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