues is a bit jarring and makes the entire issue feel off. With all the dialogue squished between the action of the last issue and the action near the end of this one, the transition is rattling. Then again, the characters are also probably feeling unsettled too. A person they thought was dead is now alive again, Knull dragons attacked, and now the Olympians are coming. Whether or not this was intentional, it’s a fair reflection of the state of the character’s minds.

We see more of the changes in Quill and how awkward his relationships with the other Guardians has become because of the length of his absence, new powers, or how he left off with some of them, like Gamora. I hope a few future issues are used to explore Quill’s new relationships with his friends and teammates, but we get some angsty dialogue and an angry Gamora to tide us over for now.

But Quill isn’t the only person who has changed. Moondragon and Phyla-Vell’s relationship also gets a few panels as they hash out old arguments again. I’m not as familiar with these two characters, so these panels were somewhat confusing to follow along with because they feature memories. So I can’t comment about the quality of the content, but it is annoying when some flashbacks in a single issue are given more context than others.

The artwork is par for the course. Cabal still does an excellent job, but the art feels a little lackluster in this issue compared to the last. It’s likely a result of the setting—the Guardians are standing around on a rocky planet with a gray atmosphere. There’s no room to really flaunt either the art or color skills of the creative team. There is a moment near the end of the issue where the danger and drama are ramped up with the sole use of black and red. And I still love how Quill is represented as a Star. In Moondragon’s vision but also in the colors that are used in association with his powers and his memories.

Overall, Guardians Of The Galaxy #11 is a middle of the road issue. With a lull in the action, we do get an inkling of the changing relationships between Quill and the rest of the Guardians, but there’s not enough time before the Olympians show up to truly explore this new dynamic. This issue acts as mostly set-up for the next big fight.

Guardians Of The Galaxy #11 is available on February 17th, wherever comics are sold.