Imperial Guardians #5
(W) Dan Abnett (A) Marcelo Ferreira
The covert Imperial Guardians — Gamora, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, Darkhawk and Cosmic Ghost Rider — are a spec-ops team run by Maximus of the Inhumans to keep the new Galactic Union safe. Or are they? On a mission to Cinnabar, the Guardians discover just how DIRTY Maximus’ dirty tricks can get… and face unexpected enemies eager to take them out! It’s cosmic intrigue and danger, yes?
Imperial Guardians #4
(W) Dan Abnett (A) Eduardo Pansica
WHAT IS THE NIGHTSHAPE? The Nightshape is everything and nothing. It is the darkness that existed before time and the darkness that will remain after time stops. The Nightshape will remake the cosmos. Worship the Nightshape ! Yup, it’s just another day at work for the covert Imperial Guardians — Gamora, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, Darkhawk and the Cosmic Ghost Rider — or are they about to uncover the darkest and most malevolent secret threat in the Cosmos?
Imperial Guardians #3
(W) Dan Abnett (A) Marcelo Ferreira
A Kymellian mathematician has just developed the ultimate decryption algorithm – but for reasons of Galactic Union security, that CAN’T be allowed to happen. Time for MAXIMUS of the Inhumans to send in his Imperial Guardians – GAMORA, CAPTAIN MARVEL, AMADEUS CHO, DARKHAWK and COSMIC GHOST RIDER – for a little cleanup operation. Trouble is, the Shi’ar Empire want the algorithm too, and they’ve tasked their Superguardians to retrieve it. Are things going to go well? You do the math.
Imperial Guardians #2
(W) Dan Abnett (A) Marcelo Ferreira
(I) Jay Leisten (C) Rachelle Rosenberg (L) Ariana Maher
(CA) Sean Izaakse, Nolan Woodard (VCA) Chris Campana, Roberto Poggi and Israel Silva, Germán Peralta, Martín Cóccolo and Matthew Wilson, Stefano Caselli and Federico Blee
The Galactic Union has brought peace to the galaxy. But who will keep that peace? It’s another day and another dirty job for the IMPERIAL GUARDIANS as MAXIMUS of the Inhumans sends his black-ops team to handle a problem that nobody else wants to touch. Our heroes head for Xarth, a minor civilization with major ambitions. The Xarthians have got their hands on something that could make them major players on the galactic stage overnight — or bring down the Union ENTIRELY. And you know they’re not going to give it up without a fight…
Gamora, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, Darkhawk, Cosmic Ghost Rider! Five unlikely operatives recruited by Maximus of the Inhumans. Their mission? Protect the delicate balance of new Galactic Union by ANY means necessary…and failure is NOT an option. Expendable, deniable and disavowed, they are the Imperial Guardians. But can they do Maximus’ dirty work and keep their consciences clean? Why has a Kree Grand Admiral gone rogue and attacked Hala? What’s going on with Darkhawk’s mind? What deluded fool thought COSMIC GHOST RIDER was a team player? And, most importantly…what kind of game is Maximus REALLY playing? Imperial Guardians #1 doesn’t break any ground, but it does deliver an entertaining start.
Written by Dan Abnett, Imperial Guardians #1 brings together a rather motley crew to go on unofficial missions to help keep the peace. There’s a lot to like about the debut issue. The team’s members all bring something interesting to the table and something new when it comes to cosmic teams. It’s concept is one we’ve seen many times, taking X-Force in some ways, mixing it with the Avengers, and making it cosmic. Brought together by Maximus, the comic hits the beats you’d expect with little trust between the team’s leadership and Maximus and the initial threat being an extinction level threat. We get to know the dynamics while setting up a lot of what’s to come. It doesn’t deliver anything groundbreaking but it does deliver an entertaining read.
The art by Marcelo Ferreira is good. With ink by Jay Leisten, color by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettering by Cory Petit, the comic looks nice and the action feels a bit chaotic, capturing the moments well. The characters are all recognizable and the choice to forgo team uniforms adds to the feel of the comic of a team that works together but doesn’t need to get along. This isn’t a tight unit like past Guardians of the Galaxy teams.
There’s some potential here as Imperial Guardians #1 feels like a black-ops cosmic adventure. The return of Abnett to the cosmic universe he helped shaped so much is welcomed and here’s hoping we get the sweeping epic he’s delivered so far. While the debut issue doesn’t really surprise, it does deliver a fun, somewhat safe, start that is a nice addition for the ever expanding cosmic portion of the Marvel universe.
Story: Dan Abnett Art: Marcelo Ferreira
Ink: Jay Leisten Color: Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Cory Petit
Story: 8.0 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
Imperial Guardians #1
(W) Dan Abnett (A) Marcelo Ferreira
Gamora, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, Darkhawk, Cosmic Ghost Rider! Five unlikely operatives recruited by Maximus of the Inhumans. Their mission? Protect the delicate balance of new Galactic Union by ANY means necessary… and failure is NOT an option. Expendable, deniable and disavowed, they are the Imperial Guardians. But can they do Maximus’ dirty work and keep their consciences clean? Why has a Kree Grand Admiral gone rogue and attacked Hala? What’s going on with Darkhawk’s mind? What deluded fool thought COSMIC GHOST RIDER was a team player? And, most importantly… what kind of game is Maximus REALLY playing?
In the wake of Jonathan Hickman’s Imperial, the power structure of the Marvel cosmos has been shattered and reborn as the Galactic Union. As this new empire rises, so do new heroes, including the Imperial Guardians, a bold new evolution of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Follow their space-faring missions to defend this newly formed and perilous cosmic landscape in Imperial Guardians, a new ongoing series launching in March.
The series marks the grand return of one of Marvel’s greatest cosmic architects, Dan Abnett, the mastermind behind epics like Annihilation and the writer who redefined the Guardians into the icons we know them as today. Now, he’s back to do it all again! Joining him will be acclaimed artist Marcelo Ferreira, known for his explosive work on recent hits like Predator Vs. Spider-Man and Predator Kills the Marvel Universe.
Assembled in secret by Maximus, the grand orchestrator behind the events of Imperial, the team of heroes represent an exciting mix of characters from different corners of the Marvel Universe including Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy icon Gamora, and fan-favorite cosmic adventurer Darkhawk. Following up on the biggest developments of Imperial, the series will serve as the centerpiece for Marvel’s cosmic storytelling.
Gamora, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, Darkhawk, Cosmic Ghost Rider! Five unlikely operatives recruited by Maximus of the Inhumans. Their mission? Protect the delicate balance of new Galactic Union by ANY means necessary…and failure is NOT an option. Expendable, deniable and disavowed, they are the Imperial Guardians. But can they do Maximus’ dirty work and keep their consciences clean? Why has a Kree Grand Admiral gone rogue and attacked Hala? What’s going on with Darkhawk’s mind? What deluded fool thought COSMIC GHOST RIDER was a team player? And, most importantly…what kind of game is Maximus REALLY playing?
Check out the main cover by Sean Izaakse along with a variant cover by Netho Diaz and preorder Imperial Guardians #1 at your local comic shop today!
For months, Marvel Comics has teased that Imperial, the four-part epic by visionary writer Jonathan Hickman and superstar artists Iban Coello and Federico Vicentini, would usher in a new era of cosmic storytelling. At the Marvel Comics: Next Big Thing Panel at San Diego Comic-Con, fans learned exactly what that meant with the announcement of five all-new ongoing series spinning out of Imperial later this year!
In addition to first looks for upcoming Imperial War one-shots, Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, VP & Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, and writer Stephanie Phillips revealed the first wave of ongoing series set in the new intergalactic landscape created by Imperial: Planet: She-Hulk, Nova Centurion, Black Panther: Intergalactic, Exiles, and Imperial Guardians. All five titles are set up in the Imperial War one-shots releasing over the next few months and begin launching in November, starting with Planet She-Hulk by Stephanie Phillips and Aaron Kuder and Nova: Centurion by Jed MacKay and Álvaro López. Both Phillips and MacKay are also writing their series’ respective IMPERIAL WAR one-shots.
Planet She-Hulk is a solo series unlike any other in She-Hulk’s history as she uses her brains and brawn to maintain order on the savage planet of Sakaar. Nova: Centurion represents a new era for one of Marvel’s oldest and most iconic space-faring heroes as Nova does whatever it takes to keep the memory of his people alive amidst the corrupt system now governing the stars. Read on to learn more!
PLANET SHE-HULK #1
Written by Stephanie Phillips
Art by Aaron Kuder
On Sale 11/5
SAKAAR, PARTY OF ONE!
She-Hulk is back, and she’s… stuck on Sakaar?? Jennifer Walters made a promise to her cousin, Hulk, to watch over the planet Sakaar and its people for a few days. But it’s been longer than a few days, and now She-Hulk is in charge of keeping the peace on a planet at war! But Jennifer is a VERY different Hulk than the one that once smashed Sakaar into submission…is she up for the task?
NOVA: CENTURION #1
Written by Jed MacKay
Art by Álvaro López
Cover by Alessandro Cappuccio
On Sale 11/19
GOT A PROBLEM? NOVA CAN HELP – FOR A PRICE!
With the Xandarian Worldmind, the sentient repository of an entire extinct people’s culture and history, relying on regular (and expensive) energy infusions, Richard Rider is for hire. A deep-space drifter weighed down with the truth of the terrible lie that the new Galactic Union was built upon, Nova is a corps of one. But how long can he keep his hands clean handling dirty money?
