So the big movie this weekend was, unbelievably, Guardians of the Galaxy. Wow. I’m stunned. Honestly, I was stunned when I even heard that they were making a GOTG movie. The fact that it actually is a hit is mind-boggling. Wow.
It’s been twenty years since I bought a GOTG comic book, and since then my collection of them has been whittled down to one lonely crossover miniseries, the early 90’s Korvak Quest books. Those were the first GOTG comics I bought, and I’ve kept them for memories’ sake. I dug those out and re-read them a couple months ago when I was cleaning out my closet.
They were pretty much as I remembered them, from the story and art to the little red pizza sauce smudges along the edges. Then as now the books were fun. GOTG was almost unique in that you could always identify and connect with the characters despite their oddness. I think that this was due to the setting. Almost all other comics’ worlds are based on Earth, so strange- looking aliens always seem odd and out of place, despite their personalities and intentions. GOTG side-stepped that problem by taking the action away from Earth for the most part. This gave the series a different center, one that could accommodate a variety of strange creatures that weren’t so strange at all after a couple of issues.
This approach also made Guardians a title that was easy to get into and continue following. The fact that the series had a different center put it outside the rest of the Marvel Universe, which made the comic it’s own little world. I liked the other heros and groups, but who wants to buy and follow 5 different X-Titles a month, every month, just to stay current with the X-Men? Back when I was really into comics collecting, there was X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men Unlimited, X-Factor, X-Force, Generation X, Wolverine, and countless miniseries… I mean, Jesus Christ! I tried to keep up with it all but gave up after a couple of years.
I liked how GOTG was just one comic. I could pick it up at any time and not feel as though I was missing a whole chapter in a novel because I hadn’t read a few pages in some obscure title somewhere.
That isn’t to knock the other titles, of course. I also had more Iron Man comics than anyone else I knew. But since I didn’t have too many Avengers comics, I always felt like I was only getting half the story.
And of course I loved the comics themselves. The vibe they had, their setting, characters, etc. were pretty much exactly what I wanted from a Marvel comic. It was fantastic stuff. I might be alone in this, but I believe that the 90’s GOTG was one of the all time greats. I’ve read thousands of comic books, and those still stand out for me. It is a very, very underrated series. I looked forward to each issue more than any other title.
I should watch GOTG at some point. I really should. I mean, it was my favorite. I don’t know much at all about the new team, but I just kind of want to see it. From the reviews it seems like the spirit of the series was translated successfully to the movie. Awesome.
I do wonder sometimes why I’m not as interested in seeing superhero movies as much as everyone else seems to be. I mean, it’s me! Maybe it’s because I think that the movies just can’t live up the greatness of the comics. I have such fond memories of myself reading comics on those lazy summer afternoons. I don’t want to tarnish those memories. In a way, those afternoons made me who I am. Would I be a vampire today without them? Probably not.
I will see GOTG though. Yeah, def. It’s just amazing that they made a movie out of it. I don’t care if it’s got different heroes than the ones I grew up with. I don’t care if the movie was made because Hollywood is out of ideas or whatever. I actually used to daydream about what a Guardians movie would be like during those boring math classes. I’m definitely going to watch this at some point. In fact, I’m becoming more and more curious as I type this.
Yeah, I’m definitely going to see it.
Coolness.