Review: Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy
Quick Summary
Pros: The Chris Claremont chapters are wonderful and hold up well to the test of time. All of the stories have an interesting historical context. Most of the artwork looks good and matches the tone of the story.
Cons: Many of the volume’s stories end up being just average.
Overall: This collection of classic stories presents Star-Lord as a swashbuckling hero whose adventures force him to solve problems throughout the galaxy. Though many of the stories here end up average, there are a few standouts that will easily make this book worthwhile for those interested in them. Plus, the collection’s nature as a piece of comic history is sure to interest other readers as well. Overall, this is a collection for those with an appreciation for comic history or classic works of science fiction.
Story
Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy is a collection of stories that detail Star-Lord’s initial origins and his first few adventures. These stories are classic tales of exploration told by an era that was just beginning to wholeheartedly embrace science fiction and the possibilities presented through interstellar travel. For modern readers, the main draw in this collection will be the classic feel of Chris Claremont’s stories and the unique look at history that the collection has as a whole. However, those with little interest in this volume’s historical context may find many of the stories to be lackluster, especially from a modern context. In this way, Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy is a collection whose quality will vary depending on what exactly the reader is expecting to receive from the volume.
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Christ Claremont’s stories are easily the highlight of this collection. They present Star-Lord as a brave and uncompromising hero who will stop at nothing to protect individuals throughout the universe. These are swashbuckling adventures in a classic and uncomplicated fashion, presented without the gray morality and questionable motivations of most modern comic characters. Though uncomplicated stories like these can often seem cheesy by a modern audience, Claremont’s writing style avoids this problem and allows these adventures to feel celebratory instead.
Unfortunately, some of the other stories in this collection are more hit-or-miss. Doug Moench’s issues introduce some moral complexity but this complexity is not quite developed enough. Then, the Timothy Zahn issues detail a story arc that feels almost entirely introductory, yet never has the benefit of continuing on in any form. There is still a lot of fun science fiction in these stories but it simply isn’t on the same level as the rest of the book.
Luckily, the entire collection benefits from being such a unique piece of comic book history. Looking back at the stories, even the lackluster ones, reveals what a visual take on science fiction looked like in the 1970s and early 1980s. Seeing strange and imaginative ideas about a character blossom for the first time made my reading experience better. However, these benefits will only be seen by those with a specific interest in comic book or science fiction history and will go completely unnoticed by anyone approaching this volume without a care for these issues.
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Art
Like the collection’s story, the art in Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy is a product of its time with a range in quality. Some chapters, especially those penciled by John Byrne, look awesome. They present a galaxy full of wonder and packed with detail, perfect for a space-bound adventurer like Star-Lord to explore. These chapters perfectly match the tone of this book and fill it with the cosmic wonder that this era in comics was embracing. However, other chapters, like those from Tom Sutton, have a few strange moments, especially when it comes to portraying intense facial expressions. Luckily, the individual chapters tend to trend positive and make for a visually pleasing volume overall.
Continuity
Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy is a collection that details the exploits of the classic version of Star-Lord and the Sinjin Quarrel version of Star-Lord. Both of these heroes make their first appearances here.
Technically, both of these versions of Star-Lord also make their last appearances within the issues collected here. However, the exploits of the classic version of Star-Lord would go on to inspire the creation of the mainstream version of Star-Lord. The mainstream version of Star-Lord makes his first appearance in issue #8 of Thanos, now collected in Thanos: Redemption.