Review: Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection Vol. 2

Quick Summary

Pros: The characters here are well written and bring a lot of charm to the book. The character interactions are also more emotional than they were before, making the story more meaningful. The narrative is exciting and is full of thrilling twists.

Cons: The entire volume feels auxiliary to the War of Kings event.

Overall: This collection combines over-the-top action, captivating storytelling, and a touch of humor to create a volume that is downright fun at nearly every moment. This is an enjoyable adventure that capitalizes on the previous volume’s setup to tell stories that feel even more meaningful than before. Readers unfamiliar with War of Kings may feel lost at a few moments, but this is the collection’s only major downfall. Anyone looking for a fun adventure with the Guardians of the Galaxy can find it here.

Story

Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning Vol. 2 is another entertaining adventure with a unique team of heroes. In this volume, the Guardians’ trademark mix of humor and action returns in a way that provides entertainment at every turn. This is then set against a captivating storyline filled with tense moments and some very unexpected twists. Plus, with the team’s chemistry already developed, the emotions run deeper here than ever before. The only problem is that the entire adventure here feels like a complement to the War of Kings event, meaning readers unfamiliar with this event may be lost in more than a few places. Overall though, this is an entertaining collection and another fun trip with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is centered around the titular Guardians of the Galaxy, which makes their individual characters essential to the success of this book. Abnett and Lanning are easily able to bring back the same combination of humor, charm, and action that made the team so appealing from the very start. Some pages have the team execute an impressive plan filled with explosions and violence, while other pages have Rocket joke about the ridiculous situations that the Guardians find themselves involved with. Either way, the team’s antics and chemistry prove to be entertaining and make the reading experience more enjoyable.

The narrative here also sees the return of positives that were previously seen in Vol. 1 (Review). Some of these positives can be seen in the captivating storytelling, which has the ability to draw attention by constantly keeping the heroes on the cusp of defeat. Other positives can also be seen in the way the narrative twists and turns, as the Magus and Thanos reveals make perfect sense but are also incredibly unexpected. All in all, there are a lot of positives present in the storytelling, enough to keep most readers interested.

However, this volume also improves on the first volume’s storytelling ability by introducing more emotion than before. The team’s losses feel more significant because these characters seem to actually care about one another. It makes moments like Adam Warlock’s betrayal more upsetting and moments like Cosmo and Rocket’s reunion more heartwarming.

The biggest problem with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is how auxiliary it feels when compared to the larger War of Kings event. Repercussions from the War of Kings are constantly felt throughout this volume and affect the heroes in various ways. However, the origin point for these repercussions is detailed in other comics. This means that anyone exclusively reading Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will occasionally feel confused and will definitely have a weakened storytelling experience.

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Art

The artwork in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 starts out great. Brad Walker’s pencils do a great job in depicting both the characters and the locations with solid levels of detail and creativity. These chapters also feel vibrant and full of life, which is exactly what a team like the Guardians needs.

Unfortunately, not all of the chapters meet this same level of quality. Wesley Craig’s more stylized chapters look good in their own way but do not fit the tone quite as well. They make the Guardians’ struggle between life and death feel like a lighthearted romp through the cosmos. Plus, the significant shift in style makes the collection feel less cohesive and more erratic. This is not a huge problem but is a small hindrance to the overall reading experience.

Continuity

Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection Volume 2 continues the story started in Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection Volume 1 (Review).

The Guardians of the Galaxy series ends with this volume. However, the Guardian’s adventures continue in The Thanos Imperative (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• The Annihilation event is mentioned a few times. This event is told in Annihilation Book 1 and Annihilation Book 2.
• Most of this volume is a large scale tie-in to the War of Kings event.
• Most of Magus’s backstory comes from the Infinity War event.