The Good

Bendis continues Marvel’s grand, new tradition of making the cosmos a more approachable, personable place to read about by having one of the biggest misfit teams since The Champions continue to move from mission to mission by the skin of their teeth, fangs and bark. Peter Quill and Rocket Raccoon are helping Abigail Brand retake her orbital station from Thanos’ forces, as well as lowering the barrier that will allow the Avengers to return to Earth, while Drax, Groot and Angela hold his forces from the outside. Meanwhile, Gamora finally makes a decision regarding both her allegiance and her goals and it’s great to see. Besides Gamora, there’s not a lot of character DEVELOPMENT, but there’s a lot of great cementing of character, especially Quill grappling with his survivor’s remorse while trying to remain his expectedly upbeat self. Also a space racoon (don’t call him a racoon, seriously) has a giant gun. I still don’t get why people don’t think this is the greatest idea of all time.

Francesco Francavilla returns to one of the most unlikely titles in his career. His visuals have a very staid and controlled look, one that you wouldn’t immediately associate with a grand, galactic conflict. But both he and Bendis are masters of their craft and we get entire pages of total silence, allowing the action to move with a graceful, flowing pace that, when it works, looks absolutely amazing. The fact that he handles all of the artistic duties (besides lettering) is a testament both to his efficiency and talent.

The Bad

I used the qualifier “when it works” above for a reason, there are a few panels where characters look stiff or posed and one or two others where their faces look a little awkward. These are also in the minority for sure. My biggest issue came from the fact that this didn’t come out before Infinity #6, which left a lot of the action and suspense a little hollow. Sure, there was who would make it and who wouldn’t, but we knew without a shadow of a doubt that the entire enterprise would succeed.

The Verdict

I’m a huge fan of this title’s more grounded, character-driven tone. It’s been struck from the beginning, but I feel like Francavilla’s visuals do it so well, and Bendis’ ability to write to those strengths can’t be understated. The characters all have distinct personalities, and I so far love what’s been going on with Angela, so I’m anxious to see what we get now that Infinity has ended and the Guardians can go off on their own again. But in the meantime, this is a great addition to the already fantastic pantheon of Infinity tie-ins that still work on their own.

Not the biggest fan of Francavilla's art on this title but I agree with the writing. I'm glad that there's a lot of character interaction that's meaningful and not just "We need to get from point A to point B and activate button 1 then incapacitate place enemy name here". It's one of the main reasons I read Bendis' X-Men and GotG.

I wish GotG would become it's own title however. It seems like its always being dragged down by crossovers or events. I mean, Infinity is over but the Trial of Jean Grey is right around the corner. They're the Guardians of the GALAXYafter all, let's get super cosmic already!

Sadly, I've been on the fence with this series since the beginning. DnA's run is one of my all-time favourites, but I was still willing to give this series a chance. However, it still hasn't completely won me over, and I did not like Francavilla's art in #8 at all, so I probably won't like it here either. Thankfully this is his last issue, so I'll hold off final judgement until Sara Pichelli returns.

This was a beautiful issue imo

I was really wondering how this fits in with Uncanny avengers, since the Peak was obliterated at least six months ago in that title.

I continue to find this series quite entertaining. The writing and character development has been really good. While Francavilla's art was better, and less jarring, this issue. I agree that his style doesn't fit this series, for both setting and characters. Nuances of these interesting characters, particularly facial expressions, get lost in the artist's drawing style.

Nice