Writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing are taking the Guardians in a darker, western direction this April, but they did chat with prior Guardians of the Galaxy scribe Al Ewing about following his finished run.
Kelly and Lanzing sat down for an exclusive interview with CBR to discuss their new Guardians of the Galaxy series, where they were asked about the happy ending that Ewing's previous title left off on. The prior Guardians of the Galaxy book ran for 18 issues between Jan. 2020 and Sep. 2021, its final shot being the team and other heroes celebrating a big win together. Lanzing explained to CBR that he and Kelly discussed their series with Ewing "to make sure there was no disrespect implied" with what they had in mind.
"We talked to Al about it," Lanzing said, continuing, "That last moment at the end of Al’s Guardians of them all together in the bar having a good time was an amazing end for that story, but you can really only tell one story after that -- the story of what happens when all of that goes wrong, when that peace, happiness, and beauty is shattered. Otherwise, there’s no drama."
Grootfall Is Coming for the Guardians of the Galaxy
Teased first at New York Comic Con 2022 and later announced in Jan. 2023, Kelly and Lanzing's Guardians of the Galaxy will feature a "Grootfall" story set to destroy the team to the point that its remaining members are only Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Nebula and Mantis, with no Rocket Raccoon or Groot present. Kelly did suggest that the latter two heroes will appear in the book, but Lanzing elaborated further on how their series will connect back to Ewing's. "What if the worst day in the Guardians' history happened between the end of Al’s run and the beginning of ours?" Lanzing asked. "The mystery of what happened that day, how it happened, who was responsible, and who thinks they’re responsible will all come out over the course of the run."
Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and Guardians Are All Having Bad Days
Guardians of the Galaxy will be the latest Marvel title to launch a mystery of how one hero or fan-favorite team faced an unseen calamity that has left them at their lowest point. Writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita Jr.'s The Amazing Spider-Man run began with Peter Parker having done something that created a giant crater and left him on the outs with his loved ones. As of writing, the question of "What did Peter do?" still hasn't been answered, but is set to be in The Amazing Spider-Man #20 and #21. Similarly, the new Fantastic Four run by writer Ryan North and artist Iban Coello sees the heroic family broken up after the Baxter Building was destroyed and left a massive crater in New York City, but how this happened will be revealed in Fantastic Four #4 out in Feb. 2023.
During the CBR interview, Lanzing clarified that although he and Kelly are not maintaining the upbeat tone Ewing's run left off on, they will not undo the events of his series. "We’re not picking up the things that were left at the end of Al’s run, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, or those characters aren’t the same characters. It hurt and has potential dramatic stakes because Al set them into such a beautiful position at the end of his run. So, ideally, we’re trying to take that happiness and utilize it forward by blowing it up."
Written by Lanzing and Kelly, Guardians of the Galaxy #1 is drawn by Kev Walker, colored by Matt Hollingsworth and features main cover art by Marco Checchetto. Variant cover artwork for the issue is contributed to by Skottie Young, Alex Ross, Aaron Kuder, Kael Ngu and Derrick Chew. The issue is set to go on sale April 12 from Marvel Comics.
Source: CBR