Review: Intergalactic Politics Made Fun In ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ #7

It’s hard to believe that this volume of Guardians of the Galaxy is only 7 issues deep. So much has already happened with the series- invasion, heroic sacrifice, settling old scores, absorbing your evil alternate universe duplicate- that in any other comic on the stands today would have needed at least 25 issues to tell the story. Now, this issue dives deep into what would be boring in any other hands- an intergalactic peace conference.

As the universe deals with the aftermath of Empyre, Marvel Boy steps into the spotlight in this issue. It’s a tense issue full of politics, but an engrossing read for what it sets up for our heroes. It’s created by Al Ewing, Marcio Takara, Federico Blee, and Cory Petit.

In the wake of Empyre and the formation of the Kree/Skrull Alliance, the great powers of the Marvel Universe have come together. That includes Noh-Varr, who is representing the Utopian Kree to ensure their freedom. However, when a delegate is murdered, things get difficult for Marvel Boy…

Ewing is clearly playing a long game with his cosmic stories. What we see in this issue is proof that such a plan exists and that Ewing knows exactly how to make these issues full of potentially dry dialogue much more engrossing. Between the political maneuvering and the sudden murder mystery (which I’m excited to check out next month), this isn’t the ordinary political game. It’s smart plotting and has a heart centered on its characters, which Petit brings to life in a very natural way multiple times across the issue.

Takara’s guest spot continues in this issue. He continually switches up his layouts, which helps the story flow depending on the context of the moment- an intimate telepathic conversation gets three page-high panels, while the debate amongst the alien delegates is told in a two page spread of continuous tall, narrow panels. It creates the comic equivalent of a thoughtful cinematographer that makes sure the camera is capturing a close-up of the focal character while also capturing a shot of the larger action around them.

Things are about to get hairy for the Guardians, and it couldn’t be in better creative hands.

Guardians of the Galaxy #7 is available now from Marvel Comics.