After that tragic day his mother was taken from him but before his spacefaring adventures, Peter was…an astronaut?! Or at least, he wanted to be. His mission: get revenge for the death of his mother! But as NASA’s biggest burn-out, it looked like the once and future Star-Lord would remain eternally grounded on Earth. But with a burning desire for vengeance and expert knowledge of spaceships – nothing will stop him from reaching the stars.

“Star-Lord: Year One” is a more proper title for this series which looks at the early years of Marvel’s scoundrel of the spaceways. The character has a new status in the present time, but this series doesn’t explore that, but examines how he got to space and where he is today. That’s an interesting choice in many ways, as it takes on previous history of the character, and forges new ground too for the Marvel Universe. Not an easy thing to do.

Writer Sam Humphries gives us a fun first issue that may appeal more towards kids that are fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy film, than adults. I say that, because this is a younger Peter Quill, not yet Star-Lord. The comic reminds me a lot of Cyclops #1 which saw a younger version of the character head into space to spend time with his father and find himself. This comic looks to share many of those same themes.

The art by Javier Garron is energetic and matches the youthful vibe of the comic. Garron does some great chase scenes and there’s this explosion of energy in the comic that’s captured. I wish there was a little more variant in the characters we see. There’s three or four different heads switched around with different hair or skin color, and the body types are similar. So, as the comic moves in to space with aliens, things will get interesting as far as that.

The comic is fun. There’s not much to knock it for. It presents Peter as a bit of a hothead stereotype, and also an earlier time in the Marvel U. The action is solid with a nice chase scene. The comic is entertaining that kicks things off. Hopefully it’ll be able to sustain that youthful energy, as it’s one of the best things about it.

Story: Sam Humphries Art: Javier Garron
Story: 7.7 Art: 7.8 Overall: 7.7 Recommendation: Read