Guardians Of The Galaxy #5 Review

Written by: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Art by: Kev Walker
Colors by: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Marco Checchetto
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: August 9, 2023

Guardians Of The Galaxy #5 brings what’s left of the Guardians back together for one last attempt to contact Groot before Grootfall consumes the Manifold Territories.

Is It Good?

Chalk Guardians Of The Galaxy #5 up as the issue where nothing happens except one step forward in the plot – the Guardians cast themselves into Grootfall. That’s it. Nothing else of consequence happens. If you’re fully engrossed in this overly-decompressed mystery surrounding Groot’s transformation into a terraforming monster, this issue is a barely simmering batch of more of the same. On the other hand, if you feel the story is taking too long to get to the point, buckle up because it’s taking even longer.

When last we left the Guardians, Lanzing Kelly spent nearly an entire issue catching up with Sheriff Rocket as he fought to keep a refugee settlement free of Grootfall’s destructive force. When a zealous cult arrived and sabotaged Rocket’s planetary defenses, Rocket was scooped up at the last minute by Quill and friends before Grootfall made landfall. Now, the Guardians bicker over how to reach Groot as a wave of Grootfalls heads for a space battle between the White Caps and Sectors United’s rebel fleet. Undeterred by a paltry battle, the Grootfalls arrive to consume everything in it their path.

What does the battle between the White Cap and the Sectors United have to do with Grootfall and the Guardians? Nothing. The fight is there to provide background noise and take up page space. At this point, I couldn’t even tell you what the two forces are fighting about.

Do the Guardians make contact with Groot? No. Quill’s ship reaches the biggest of the Grootfall meteors right as the issue ends, but no attempt is made to actually connect with Groot before the last page.

Does anything of substance happen in this issue? No, not really. The Guardians discuss reaching Groot, bickering, bickering, bickering, and then the Guardians launch into Grootfall. The End. Lanzing and Kelly took 20+ pages to communicate a 2-page development.

How’s the art? Kev Walker’s art is fine considering you have an entire issue of bickering and a pointless space battle. The poor guy has nothing to work with, so he’s doing his best to make nothing look interesting.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Guardians of the Galaxy #5 is a comic about nothing. The plot could be summarized as the Guardians flying to crash into Grootfall while an irrelevant space battle happens in the background. Nothing of substance happens, so give Kev Walker credit for trying to make nothing look interesting, but this truly is a comic about nothing.