Review – Asgardians of the Galaxy #1 (Marvel Comics)

“Thunderstruck” Asgardians of the Galaxy #1

Nebula is set to bring death and destruction to the galaxy, jealous of her sister’s recent reign of terror (check out Infinity Wars). Nebula has her own ways and weapons to set worlds ablaze and it involves Asgard. Hela, daughter of Odin, sister of Thor has brought together a rather odd group of Asgardian heroes to save the galaxy. Why did she choose these people and what other plans does Hela have for them? It is all here in Asgardians of the Galaxy #1!

Writing

Asgardians of the Galaxy #1 is a heck of a fun book. I mostly know Cullen Bunn from more horror-oriented stories and writings, but he is well versed in the Marvel Universe as well and he flexes that muscle in Asgardians of the Galaxy #1. Bunn scripts a great “get the team together” first issue. It is paced extremely well. Now, the Asgardian part of the Marvel Universe is not my strong point and I have never really been “into” it, but Bunn made me feel right at home even though I was unfamiliar with quite a few characters.

It is a great cast of characters, as well, that compose the team. You have got Hela as the leader, then Thunderstrike as an almost like “rookie” character, Skurge as a little bit of a wildcard, the Valkyrie/Annabelle adds a unique dynamic. Throg the Frog of Thunder brings some muscle and comic relief, and the Destroyer with a mystery pilot adds some great intrigue.

Bunn did a great job of introducing all of these characters and getting the plot going all in one issue. It is a very tricky juggling act that he nailed. He did not spend too much time on introducing everybody, but spent enough time to let the reader get the gist of them. That allowed time for him to develop the plot and get the story in motion. He had a great teaser at the end, but the whole issued played out to let us know what was happening and what the team would be up against. By the end, the reader gets a good sense of the characters and what the story will be going forward.

Art

Matteo Lolli drops some wonderful art in Asgardians of the Galaxy #1. I like the lively style he brings to the series. The characters have nice charm and feel to them. He has some great layouts in the issue and some good character designs. He makes the Hela giant belt costume kind of work; it is still a terrible costume, though. I really enjoyed Federico Blee‘s colors in Asgardians of the Galaxy #1. Blee uses some wonderful bright coloration to depict parts of space and other worlds. It looks great on the pages.

I feel the colors really enhance the tone of the story; it gives it a nice sense of “wonder” to the series. I feel it also enhances Lolli’s pencils and inks. It is solid art, but the mesmerizing background colors really make the images pop.

Conclusion

Asgardians of The Galaxy #1 is a fun book; it finds that nice balance between being serious and a little goofy at the same time. Bunn does a great job of pacing this first issue while getting his team together and laying out the driving force of the story. The art looks great as well, with some great character work from Lolli and some dynamic colors by Federico Blee. I was not too excited about this series when it was first announced but now I cannot wait until issue #2 comes out!

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