Peter Quill might have been born on Earth, but he’s been away a long time. And now that the Guardians of the Galaxy have gone and gotten themselves stranded on terra firma, how does a man go from soaring through the stars as the legendary Star-Lord to living with his feet planted firmly on the ground? What kind of job options are available for a guy whose résumé mostly consists of “guarding the galaxy”? And with all the dangers he has faced and survived, could anything prepare him for…community service?! Maybe Daredevil can help out with that. Or, would you believe, the Shocker? One thing is certain: Earth has a new guardian. Also, a new bartender. Peter Quill — the legendary Bar-Lord!
Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.
"I've saved this planet, remember? A planet I haven't lived on in years! I obviously never planned to be stuck here . . . It's been a rough few weeks. I'm used to space adventure, not the 'N' train!" -- Peter 'Star-Lord' Quill, on his predicament
Quite the unexpected pleasant surprise, Grounded is a solid solo volume featuring the ousted leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy team while he is temporarily exiled in New York City. (It's a Marvel book - of course it's centered in the 'Big Apple'!) Quill is arrested after a being involved in a bar brawl that was the result of an attempted murder, and is forbidden from using his costume / weapons. As a result he has also perform community service by spending quality time with a shut-in senior citizen AND he takes a job as a bartender at a private establishment that serves the costumed villain crowd. The two plot threads eventually become intertwined and make for an entertaining story, combining equal parts drama / humor / action. The book features an entire Marvel roster of A-list guest stars (including Ms. Marvel and Daredevil) in effective supporting and cameo roles. The only 'blah' part was the final chapter, a mediocre story that was not really connected to the rest of the book.
I really enjoyed the main story collected here; it had heart, humour and plenty of action. I wasn't that keen on the annual that was tacked on the end but it wasn't so bad that I'd dock a star for it.
Peter Quill is stranded on earth and has ticked off the rest of the Guardians. He gets himself into some trouble and needs to perform community service and get a job. So he winds up tending bar at the Bar With No Name while keeping an old man company.
The Good: The story was OK and sometimes entertaining. Old Man Logan is great in this book.
The Bad: The annual has nothing to do with the rest of the book. Quill is stranded on an Old West / Sci-fi planet. It's been done better a million times.
The Ugly: I really dislike Kris Anka's art and his new character design for Star-Lord is hideous. A terrible costume with blond highlighted hair and a brown beard. Star-Lord looks his douchiest in this book.
Star Lord is now stranded on Earth. He has no friends, he has no ship, and he has no money to fix the ship. So he's basically stuck waiting on others to get him back into the sky. One thing he does have plenty of though, is time. And that is where this story comes in.
I really didn't know what to expect from this book. I really gave it a shot because of Chip Zdarsky, who I think is actually a really good writer. He has that ability to make stories lighthearted, fun, and funny then all of a sudden give you a swift kick in the feels. Which this book is basically tailored for.
There's two stories in the book, the main one being about the situation I first described, about him being stranded, and the second one is a weird dream sequence of him in the old west. The old west thing was pretty... meh at best. But the main story about him being stranded was pretty good. It's charming and fun and heartbreaking, even with the weirdly gratuitously bare chested scenes that Kris Anka chose to do over and over. Seriously, this was like a 90's comic but instead of a woman being over exposed it was Star Lord.
But overall, a good story but an okay volume, if you're a fan of Star Lord, this one is a pleasant surprise.
[Read as single issues] Chip Zdarsky is an evil sod. He convinces everyone he mostly writes silly humour comics and then kicks you in the gut and slaps you in the face with feels under all the jokes.
Trapped on Earth because hand-wavey reason after Civil War II (are there seriously no space ships the Guardians can use? I find this extremely hard to believe), Peter Quill finds himself having to do community service and...get a job.
Which he does. In The Bar With No Name. And runs into Black Cat, a retired supervillain, a crotchety old man (who is also a retired supervillain), Daredevil, Howard The Duck (because Zdarsky), and even an opportunity to learn a lesson or two. It's Zdarsky at his finest, even if it's a shame it's only six issues long (and an annual, if Marvel choose to collect it, but the annual's got nothing to do with the main story so it's neither here nor there).
Who do you call if you want your main character to look super-hot, all your supporting characters to look super-hot, and even Howard The Duck to-no, that's furry territory, let's get away from that. Anyway - Kris Anka! Beautifully rendered characters, well-framed action sequences, and gorgeous colours by Matt Wilson. A+ art team, would eyeball again.
While Marvel relaunches Rocket Raccoon over and over again, Star-Lord is the Guardians solo book you should have read.
This was so good! It’s a shame it only lasted for 6 issues, but at least it got a decent ending. Anka’s art is fantastic, and the writing was fun. Putting Peter Quill on earth, like a fish out of water, was a clever idea. And there’s something very mundane about this book that I just love. Again, it’s a shame we only got one arc! And the annual was kind of weird, but whatever— read this! It’s so good. 5/5 stars and a new favorite graphic novel.
Expectations. A book like this, with a stupid cover and starring Star Lord, not expecting a whole lot. But then again I'm not a big fan of Marvel's space books. But this book was almost completely on Earth. And was character and story driven. And was just great. Good writing, good enough art. The story even explained part of the cover and made it better. The backup story kind of started slowly but was also good, and even added some sense to a detail from the main story. Is this book the best ever? no. But a good one nonetheless. 4.5 of 5.
I picked up Star-Lord: Grounded solely because of author Chip Zdarsky. I've thoroughly enjoyed a lot of his writing and a limited series for a character I know very little about seemed like a fun way to read some more.
I was rewarded with a Marvel book that is fun, coherent, entertaining, subtly touching, often funny, and dare I say, sexy. Let's get this out of the way, Kris Anka illustrating Star Lord was having a lot of fun.
Who would have thought...Wolverine. Peter Quil. Hugging.
If you love Peter Quill (aka Star Lord) as much as me and are looking for fun, laughs and adventure, this comic has it all. Even a side cast of characters I never would have expected!
Perfect, except for the annual issue included at the end of this collection. It didn't complement the other issues, and though it was an intriguing story it might have been better placed at the beginning, as it sits chronologically before the main events of the issues.
It's a shame that this series got cancelled so early. The story is good, but you can tell they were building to something really great and affecting. On the artistic side, anyone who is interested in drawing men in a style that is very appealing to people interested in men should take note of this book. Star-Lord is super hot.
2.5/5 Love Chip but this was the most most mediocre book. You know how a crosswalk feels where it’s like cool I’m glad that’s there but I don’t really care. That’s the vibe of this book. Star lord grounded has big cross walk energy
Very entertaining side-story of Peter Quill stuck on Earth and trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble and a load of super friends and villains find him. Maybe he's learned something. At least it all adds up to some fun for the reader.
This hadn’t been on my radar but was recommended by my Goodreads friend Scott. I really enjoyed it. The events follow the dismal Civil War II stuff, but it isn’t really part of that arc—thank goodness. I hadn’t read the preceding Star-Lord/Guardians stories when I first picked this up, but there are enough summary at the beginning and hints within the story to keep the reader from feeling lost. It’s a nice break from the “OMG, it’s the End of the World/Galaxy/Universe” stories that populate graphic-noveldom. The tone and content of the story remind me of Matt Fraction’s delightful Hawkeye run. The stakes and the moments are smallish. Quill is kind of hapless yet well-meaning. And he’s funny. Other people in the story say he isn’t, but I think he is. The Guardians are temporarily broken up (there is a very brief and grin-inducing conversation with Rocket at a place called Flapperdoodle’s); and Quill is stuck on Earth. Attempting to foil some trouble, Quill is arrested and sentenced to community service. He’s hoping to visit schools, but he gets assigned to a retirement community and paired with an elderly African-American man named Edmund. Edmund turns out to be kind of sweet in a crotchety way—he and Quill make an amusing pair—but Edmund also has a secret: he is a former criminal with some interesting gadgets. Quill also takes a job as a bartender/trouble-diffuser at the Bar with No Name, which serves weird C-list criminals with odd superpowers (one of them wears an 8-ball on his head). Complications ensue. An alternate-reality, older version of Logan/Wolverine helpfully and amusingly befriends Quill. Quill and Edmund have run-ins with Daredevil. (Matt Murdock was, of course, the prosecutor who insisted on Quill doing community service.) There’s even poignancy in the way the Edmund plot plays out. I'd like to see aspects of this in the MCU. The art is good, with plenty of detail. Pleasant beefcake alert: there’s a running joke about destroyed or missing shirts. Included in this edition is Annual #1, a weird alien-alternate-Wild-West-Purgatory-or-was-it-a-near-death-experience-dream? It has its moments. The art is different from the Grounded story, but I like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is really good most of the way through (could have done without the kind of dumb annual that's tacked on at the end). It reminded me a lot of Nick Spencer's Superior Foes of Spider-Man, partly because the Bar With No Name (a drinking establishment where c-list Marvel villains hang out) plays a role, but also because of Zdarsky's deft hand with witty humor, coupled with smart (and sad) storytelling. The artwork throughout was no great shakes, but it didn't hurt my enjoyment of this volume.
4.5 Stars. Pacing was perfect for what it is, but would have preferred slightly quicker. The Guardians are grounded. With their Starship destroyed in Civil War II, this Volume focuses on what Peter Quill gets up to. First plan? Get drunk... call Logan. But ensuing bar fight gets him arrested and forced to do community service. But can he balance his new life of "big brother" to an ex-criminal, occasional hero and guardian of Earth, and the legendary "Bar-Lord"? Throw Daredevil, Shocker, Old Man Logan, Black Cat, and a few other B-List villains and you get a very engaging and touching story about what happens when a half-human spaceman gets his wings clipped. The final story puts a twist on a Western, and has the surprise of a certain green angry hero. This graphic novel felt very adult and was a pleasure to read. Marvel rarely has such mature stories. High recommend.
Peter Quill is stuck on Earth! The Star-Lord has become the Earth-Lord! So what does he do? Get a job at a bar and hang out with supervillains all day, getting roped into nefarious schemes! It's a fun time, Star-Lord isn't really a "superhero" so there's no stigma between him and the low-level supervillains. He's still heroic, but he's also the type of dude who regularly hangs out with Rocket so he's not uber-strict with his morals. Plus, there's Kris Anka's art, which is gorgeous. From the action scenes, to the costumes, to how often Quill ends up half-naked and flat on his ass, it's a good time.
The series ends with the Annual issue, which is a random wild west one-off of Peter crash-landing on an alien planet and playing deputy to the town there. It's okay, not quite as good as the rest of the series, but still has some fun moments.
After Civil War II, the Guardians are stuck on Earth and Star-Lord is on the outs with the rest of the team. On his own, Star-Lord gets himself in a bit of trouble, needs to do community service, and somehow ends up as a bartender at the bar with no name. He gets mixed up in someone else's family drama and some supervillain drama. The whole thing reminds me of The Superior Foes of Spider-Man in the best way. My only quibble is, what does this have to do with Star-Lord, really?
Then, for some reason this six issue series gets an annual. Star-Lord crash lands into the middle of a western movie. I've never understood the appeal of combining sci-fi and westerns. I mean, sure, Firefly is good, but that's the exception, not the rule.
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this one. I’ve never read any Guardians before, but I was able to easily follow along with just the movies as background knowledge. The story was engaging with some good action, but was mostly character-centered. I loved the way Peter Quill is written in this volume— a goofy, charming, confused mess of a person with a good heart and a casual disregard for legality. Also the artwork was great; I love the artist’s commitment to shirtlessness and tiny shorts, lol. I liked the inclusion of the Annual at the end, though it was totally separate from the rest of the volume story-wise.
A humorous whimsical journey for Starlord as he finds himself detained on earth due to bad decisions and misunderstandings. I enjoyed the story here as Peter tries to navigate his own loneliness and his cluelessness about Earth’s laws and customs. A lot of good banter here between him and the other characters that pop up, the best moments being when he and Old Man Logan are together. The art is pretty great too and really matches the tone of the story, also if you’re someone who fancies Star Lord’s supermodel Bod you’ll get plenty of eye candy here in this book from the artist.
Overall a breezy fun read, found myself chuckling and laughing throughout.
I read comics because of books like this. I'm a huge fan of Star-Lord and Zdarsky definitely does him justice- this book balances humor with some real stakes. There are consequences to the lives of these characters, and I don't think that gets explored enough.
Plus the art pure pornography. Anka gives so much details and thought to the fashion of characters, with a sweet new costume for Peter. Also it is straight up sexy, Quill always manages to lose his shirt and show some skin, and I, for one, am thrilled with this.
Pretty entertaining. Chip Zdarsky is always good for a laugh and some good character work. The story was good, the characters were great, the humor was funny but not all-encompassingly zany. But one of the best things about this book was the art. It was the most fan-servicey book I've ever just about ever seen. Star-Lord constantly walked around with no shirt, and when he did put on a shirt it inevitably got half-destroyed. Much hotness was had. Laughs and heart and hot bods. That is all.
This is how I want my Star- Lord - stranded on Earth without friends or money rather than zipping through space meeting aliens. Zdarsky gives Star- Lord the perfect post-pubescent pathetic Peter Parker vibe (how's that for alliteration?). Even the two-bit villains just want a bar to drink in. And a semi- team up with Logan and Daredevil? Perfect.
The annual issue tagged on at the end is just kind of "whatever". And even though I appreciate the depth it's striving for, it doesn't get there and feels out of place.
This was good, I was just hoping it would blow me away, but no such luck. Still, if you're a fan of Peter Quill / the Guardians of the galaxy (either from the comics or the movies) it's probably worth giving it a read. Pete is stranded on Earth, but since he hasn't lived here since he was a kid, he doesn't quite get how things work here. He ends up arrested, tried, and sentenced to community service, where he's assigned to spends time with an grumpy old man. Peter also starts working for the man's son as a bartender (or "Bar-Lord" get it?) in the bar with no name (hangout of supervillains).