The Weekly Pull : Legendary Star-Lord

The Weekly Pull : Legendary Star-Lord #1

As an avid comic book fan, Wednesday's are always a treat for me. Each and every week a bag is waiting for me behind the counter of my local comic shop full of my favorite Marvel, DC, Image and Darkhorse titles. With bag in hand, I always make it a priority to take a lap around the shop, checking the New Release wall for the latest and greatest. This week, I set my sights on the first solo venture of Guardians of The Galaxy leader, Peter Quill, in the Legendary Star-Lord #1

In today's industry, it takes a vast amount of popularity for a character to support (and maintain) the weight of a solo title. With competition among the likes of Spider-Man, Batman, Spawn and Hellboy, both story and art need to bring something fresh and exciting to the table. Coming off the heels of the widely popular Guardians of the Galaxy team book by Bendis and McNiven and the record setting James Gunn film, it only seemed natural to delve into the history of the charismatic leader and legendary outlaw.

The book begins much like the film, where we find Quill on the trail of a rare gem (no, not one of THOSE(link) gems) currently residing in the possession of a small band of Badoon (link) pirates. In somewhat predictable fashion, things turn sour for our hero, who quickly finds himself a prisoner of the space pirates, where cunning and guile take center stage in the story.

Although no other members of the Guardians make an appearance in this first issue, writer Sam Humphries (Avengers A.I., Uncanny X-Force) does an exceptional job of incorporating small bits of dialogue referencing Quill's teammates, which flow perfectly into current events seen in the ongoing monthly team title. Artist Paco Medina (Deadpool, Nova) takes the lead penciling duties for the issue, bringing his unique anime-esque style to the book, which I believe works exceptionally well for the series. As an added bonus, Marvel also featured variant cover artwork for this first issue from their newly appointed “All-New Young Guns,” giving us, the reader, a peek at the up and coming artists not only for the Legendary Star-Lord,  but across the Marvel U as well.

Overall, the Legendary Star-Lord is off to a solid start, attracting new readers and keeping things in line with current continuum to please long-time fans like myself. Humphries even leaves the reader with a nice cliffhanger referencing Quill’s paternity (as hinted briefly in the film) setting the stage for a far greater adventure for the months to come.

-ArchangelEZE