Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers, Volume 2

 

When the original Guardians of the Galaxy were cancelled in 1977 with issue #12 of Marvel Presents, many assumed that was the last of the team. I was one of those when I finished Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers, Volume 1. I should have known if there's a volume 1 then there must a volume 2. But that's not always the case as some Marvel Essentials such as Marvel Super-Villain Team-Up were issued as a volume 1 without there ever being any material for a second volume. A couple of weeks ago I finally got my answer as I found volume 2 at my local library.
 
  Volume 2 is a cornucopia of different series and issues. It starts with an annual from the first series of Mighty Thor. That tale begins with a prequel of sorts to the Korvac Saga. In this issue, a man in the year 3000 is turned into a living computer and has his sights on conquering the world. Thor is transported to the future and ends up teaming with the Guardians.

    With the prequel to the Korvac Saga comes the complete Korvac Saga from the pages of the Avengers. Fans of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, take note, if you own this book and you're looking for the Complete Korvac Saga- stop right there! It's in this volume and you will not need to buy that series as the trade-only epilogue and the complete set of Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe entries regarding the Guardians and Korvac from that edition are included as well! Plus, every variant cover to the Korvac Saga trade and some cool sketch pages are added as well.

    In addition to the Korvac Saga ( sometimes referred to as the Michael Saga) are several issues from Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-In-One. Most of those tales wrap up the end of the Adam Warlock Saga, exploring what happened to his body and the final fate of Counter-Earth. The art in those issues, especially of Warlock's potential mate, Her, and the High Evolutionary are some of the best of the late Silver Age I've ever seen. Yes, the artwork has been remastered but with it's vibrant colors and high-quality paper stock, this is museum level stuff. Then the Guardians re-team with the Thing in a two-parter that explores Lance Astro taking a risk with all of space-time by trying to prevent his teenage self from becoming an astronaut. It's probably my favorite story in this massive volume.

    These final tales wrap up the last of the Guardians appearances in the Marvel Universe until 1990. Well, there was a one-panel appearance of the team in the pages of Sensational She-Hulk. Fret not, that's included in this definitive guide to the second half of the Guardians first trip through the Marvel Universe.

     Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.