It is interesting that this issue from Marvel makes its way to the shelves the same week as DC Comics is releasing its first issue of both Bizarro and Bat-Mite.  The age of funny comics has mostly come and gone, and the era of funny comics featuring superhero characters almost never was.  It is thus a bit hard to take a character that is featured in epic space battles and to put them into a story which is still engaging but more lighthearted.  DC Comics’s two series seemed to struggle with the concept, as they both proved a little hard to adapt to a story which could adequately capture both funny and the need to be either serious or relevant.  It would seem as though Marvel would have the same problem, as Groot is a talking tree with a three word vocabulary, but despite this handicap this issue works surprisingly well.

The premise is a simple enough one.  Groot likes Earth and wants to go visit it, not in an official capacity but to actually see the planet for its people and its places.  Rocket is with him and tries to discourage this joruney but ends up mostly going along.  The intention is there, but they are only lacking one thing – a space ship.  Most of this issue is thus a sequence of space based hitchhiking and the bizarre people that they meet along the way.  Those who are a little too over-protective about Superman mythos might get a little upset at one of the scenarios, but mostly the issue focuses on these hijinks.

If there needs to be a formula about how to make such a series work then this is it.  It is probably nearly impossible to go serious with a series about Groot, but there is a balance in here which makes it still relevant.  The action here could easily take place in the main Marvel universe, as opposed to other titles which require a bit of a stretch of imagination to see them fit.  As it is, it would seem that Groot could not carry his own series and that it would not be fun, but the creative team proves both wrong with this entertaining and approachable first issue.

Story: Jeff Loveness Art: Brian Kesinger
Story: 8.7 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.7 Recommendation: Buy