Guarding the Globe, Volume 1: Under Siege
Written by Robert Kirkman & Benito Cereno
Pencils by Ransom Getty & Kris Anka
Inks by Ransom Getty, Cliff Rathburn, Jonathan Glapion, Russell Jackson, and Kris Anka
Colors by Thomas Mason, Ron Riley, Rex Stabbs and FCO Plascencia
Letters by Russ Wooton
Editor: Sina Grace
Cover by Todd Nauck & John Raunch
Image Comics
Release Date: August 29, 2012
Cover Price: $16.99

Guarding the Globe, Volume 1 is an interesting comic. I didn’t have anything invested in the characters or the book itself, but I was pleasantly surprised. But, not as much as I’d wanted to be.

Writers Robert Kirkman and Benito Cereno sure know how to write a giant, sprawling superhero team vs super villain team epic, earth shattering story. I just wish I cared a little bit more. And I wish it wasn’t so cluttered. My first problem was that I barely knew any of the characters in the book, which, I’ll admit, was my fault. I’m not a huge fan of the Image Comics’ superhero universe, so almost all of these characters were foreign to me. That being said, I wish they would’ve spent a little more time introducing the characters…because there are a TON of characters in this book. It boils down to a double-page spread with each character getting a “This is…Kaboomerang!”

The other problem that I had with the trade was that I REALLY felt like I was missing something. And I don’t mean on a grand scale, I mean between the chapters in the trade itself. I would end one chapter, and begin the next and say to myself “Wait, there’s new members on the team, some of the team members are gone…what the heck did I miss? I only turned one page!” Other than that, the book is pretty good. It’s got a story that’s pretty easy to follow overall, and I assume if you’re a fan of the Image Comics universe, you’re going to get a lot more out of it than I did.

Ransom Getty and Kris Anka turn out one heck of a book, art wise. The pages are VERY detailed, easy to follow, and laid out perfectly. Even though the characters are VERY different, they make them gel perfectly together. Nothing seems out of place, it is one fantastic looking book. There’s no skimping on details or backgrounds, which is always nice. The one complaint I have, is that the last chapter in the book is VERY different from the book as a whole. It’s almost a cartoony, manga style chapter in a book full of straight-up “normal” superhero style book. But, on the whole, it’s a great looking book.

If you’re an Image fan, you will REALLY love Guarding the Globe, Volume 1. If you’re not, I think you’ll still enjoy it, but it wouldn’t be my first recommendation if you came into the store looking for a trade paperback. It’s straight-up superhero stuff, but lacks the characters that the man on the street cares about. With the ongoing series hitting comic stores soon, it’s a nice prologue, but I’m afraid as a standalone book, it falls a little flat.