A Movie Fan's Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy Comics

When comic movies come out, there are usually people asking about what to read. DC has made it pretty easy, since their most iconic Superman and Batman stories are standalone and usually non-canon. With Marvel, it’s a bit difficult. What do you tell someone who wants to get into Spider-Man? Start at the beginning? Comics from the '60s can be a huge turnoff to people who don’t care about influence and foundation. Many Marvel characters are defined by their lengthy creative runs, so that could be a bump in the road, too.

With the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, the question again arises and despite the excessive amount of different titles to follow going in, the reading path is surprisingly kind of streamlined. There’s a real starting point and you honestly don’t have to go back to the characters’ original issues. Rocket Raccoon’s early adventures are an entirely different depiction of how we know him today, Groot didn’t become a loveable scamp until the mid-00s, and the whole starting point of this is Drax getting a bit of a reboot.

If you’re new to comics or don’t know too much about Marvel, remember that there are two different kinds of Guardians of the Galaxy. The original were heroes from the future, but you don’t really need to read those. The link between them and the current Guardians is mentioned here and there, but they’re not worth studying up on. You really don’t have to go further back than ten years ago. How convenient is that?

So follow along and enjoy the road map to what you need to read to get into Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm trying really hard not to get into spoiler territory, but sometimes that can't be helped. For instance, one of the books is called The Thanos Imperative. That very title is a spoiler.

DRAX THE DESTROYER (2005-2006)

Drax the Destroyer #1-4: Keith Giffen and Mitch Breitweiser

This miniseries is widely considered to be the moment when Marvel decided to really push the cosmic corner of their universe, which previously had mostly been fodder for stories about how much Jim Starlin loves Thanos. Fittingly, this is a new beginning and it starts with a character that needed a real extra coat of paint on him. For years, Drax the Destroyer was considered nothing more than “Space Hulk” because, honestly, that’s all they gave us. There was an interesting backstory buried in there, but at the end of the day, he was a big, green, angry, dumb, super-strong guy dressed in purple. He was basically the Hulk with a hate-on for Thanos.

This four-issue miniseries works on literally rebuilding the character. Drax is on a prison transport that crashes onto Earth. There, he forms a bond with an antisocial girl named Cammi (think Mandy from Grim Adventures) while fighting off some of the fellow space prisoners. Stuff happens and Drax ends up reborn in a less bulky body and is more about taking people out with his cunning and killing skills than, "DRAX SMASH!"

Basically, he wasn't the Hulk anymore. He became much more like Riddick. Like, he is so blatantly Vin Diesel, which makes it funny how they did a Guardians movie with Vin Diesel playing a completely different role while casting “poor man’s Vin Diesel” as Drax.

ANNIHILATION (2006-2007)

Annihilation: Prologue: Keith Giffen, Scott Kolins, and Ariel Olivetti
Annihilation: Nova #1-4: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Kev Walker
Annihilation: Silver Surfer #1-4: Keith Giffen and Renato Arlem
Annihilation: Super-Skrull #1-4: Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Gregory Titus
Annihilation: Ronan #1-4: Simon Furman and Jorge Lucas
Annihilation #1-6: Keith Giffen and Andrea Divito

You might as well just save yourself some time by getting the collected editions for this, since it has everything you need to read as well as the Drax the Destroyer miniseries before it. Otherwise, here’s how it works. They did a one-shot called Annihilation: Prologue. In this comic, we get to see a bunch of our players and the initial look at our threat, the Annihilation Wave. Who’s behind it, I won’t spoil in case you don’t know. What I will spoil is that by the end of the first issue, it looks like everyone is screwed.

From there, we get four four-issue miniseries that take place concurrently against the same threat: Silver Surfer, Nova, Super-Skrull, and Ronan. Yes, Ronan the Accuser, crazy movie villain, is a protagonist. His miniseries introduces Gamora to the Marvel cosmic resurgence while Drax and Cammi show up in Nova’s book. Thanos is also a pretty big deal in all of this, even if he isn’t the main villain. We still don’t have the Guardians of the Galaxy yet, but we’re getting many of the core characters. Peter Quill has a supporting role too that I totally forgot about, but that’s because he’s a lot different from how we know him these days. Plus the Nova book is the first of many footprints that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will leave when it comes to cosmic Marvel.

Once those four minis end, we get Annihilationproper, which lasts for six issues. There, it’s a big team-up between all the remaining heroes from the different stories. It’s really awesome and you’d be a fool to skip it. Afterwards, there’s a two-issue epilogue called Annihilation: Heralds, which ties up a loose end in the story. It’s a decent read, albeit not essential.

ANNIHILATION CONQUEST (2007-2008)

Annihilation: Conquest: Prologue: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Mike Perkins
Nova #4-7: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Sean Chen
Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar #1-4: Christos N. Gage and Mike Lilly
Annihilation: Conquest: Starlord #1-4: Keith Giffen and Timothy Green II
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #1-4: Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Kyle HotzAnnihilation: Conquest #1-6: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Tom Raney

Annihilationdid well enough to get itself a follow-up and we’re led one step closer to Guardians of the Galaxy being a thing. Conquestis essentially the Guardians of the Galaxy origin story. It’s told in the same way as Annihilation, more or less, though without the epilogue issues. The prologue issue shows a new threat completely unrelated to what we got in Annihilation, but on the same level. It’s something that will spread across the universe and destroy all life if not stopped, if it can be stopped. At the center of this is Peter Quill, who blames himself for this happening.

Again, we’re given four stories that run concurrently, then funnel into the Annihilation: Conquest miniseries proper. The difference here is that at this point, Nova already has his own ongoing series, so the Conqueststuff takes place from Nova #4 to Nova #7. Otherwise, we also get miniseries for Starlord(no hyphen back in 2007), Quasar, and...ugh...Wraith. Listen, if you are getting these via the single issues and not the trades, it’s totally okay to just pretend Wraithnever happened. Marvel’s been doing a good job with it.

As you can guess, the Starlordminiseries is a pretty big deal. Not only does it put Peter Quill in a leadership role, but it also reintroduces two characters out of obscurity. We get both Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Groot has the same speaking gimmick we know and love (or you hate because you hate fun), but is a bit of a jerk here. Rocket, on the other hand, is a bit more upbeat than what we’re used to. Still, the beloved Rocket/Groot bromance is started here.

Once Annihilation: Conquest hits its first real issue, we find out who’s really behind the threat. Again, I won’t spoil who it is, but it is someone who is a bit topical at the moment, so if you can read it surprised, you should be delighted. No, it’s not Thanos.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2008-2010)

Guardians of the Galaxy #1-25: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Paul Pelletier, Brad Walker and Wes Craig

Rather than do Annihilation 3: Die Darkman Die, Abnett and Lanning go directly to a Guardians of the Galaxy ongoing. The five members from the movie are all here as well as a handful of other characters. Some we’ll surely see in the future Marvel movies like Adam Warlock and others who we probably won’t like Bug. Bug’s awesome and all, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for him in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Guardians of the Galaxy itself isn’t an event, which means that you’ll have to prepare yourself for a handful of tie-ins to actual events. Stuff like Secret Invasion and War of Kings. Despite being another space-related event, War of Kings is something you don’t really have to worry about on its own. Just stick with this comic’s 25 issues without any real distractions. It’s the most straightforward run you’ll get on this whole list, so take it in.

Despite the distractions of event story tie-ins and time travel, Guardians of the Galaxy still gets to tell its main story, which is set up from day one when member Mantis tells the reader that there’s a traitor in the midst, but she won’t tell the team because she's annoying like that. Regardless, it’s a great run that lasts just over two years and it’s what inspired the idea of giving the team a movie in the first place. Plus there’s even a quick Star-Lord vs. Ronan fight tossed in there before anyone knew that that would be such a big deal!

THANOS IMPERATIVE (2010)

Thanos Imperative: Ignition: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Brad Walker
Thanos Imperative #1-6: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Miguel Sepulveda

Around this time, Marvel had a habit of stealth canceling comics by having them lead into a miniseries and then walking away once it’s done. That’s what Thanos Imperative is to both Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova. The story is what should be the epic finale of the Abnett/Lanning cosmic run at Marvel, but not quite. I’ll get to that in a second.

The story has to do with an alternate universe called the Cancerverse. See, many years ago, Marvel killed off a superhero named Captain Mar-Vell and gave him a really sweet, touching death told in its own comic back when stuff like that didn’t happen so often. In this alternate dimension, Mar-Vell’s counterpart rules because Death has been taken out of the picture. Nobody dies. Life itself is a cancer and it threatens everything. It’s such a big threat that Thanos is on the same side as the heroes.

This one doesn’t have the same reading list gimmick as Annihilationand its sequel. Just read Thanos Imperative: Ignition and then the six-issue miniseries. There’s an epilogue issue called Thanos Imperative: Devastation, but don’t worry about it. That’s a launching point for The Annihilators, another attempt at creating a cosmic superhero team (featuring guys like Silver Surfer, Ronan, and Beta-Ray Bill), but that concept never really takes off.

Consider Annihilatorsextra credit, if only for the Rocket Raccoon backup stories.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (2012)

Avengers Assemble #1-8: Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley

By the time we get Avengers Assemble, the whole Guardians of the Galaxy concept has been practically dead and buried. In fact, there are some major happenings in Thanos Imperative that completely affect the Guardians roster. Brian Michael Bendis doesn’t care about such things. He has a tendency of introducing characters into his stories who are written very different from where he found them. Guys like the Hood, Luke Cage, the Sentry, and so on. He'll make them well-known, but on his terms.

His Avengers Assemblerun starts out as just an Avengers story, but soon stretches into something more cosmic, giving us the first meeting between the Avengers and the Guardians. Some huge plot points from Thanos Imperative are completely ignored, which rightfully annoyed fans. Bendis would finally get to explaining things about two years later, presumably because he got annoyed at readers bugging him about it. Or maybe he just didn't want it distracting from the initial relaunch for new readers.

This is a real turning point due to how Marvel’s getting into full movie hype mode. Not only is this series meant to piggyback onto the success of the Avengersmovie, but it’s meant to reintroduce the Guardians of the Galaxy so that readers will be a bit more interested in their eventual film. It also springboards into the next phase...

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2013-Present)

Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1-21 (as of this writing): Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven, Sara Pichelli, Olivier Coipel, Francesco Francavilla, Kevin Maguire, Stuart Immonen, Nick Bradshaw, Jason Masters, Todd Nauck, Nick Bradshaw, Michael Oeming, Ed McGuinness,
All-New X-Men #22-24(crossover starts after Guardians of the Galaxy #10): Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen

While I’ve harped on Bendis for his, “yeah, whatever, we’re doing this now,” storytelling, he’s still really good and there’s a reason why he’s pretty much Marvel’s top writer. Wanting to put Guardians of the Galaxy in the forefront, there are worse choices than giving it to someone like him. His version of Rocket does get a bit angry and catchphrasey, but I’m not sure if that’s Bendis’ call or mandated to make him more in line with the then-eventual Bradley Cooper version.

While the roster changes a little bit, it has a rather interesting approach. You have the five movie characters and the others are attempts to get more eyes on the franchise. For example, in the beginning issues of the run, Iron Man joins the team. It’s great just for the small-fish-in-a-big-pond take on him where he’s no longer the smoothest, smartest man in the room and it humbles the hell out of him. Other members of the team include the current Captain Marvel (ie. the one getting her own movie), Venom, and Angela. If you don’t know who Angela is, don’t worry about it. She’s honestly more interesting due to the behind-the-scenes reasons for her being in this comic, but that would take too long to explain. Just enjoy her fun BFF relationship with Gamora.

After the tenth issue, you need to dip into the All-New X-Menseries and alternate, starting from All-New X-Men #22 and bouncing back and forth for six issues total. This crossover arc is The Trial of Jean Grey. All-New X-Men– also written by Bendis – is about the original incarnation of the team being brought into the present via time travel and refusing to go back home. In this story, the young Jean Grey is attacked in response to her eventual connection to the Phoenix. There is a relationship from this crossover that sticks around, so it does have enough of an impact.

The series is still going on, reaping the benefits of having a top writer, amazing art, and the cast of 2014’s biggest film. Of course, it would be wasteful just to have one comic for these guys.

ROCKET RACCOON (2014-present)

Rocket Raccoon #1-6 (as of this writing): Skottie Young

Rocket and Groot have their own series now, which is far more cartoony and humor-based than the main Guardians of the Galaxy book. Only a few issues have been released so far, but if you loved Rocket and Groot in the movie, you might as well check this series out. If anything, the fifth issue is a treat.

LEGENDARY STAR-LORD (2014-present)

Legendary Star-Lord #1-5(as of this writing): Sam Humphries and Paco Medina

Also capitalizing on the movie’s success is a solo series about the team’s charismatic leader. While not as cartoony, it had the same goofball adventuring feeling as Rocket’s book. Peter wrestles with a lot of problems, such as feelings of vengeance, his own greed, a bounty on his head, and most challenging of all, maintaining a long-distance relationship.

And there you are. Until you get caught up in the end, following the modern Guardians of the Galaxy is ultimately going from one title to the next for only a few years with no overlap. You have the world-building, the series that inspired the movie, the finale to those comics, then the relaunching that capitalizes on the movie itself. Good luck on keeping track of Rocket’s many, many comic appearances now that he’s become the big Hollywood success. The guy’s become the new Wolverine with all the guest appearances he’s making.

Everything goes over Gavin Jasper’s head, but you should still follow him on Twitter anyway.