If there was ever a time to launch a new Guardians of the Galaxy series, that time is now. At the moment, the world's attention is on Star-Lord and crew like never before. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit many international markets last weekend, making a phenomenal $101.2 million, and US fans are now eagerly awaiting its domestic release on May 5th. Small wonder Marvel Comics chose to re-launch Guardians of the Galaxy this week, right?
Cullen Bunn is widely considered one of Marvel's top talents, and in Darth Maul #3 he reminds us why. Bunn is telling a fascinating tale, one rooted in the history of our beloved galaxy far, far Away; he's taken us back to the apprenticeship of Darth Maul. It's a masterstroke, designed to fix the awkward continuity problems raised when you contrast the brutal juggernaut of The Phantom Menace with the Machiavellian mastermind of The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Restoring the old status quo, Venom #6 reunites Eddie Brock with his beloved symbiote! It's effectively a relaunch, and it's going to be interesting to see where we go from here.
Most #0 issues essentially set the scene. Not Secret Empire #0 - this dives straight into the plot. If you want to know what's going on in Marvel, don't sleep on this one.
"Burning Down the House" has been a strong arc, but sadly, the resolution is a little lacking. Still, this issue of Suicide Squad bodes well for the future.
The X-Men's ResurrXion may be relaunching the franchise, but some key names are sticking around. One of them is Cullen Bunn, who's earned a lot of respect from X-Men fans over the last years. Bunn's tremendous Magneto run proved just how well he can blend the dense continuity of the franchise with new-reader-accessible plots, and the last year's seen him helm Uncanny X-Men, a book that proved to be a real fan-favorite. That was particularly impressive given X-Men fans were generally dissatisfied with the franchise's overall direction.
