Guardians of the Galaxy: Tales of the Cosmos

Guardians of Infinity #1-8 (B stories)

by Jason Latour, Marco Checchetto (Illustrator), Juan Doe (Illustrator)

An all-star lineup of the Galaxy's greatest star in eight all-new stories. First, Ben Grimm and Rocket Raccoon are stuck on a planet where culture is based on Earth-style professional wrestling. Elsewhere, The Thing and Groot are in search of a singularly powerful object located in New York City. Then, Venom and The Human Torch star in a rollicking tale of space brawlin. Also, see what happens when Rocket and Kitty act as bodyguards for an interplanetary whistleblower! Plus, Drax goes missing and more. COLLECTING: GUARDIANS OF INFINITY 1-8 (B STORIES)

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Superheroes

136 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2016

About the author

David Jason Latour (b. 1977) is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work for Image, Dark Horse, Marvel and DC comics on titles such as Wolverine, Winter Soldier, Southern Bastards and Spider-Gwen.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote]

Guardians of the Galaxy: Tales of the Cosmos collects the backups from the Guardians of Infinity series, all of which suck!

The ever-cliched-catchphrase-spoutin’ Thing wrestles some aliens then shows Groot round Yancy Street (sigh - this guy is such a joke), Venom and Human Torch hang out, Rocket and Kitty fight a Skrull, Gamora and Kitty fight some Chitauri - you get the idea, these are forgettable, disposable stories.

The Space Knights origin (whoever they are) is drawn by the worst artist currently working at Marvel, Gerardo Sandoval, but then none of the art here is especially eye-catching.

Maybe if you’re a fan of the Fantastic Four and suffering withdrawal from that cancelled title you might get something out of the Thing and Human Torch stories, but even Guardians fans won’t find anything worthwhile with this dismal book.

[Guilherme Smee]

Toda vez que um filme dos Guardiões da Galáxia está para ser lançado nos cinemas, eles voltam com força nos quadrinhos. Fora esse tempo, parece que a Marvel joga eles num limbo. A publicação que a Panini Comics Brasil lançou em março, Guardiões da Galáxia: Contos do Cosmo e, por sorte, em capa cartão, faz parte dessa janela de lançamentos ocorridos durante o lançamento do segundo filme dos Guardiões. Contos do Cosmos são diversas historinhas curtas que serviam como backup de uma minissérie maior: Guardiões do Infinito, publicada pela Panini Brasil em Universo Marvel. As historinhas aqui publicadas por diversas equipes criativas são beeem fraquinhas em sua maioria, lembrando por vezes algumas histórias do universo Star Wars que não têm nada a dizer. Para ter uma ideia, a melhor história desse encadernado não é estrelada pelos Guardiões da Galáxia como os conhecemos nos filmes ou ainda nos quadrinhos. Então, mesmo quem é grande fã dos Guardiões como eu, pode deixar essa publicação de lado de boas, de boinhas.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction]]

Amusing.

[Graham]

The last story was the best, the Alien reference heavy 'The Ripley'.

[K]

The problem with trying to wade into a comic series that has had multiple authors is finding the point at which to start...and this was certainly not it for a newb. This book required you to be familiar w/ not only Guardians of the Galaxy, but also the Fantastic Four, Venom, and the Space Knights. Swing & a miss for me, then. Good stories, but no connection.

--The Thing & Rocket are trapped on planet, with Ben winning rounds in televised wrestling matches against other monsters in an attempt to win parts to fix their broken ship
--Rocket teams up with the Space Knights to rescue Drax & a missing Knight who went out on a giant bender together
--The Thing takes Groot sightseeing through Ben's old stomping grounds on Earth & encounter Plantman...who in a foreseeable turn of events takes control of Groot. Honestly, the more stories I read about The Thing, the less I like him. Or rather, stories about him. Blah.
--The Human Torch goes to a space station to apologize to The Thing (over something they expected you to know about from the other comics) & meets up with Flash Thompson (again, expecting you to know he's Venom). They go on some mission together, blah blah blah.
--While out having drinks in attempt to get to know each other, Rocket & Kitty Pryde (*sigh*...no clue who she is, sorry) encounter a skrull seeking asylum
--Kitty & Gamora attempt to find a planet-killer bomb before it falls into the wrong hands
--Origin story of the Space Knights
--Rocket, Kitty, & Star-lord play "Aliens" in a giant infected space ship (*by far my favorite of all of the stories)

[Henry]

the I am the Ripley story was fun

[Amy Rader (amyisalwaysreading)]

All of my reviews can be found at raderofthebooks.wordpress.com

Here is my review for this graphic novel:
https://raderofthebooks.wordpress.com...

[Rob McMonigal]

I know tons of folks like the Guardians and the characters, but they just don't connect with me. I thought maybe having Ben,Johnny,and Kitty might make me feel differently, but nope--I'm wishing they were back on Earth with other characters.

None of these stories are bad--they're basically buddy-cop style shorts--but there's so much winking and nodding, so much "DON'T YOU SEE HOW COOL WE ARE?" touches--that I don't have anything but the same reaction I get when a person knocks on my door asking me to change internet providers.

The art is all over the map due to the shorts, ranging from Jim Cheung's "Ron Wilson era Thing" to the thin block lines of Leonardo Romero to the Ramos-y Gerardo Sandoval. It was good to have the variety, and I thought the tones fit the stories pretty well. (And on a short take like this, I'm not going to get too in-depth on art or plot, sorry.)

Overall, if you dig the Guardians, this is going to be good stuff for you. But it's just convinced me that Marvel's cosmic stuff just isn't my bag--and that's okay. (Library, 11/2016)

[Sean]

A handful of B stories are collected here showcasing the Guardians indifferent ways. While for the most part the stories are forgettable, they were a fine look at who these characters are. Whether it be Drax's longing for a family, Thing's desire to do right by everyone, Rocket's badassery, Kitty's and Peter's cuteness, or Eddie's desire to fit in, we get to see some solid quick tales. They're not all winners as we're introduced to the Space Knights who seem to serve no purpose. The art was a mixed bag but I love Jimmy Cheung. He can do no wrong. Overall, a harmless Guardians anthology book that is probably just for Guardians fans.

[Eric]

Some amusing stories but none of these issues features the full team, only a few of the members. Didn't enjoy it as much as I have previous books featuring the whole Guardian team. Still the majority of the issues are solid stand-alone stories.

[Brian]

Fun stories when the characters are shuffled around a little...

[felicialowj]

2.5 stars. Not all awful, but not great either.

[B]

I do not really remember this. But I'm sure it was largely passable.

[Villain E]

Short stories highlighting different Guardians. The focus is on the newer additions to the team: The Thing, Venom, and Kitty Pryde. Some stories are entertaining, some not.

[Lu]

Totally loved it 😍❤️ I'm now looking for Guardians comics in the same drawing  and plot style!!

[Gigi]

This one just didn't capture the true essence of The Guardians of the Galaxy in my opinion....

[Adan]

A bunch of short stories featuring the current Guardians line-up (as well as the current non-ROM Spaceknights). Some of them were good, some of them were lame, but they were mostly just a bit of fun. My favorite stories were "Lonely Days and Space Knights", featuring Drax, Rocket, and the new Space Knights, "Takeout From Tuliebitz's", featuring the Human Torch and Venom, and "Most Dangerous in the Universe", featuring Kitty Pryde and Gamora.

[Mitchell Friedman]

Really not that bad for a Marvel space book, and yes that was damning with faint praise. This one was essentially disconnected stories throughout the universe. At least Kitty was doing something in some of these, actually kind of kicking butt. But still not all that interesting or well done. And Rocket and Groot work better in the movies than they do in print. Could have been a lot worse though.

[David]

Nice set of character driven back up stories.