Rocket Raccoon

Rocket Raccoon #9

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Rocket Raccoon #9Set 30 years in the future Rocket Raccoon #9 offers a glimpse at a possible dark future for Rocket and Groot. Long after their collective adventures have ended, and Groot has decided to stay on Earth without his friend (helping its heroes unlock the secret to his regenerative properties), a monster-sized Groot is terrorizing the planet destroying everything in sight. Who’s Tony Stark gonna call? Gundam-style Rocket Raccoon, that’s who!

Dark future stories of heroes are hardly anything new but writer Skootie Young still finds a way to infuse the comic’s zaniness and fun without getting lost in the grim future.

The twist near the end of the comic lessens the impact of the story a bit as it’s revealed we’re only seeing a simulation of one possible future of the pair. What makes the story work is Young flipping the idea that Groot keeps Rocket in line and that the raccoon’s loving friend might become something far more dark and dangerous without his questionable influence. Yeah, looks like Rocket Raccoon is a good influence after all (at least for a living tree turned Kaiju monster). Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #7

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Rocket Raccoon #7After crash landing on a frigid planet full of monsters and snow ninjas on the far edge of the galaxy that makes Hoth look hospitable by comparison, things take a turn for the worse. Well, considering Rocket was already using his friend’s arm to fuel their fire to keep them alive while all his weapons froze in the intense cold, things weren’t going all that well to begin with.

Rocket Raccoon #7 offers an interesting premise by attacking the one aspect of Groot that we know to be true – although he can be cut, crushed, smashed, and blown to bits the living tree always grows back. However after being bitten my a space dog that somehow poisons his friend’s regenerative properties, Rocket Raccoon is forced to accept the the very real possibility that Groot might die.

Thankfully there is something for Rocket and his new snow ninja friend Jinx to do as the egg of one of the monsters that poisoned Groot may hold the cure (that is if Rocket can survive long enough on his quest to retreive it). Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #6

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Rocket Raccoon #6The latest issue of Rocket Raccoon returns one of my favorite former Guardians of the Galaxy (whose leaving was never properly explained only to be replaced by Marvel characters like Carol Danvers and Venom who don’t fit in the oddball team concept nearly as well). While performing a series of jobs to payback all of his princess ex-girlfriends, Rocket receives and email which leads him to Knowhere to pay back a debt to Cosmo.

Even though they’re not on panel together as much as I’d like, I love the pair of Rocket and Cosmo and hope the telepathic dog may eventually find his way out of Marvel’s dog house and give us more appearances like this. The job is simple. Bizarre, but simple. Cosmo enlists Rocket to help a retired military mech whose friends (from the same junkyard paradise where all mechs go to live out their twilight years) have been stolen to be sold at auction.

And so Rocket and his nonsense-speaking friend (“Brute” only communicates in bianary) head into action. The result of which, as expected, is pretty damn entertaining. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #5

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Rocket Raccoon #5Set around a campfire where Rocket Raccoon has been telling young children tales of his exploits, Rocket Raccoon #5 showcases Groot telling a story Rocket doesn’t want to share. Although limited in his exposition, we witness the events unfold through a series of panels which inform us of why Groot thinks so highly of the adventure but also why Rocket would rather forget the entire disappointing enterprise.

With every piece of dialogue, signage, and narration all being the same three words writer/artist Skootie Young delivers an unexpected adveture involving a treasure map, robot army, space adventure, high-stakes gambling, the retrieval of a mystical sword, a floating castle, mermaids, giant monsters, and a prize which is far from what Rocket expected. Simply put, it’s amazing.

Forced into telling a story nearly all through its art, Young delivers a campfire story that may bewilder (most) of the young campers but turns out to be the series’ best issue so far. Must-read.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Rocket Raccoon #4

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Rocket Raccoon #4Rocket Raccoon #4 wraps up the two ongoing stories of the series as Rocket comes face-to-face with both the other raccoon who has been framing him for murder (who turns out to not be a raccoon at all) and the army of pissed-off princesses who he each saved, dated, and unceremoniously dumped.

The reveal that Blackjack O’Hare is actually the one who has been masquerading as a Rocket lookalike feels a bit like a cheat, but Skootie Young’s final page means there’s still quite a bit left of this story to explore and Rocket, whether he knows it or not, is not alone. The use of O’Hare also ties back into Rocket’s bizarre comic past and the planet of Halfworld where both crazy creatures came from.

Rocket beating down his angry exes provides quite a bit of fun as well as the comic’s second ongoing story arc comes to a close with a battle royal which Rocket stumbles out of victoriously. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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