Review: Rocket Raccoon Vol. 2- Storytailer

Quick Summary

Pros: The entire volume is fun and has plenty of comedy. Pieces of the narrative are more serious and help deepen Rocket as a character. There is more emotion and meaning in this collection than in the previous one. The artwork looks good and works well with the story.

Cons: Nothing significant.

Overall: This comic takes readers on multiple fun and interesting adventures with Rocket Raccoon. Each one of these adventures is full of quick quips and sarcastic jokes from the main cast, leading to some great comedy. However, each one also goes on to add something to Rocket’s character, whether it be a deeper feeling of friendship or a greater range of emotions. This interplay between comedic and serious moments works well and makes this an all-around enjoyable experience. Anyone with an interest in lighthearted comics or Rocket Raccoon in general should read this book.

Story

Rocket Raccoon Vol. 2: Storytailer, by Skottie Young, is a great comic that furthers Rocket’s already engaging adventure. Rocket shines as the book’s central character, showing off his ability to charm readers as a lovable scoundrel. His presence also ensures that the entire collection is filled with fun and humor, all of which is set against the creative backdrop of space. Storytailer also improves upon the foundation established by its predecessor by telling stories that are more serious than before. This allows for some heartfelt and emotional moments alongside the comedy, especially between Rocket and Groot. Overall, this is a well-rounded and entertaining collection that serves as a worthwhile addition to Rocket’s character.

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The most instantly recognizable change from Vol. 1: A Chasing Tale (Review) to Vol. 2: Storytailer is the more serious nature of this volume’s storytelling. The first volume was almost exclusively focused on jokes and wacky hijinks, all of which suit Rocket’s character well. By making comedy the focus of the first volume, Young reached the series’ quota for humor and is thus able to get away with some more somber stories in the second volume.

This shift to serious storytelling allows Storytailer to contain more emotion and meaning. The first few chapters highlight the friendship between Rocket and Groot in a way that has not be demonstrated before this point. Rocket even goes so far as to risk his life in order to save Groot. Rocket’s quest to discover his true origin also receives some attention and continues to show that there is more to Rocket than he would like people to know. All of this helps enhance Rocket as a character and gives him some depth that he has lacked in the past.

Despite containing more serious stories than the previous collection, by no means is Storytailer a solemn and heartbreaking ordeal. Rocket still manages to fill nearly every moment with entertaining quips and the general flow of the narrative is very conducive to humor. Every one of Rocket’s plans ends up being a misadventure and every one of these misadventures is packed with comedy. In the end, this collection ends up being far more funny than the average mainstream comic.

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Art

Though not quite as wonderfully creative as the artwork in Vol. 1: A Chasing Tale (Review), the artwork in Storytailer still looks very good and complements the story well. Artists Filipe Andrade and Jake Parker emulate Skottie Young’s signature style with a good level of accuracy. This style wonderfully suits Rocket as a character while also serving as the perfect pairing for the lighthearted tone of this book. Their work here also manages to be rather creative, thus allowing the cosmos to contain the variety of life and landscapes that one would imagine it would contain. Overall, the visuals in this collection are more than worthwhile.

Continuity

Rocket Raccoon Vol. 2: Storytailer continues the story from Rocket Raccoon Vol. 1: A Chasing Tale (Review).

The Rocket Racoon series ends with this volume. However, aspects of the story are continued in Rocket Raccoon & Groot Vol. 1: Tricks of the Trade.

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

• At one point, Iron Man mentions “the Thanos thing”. This may be a reference to Thanos’s invasion in Infinity (Review).
• The history behind Halfworld is originally detailed in issues #1-4 of the original Rocket Raccoon solo series. This history is then updated in the backup stories of issues #1-4 of Annihilators. All of these issues are collected in Rocket Raccoon & Groot: The Complete Collection (Review).