- Written by: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
- Art by: Kev Walker
- Colors by: Matt Hollingsworth
- Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
- Cover art by: Marco Checchetto
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: July 19, 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy #4 catches up with Rocket Raccoon as he fulfills his duty as sheriff of a refugee colony for wayward souls displaced by Grootfall.
Is It Good?
That description is really all there is to Guardians of the Galaxy #4. We find out what Rocket’s been up to, we see the consequences when the latest group of refugees turns cultish, and then we’re off to the next issue. To say Lanzing and Kelly are taking the slow train to establish what or how Grootfall exists is an understatement.
When last we left the Guardians, Peter Quill used his presence in a hunting royal party near a recently fallen Grootfall in the hopes of making a connection to Groot’s mind to find out what happened. Peter touched Groot’s mind, but he couldn’t hold the connection long enough to get answers.
Now, we catch up with Sheriff Rocket Raccoon, who protects a refugee settlement from Grootfall with some pretty large cannons. When a group of zealots who embrace the blissful oblivion of Grootfall show up, they make Rocket’s job impossible. The latest Grootfall meteor arrives, and Rocket’s transported away at the last minute by the Guardians to get their arboreal friend back.
That’s it.
To be fair, you get plenty of heartwrenching moments from Rocket as he laments the loss of his friend, but in terms of character development and plot, this issue is effectively one long scene that doesn’t tell you much more than you already know.
How’s the art? It’s fine. To pull off this issue, Kev Walker needed to pull off a passable Rocket, explosions, a barren landscape, and a rusty robot. He pulls it all off well enough to get the job done for a paper-thin plot.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Bits and Pieces
Guardians of the Galaxy #4 is effectively one long scene that shows you what Rocket’s been up to for the last three issues. There are some strong emotional beats when Rocket feels Groot’s loss, but you don’t learn much about Grootfall or make any progress on the plot.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 