Marvel Comics' Thor is a figure with one foot in the ancient, supernatural myths of the Norse people and the other in cosmic sci-fi. It's been that way since his first appearance in 1963's Journey Into Mystery #83, where Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber pitted the Thunder God against a race of alien stone men, and though the Avenger has undergone a ton of changes since then, this aspect of the character has remained a constant.

Over the years, those cosmic elements have popped up in a number of iconic stories that have seen the Asgardian people take on and encounter things like alien gods, Celestials, strange galaxies, and the world devouring Galactus. The Asgardian known as Angela even served as a member of the Marvel Universe's premier interstellar super team, the Guardians of the Galaxy.

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The Asgardian's wealth of cosmic experience means that when her old team is suddenly no more Angela won't have to look far for a suitable band of replacements. The team she brings together are the title characters of the aptly named new series Asgardians of the Galaxy. The title, helmed by Cullen Bunn and Matteo Lolli, kicks off in September and spins out of the Cosmic Marvel event miniseries, Infinity Wars.

CBR spoke with Bunn about his cast of characters, the adventures they'll embark on, and the familiar Marvel Cosmic menace they'll cross swords with in the book's initial arc.

CBR: The title of your new series is a fun pun, but is it also an indication of the mandate of the new team? How similar and how different will the tone and types of adventures in your book be to those featured in Guardians of the Galaxy?

Cullen Bunn: Admittedly, the pitch for this book started as a pun. But the title also perfectly sums up the focus of the series -- Asgardian heroes on crazy cosmic adventures.

I don't view this as a replacement to Guardians of the Galaxy as much as another galactic superhero book. Like Guardians, though, I want this to be a fun adventure series with humor and peril and action and heart. The team itself sets the series apart from Guardians, because these characters are so vastly different. The adventures they embark upon are quite different, too. These stories, while cosmic in nature, are firmly rooted in Asgardian lore.

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The line-up of Asgardians of the Galaxy includes a number of fan favorite characters including one you spent some time with over in Fearless Defenders, Valkyrie. What's it like returning to Valkyrie? And is this a return to her human half, Annabelle Riggs, as well?

Even through the line-up for this series has changed quite a bit since I originally pitched this series (in 2015), Valkyrie was always in the mix. I've been a fan of the character since I was a kid reading issues of Defenders, and I really fell in love with her while writing The Fearless and Fearless Defenders. I couldn't see launching this book without her. And, yes, this means Annabelle Riggs is returning as well. In fact, it's Annabelle, not Valkyrie, who is recruited by Angela for this adventure. Annabelle is an expert on ancient Asgardian relics and such. She probably knows more about them than most actual Asgardians. That makes her useful to this team, although not every member of the group recognizes her value.

Valkyrie was sort of a mentor figure to young Kevin Masterson, who took his father's identity of Thunderstrike and is part of this new team. What's your sense of Kevin? What's it like for him to be part of a team with his mentor figure?

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Kevin, like Annabelle, is more "grounded" than most of the other members of the team. He's not a "true" Asgardian. He's the youngest member of the group. His youth and brashness will get him into a lot of trouble. He feels as though he has a lot to prove to his teammates. He might be right about that. He looks up to all of the Asgardians on the team -- Valkyrie most of all -- but I think he's at a point in his life where he doesn't really want to let that show. He has a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

Your team also includes an Asgardian with a link to the Guardians in the form of Angela. What's it like bouncing Angela off other characters in this group? Which of her interactions are you especially enjoying writing?

Angela is the leader of this group. She brings them together. She's also the most serious of all of them. She is all business... but she is also a bit of a mystery. There's a goal she is trying to accomplish, but then there is an ulterior goal that also means a great deal to her. That secret goal is probably more important to her than their primary objective. She doesn't have the trust of all of her teammates, but, in all honesty, she doesn't really care.

Since this book was announced, of course, I've received dozens of questions about Angela's lover, Sera. I'm not going to ignore the connection between those two characters. Sera may not appear in the first arc of the series, but I have a story in mind for these two, and the seeds of that story are sown in the first several issues.

Teammember Skurge is returning to life after his epic death in Walt Simonson's legendary Thor run, several decades ago. Which aspects of his character are you especially interested in exploring?

Skurge has always been one of my favorite characters, and I think his presence on the team says a lot about what kind of group the Asgardians of the Galaxy is. If I think of this in Serenity terms, he's our Jayne Cobb. He's a jerk. He's gruff. We're never sure if we can trust him. But he bonds with his companions, and that bond is tough to break. Why isn't he dead? Who is to say he isn't?

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Rounding out your team are the Frog of Thunder, Throg, and the Destroyer. What made you want to bring these characters into the book? And what can you tell us about the being whose consciousness is animating the Destroyer?

I mentioned earlier that the team went through many iterations. The reason we ended up with characters like the Destroyer and Throg in the group is because I wanted to make the team as weird and fun and exciting as possible. They both add something different to the team.

Throg seems like a bit of a ridiculous character, right? Well, that's because he is ridiculous, but I'm not playing him that way. In this book, Throg is a powerhouse. His level of power might border on frightening. I think readers will have a whole new respect for this guy once he cuts loose.

The Destroyer is iconic in Asgardian stories, so he was a perfect fit. He's the strong, silent type of course, sort of the unstoppable enigma. But, yes, we revealed that there was another power guiding the armor. I cannot reveal who this might be -- not now, at least -- but I will answer that question in the first issue of the series. The answer to that question will raise about a million other questions. It will be a weird surprise, for sure.

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Asgardians of the Galaxy reunites you with your Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars collaborator, artist Matteo Lolli. What's it like working with Matteo on this book?

I really pushed to find the "perfect" artist for this book. I had a certain look in mind for the series. When my editors suggested Matteo, I flipped. He was 100% the kind of artist I wanted to work with. He draws cosmic action and heroes and villains so well, and he brings a level of fun to every panel. As I'm sitting here, Matteo's designs for the Asgardians' spaceship (which is pretty cool in its own right) just popped into my inbox, and I have this huge smile on my face.

Finally, will the team be fully formed when the series begins? Or is this a getting-the-band-together style story?

The band will pretty much be together from the beginning of the series, but we'll revisit how they all came to join the group as the series progresses. For the antagonist, I wanted a villain with deep ties to cosmic Marvel stories. So, our team of heroes will be squaring off against Nebula. Nebula would be a challenge in her own right, because she's just so cunning and mean, but she has surrounded herself with a host of heavy hitters, and she has uncovered a weapon with startling connections to Asgardian lore -- and to the weapon we’ve seen building in Infinity Countdown.

I've been pushing to do this book for years. I think it's going to be a fun space adventure comic. I think readers are going to love these characters working together. And I think a new reader could pick this book up without reading anything else and really enjoy the story.

Also... did we mention there's a frog with god-like powers?