Written by Sam Humphries
Pencilled by Paco Medina
Inked by Juan Vlasco
Colors by David Curiel
Published by Marvel Comics
Legendary Star-Lord #1 is one of those comics that I probably shouldn’t like as much as I did. The comic starts out very dark with young Peter Quill standing by his mother’s grave before getting into a Mexican stand-off with a bunch of aliens. For the most part, the issue sticks to a light, humorous tone while shedding some light on Star-Lord’s character and moral compass and having plenty of gun toting/ starship flying/alien snarking action. However, a lot of the comic felt like it was ghost-written by Brian Michael Bendis as it evoked his run on Guardians of the Galaxy a little too much. Sam Humphries wrote some hilarious dialogue for Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde and established him as an anti-hero, but some of his lines fell flat and the tie-in to his past as an orphan was heavy handed. However, Paco Medina’s pencils were sharp and detailed with inker Juan Vlasco giving his art a strong, clear finish. He excelled at the action scenes, and the posing of his figures felt natural even during the slower scenes, like Star-Lord’s “chat” with Kitty Pryde.
At its best parts, Humphries’ Star-Lord reads and acts like Marvel’s equivalent of Han Solo, but goofier and more of an “a-hole” as Peter Serafinowicz’s character describes him in the first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer. Humphries uses some voice over narration that ranges from mildly hilarious to explaining obvious things about Star-Lord’s gun. But for the most part, he does a great job showing what makes Peter Quill tick without revealing everything about him. Star-Lord is both a rogue and a hero, an orphan with a dark past and also a sarcastic jokester. But his foes are much less interesting, and the name Thanos is mentioned a lot, but not expanded upon. Also, readers’ enjoyment of Legendary Star-Lord will depend on how much they like the “Brian Michael Bendis” style of cutesy, slightly snarky dialogue. Star-Lord’s conversation with Kitty Pryde could be seen as cute or cringeworthy depending on one’s affinity for these characters. (I am a self-proclaimed Kitty Pryde fanboy so I enjoyed it.) It is nice to see a long distance relationship in a comic, but Kitty and this Peter are lacking in romantic chemistry other than the fact they teamed up together in the “Trial of Jean Grey” crossover and shared some witty Bendis banter.
The most consistent thing about Legendary Star-Lord #1 is its art. Paco Medina’s work reminds me of the strong, detailed line work of Steve McNiven (who had a brief run on Guardians of the Galaxy) without overly copying his style. Medina’s storytelling is crisp and easy to follow with a good mix of splash pages and more intimate inset panels. He also pays attention to little details, like the way Star-Lord’s hair moves or the cowboy hat he sometimes wear, which add details and a personal touch to the comic. Inker Juan Vlasco makes sure the characters are well defined and stay consistent from page to page while emphasizing the details Medina puts in with his pencils. Colorist David Curiel uses a subdued palette for most of the comic and finds a medium between the earthy colors of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind and the bright pop art stylings of Laura Allred’s work on Silver Surfer. Even though much of the comic felt like a rehash of Bendis’ work on Guardians of the Galaxy and featured some glaring cliches towards the end of the issue, Legendary Star-Lord #1 has enough humor and clean, occasionally brilliant art from Medina, Vlasco, and David Curiel to make it an above average read.