Rocket Raccoon #1
Written by: Skottie Young
Art by: Skottie Young
Cover by: Skottie Young
Colored by: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Lettered by: Jeff Eckleberry
Published by: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
Note: This is a review of the digital version which can be found on Comixology.
Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!
In less than a month, Rocket Raccoon will be coming to theaters. I can’t possibly express how weird that is to me. I definitely will see it, and hope the movie does huge money, but I still can’t get over it. Kudos to Marvel for trying to show off a little more of their universe than just the Avengers.
As part of that marketing strategy, both Rocket Raccoon and Starlord had new series launch this week. There was also a Guardians of the Galaxy special with a Rocket Raccoon/Groot story, which also contained an old issue of Thor featuring Drax. This week, Marvel also announced Guardians 3000, a book featuring a relaunch of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. All in all, it’s a real good week to be a GOTG fan.
Summary (contains spoilers):This issue starts three years ago. Rocket Raccoon rescued Princess Amayla from prison in the Krakel System. She rewarded him with a kiss…
A few years later, Rocket is taking a date to a wrestling match on the planet Nivlent. His buddy Groot is fighting a massive slime monster. His date, Kaleeko, keeps trying to convince him to get out of there and go back to her room, but Rocket insists that he’s Groot’s good luck charm, so he has to be there. He even gets on the Kiss Cam…which ends up setting off a planet wide red alert…
Police arrive on the scene, and Rocket takes off. He ends up distracting Groot, who gets hit so hard, he turns into splinters. Rocket pockets one to help regrow his friend later.
He gives a call out to Starlord to figure out what’s going on. Starlord tells him that Rocket seems to be wanted for multiple murder charges. Rocket realizes that it must be the “other” raccoon he had been hearing rumors about.
He decides that the only way he can survive this is by turning himself in, so that is what he does.
Meanwhile, we find out that Kaleeko is in cahoots with Princess Amayla and several of Rocket’s other exes. They all seem determined to find and kill him.
Review: Skottie Young was the perfect choice for this book. If you are going to do a Rocket Raccoon book, you need someone with a spirit of fun and chaos, and that is always so apparent in Young’s work. The whole issue just feels high energ. Everything comes at the reader quick, but never overwhelming.
One of the things that really grabbed me about this book was how detailed the artwork was. I loved the unique designs of the characters and technology throughout the issue. I also found myself spending as much time looking in the backgrounds at all the hilarious warning signs like “Blood of any kind equals danger” and “No weapons allow. Also, please do not murder others. Thank you!”
I also loved that all the characters were so fleshed out. You have prison guards talking about their favorite TV shows, and when Rocket calls Star-Lord, you see the Guardians of the Galaxy having an adventure of their own. As I’ve said many times in reviews, that kind of attention to details are important to me. It shows a real love and dedication to making the best possible comic book.
Another thing that was excellent about this book was the lettering. The sound effects in particular really jump off the page. I actually laughed when I read the gun fire going Bigidy Blam!
OH! Before I forget. Real important point. Just because the comic looks cartoony and features a talking raccoon, this book is not all-ages friendly. There is a lot of talk about mass murder, and Rocket seems to be sleeping his way across the galaxy.
Nothing in this book is particularly graphic, but I still wouldn’t give it to my 7 year old daughter to read.
Rocket Raccoon delivers exactly what it promises. Over-the-top action, real fun characters, and a quirky sense of humor. There is a real compelling story here about Rocket’s imposter, not to mention the many women he’s left heartbroken over the years.
There is more than enough here to make me stick around with this series. New series are always a gamble, but hopefully the marketing muscle behind the movie will ensure it sticks around for a while.
| Title: | Rocket Raccoon #1 |
| Written By: | Skottie Young |
| Art By: | Skottie Young |
| Company: | Marvel |
| Price: | $3.99 |
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| Cons: |
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| Is it worth your $3.99? | 9.0/10 – A ridiculously fun comic book. Skottie Young is the perfect creator to give Rocket Raccoon his own series. |
