Thursday, July 3, 2014

Not So New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #40

                It’s back to the regular Guardians series this time around and we start it off with a real treat.  This may be my single favorite cover of the series to date.  Kevin West packs not only a multitude of characters, but action and design all into one convenient package.  Not only that, but it’s a cover that tells a story while also highlighting the villain of this issue, the Inhuman known as Composite.  There is depth, movement and aside from a couple blips here and there, great figure-work, a master class in storytelling covers from an artist that didn’t get enough credit.

                We begin with Charlie working out, trying to get back into shape from his time in a coma.  He blazes through the workout, and it’s determined that he’s even stronger than he was before.  Not to be outdone, Nikki puts on a little show of force as well with her flaming hair that alerts Talon as he’s apparently supposed to be watching over everything.  Who’s actually driving the ship?  Hell if I know.  Aside from watching over the ship to make sure that there are no fires, Talon is also tasked with looking at some confiscated data discs of Doctor Doom’s.  Among the info these discs hold is something to do with the moon, aka where the Inhumans live, aka Talon’s hometown. 

                The Guardians gather in their mission room/break room/lounge and Talon gives them a little more in depth lesson in his origin and that of the Inhumans’ plight in general.  After seeing all of that we switch over to Loki’s moon-base where he the trickster God has dispatched Composite to deal with the new arrivals on the moon.  Like the good little minion that he is, Composite doesn’t let the Guardians get that far into the caves before attacking them.  He begins by snaking out his hair (like the Inhuman queen Medusa) to entangle them.  This tips Talon off as to who could be behind all of this as Composite, in dramatic fashion, reveals himself. 

                While the rest of the Guardians are dealing with that menace, Aleta has disappeared again in order to take on Loki.  She surprises him with the power that she possesses, but it is only a momentary surprise as Loki gathers himself and responds in kind.  He punctuates this with the line “you shall die exquisitely!” which just sounds like Gallagher opened a thesaurus to find a good word to place in that spot.  Aleta recovers from the blow and the fight continues.

                The Guardians are gathering themselves after being seemingly buried in rubble by Composite (courtesy of the power-set of the Inhuman Gorgon).  Which leads to another classic line to close out the issue (Gallagher is on a roll in this one) “Well I hope that long-haired freak’s been paying his Inhuman insurance premiums because he’s about to find out what it means to mess with the Guardians of the Galaxy.”


Next Issue: We find out how much an Inhuman insurance premium actually is?  It can’t be much, right?  I have to imagine if Loki is your boss, he doesn’t give you vision or dental either.

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