Guarding The Globe #5 – Review

Confused. That is the word that comes to mind when I consider the thing I just read; that which bears the moniker Guarding the Globe #5. One problem with any book featuring a superhero team is that each hero demands some of the spotlight and things can tend to get a bit mixed up between different characters and story lines. This is pretty much the case with Guarding the Globe #5, and by "pretty much," I mean, goodness gracious this thing is cluttered.

We begin with the Guardians lamenting the death of teammate Cast Iron. One might think that the death of an important character would be enough of a plot for one book, but after a brief funeral scene we are off to deal with other matters. In short order the new team leader, Brit, starts kicking more members off the team in stints of IMMEDIATELY EFFECTIVE policymaking. This then brings about the new plot line of searching for new recruits. Meanwhile, female speedster, Outrun, is busy seducing every male member of the team for no apparent reason other than, I guess, she is hot and likes to objectionable euphemism not found.


All the while, the team is also looking for any sign of villainous conglomerate, The Order. When The Order finally shows up, it is altogether apparent that the Guardians are going to need to get their act together to put up a fight against these guys. The splash page that brings the bad guys into the story is easily the most stunning image in the book. Corpses abound and destruction is used liberally as a general theme. Honestly, it has me kind of rooting for The Order.

At a certain point I started wondering if Guarding the Globe #5 is supposed to be some sort of parody of other comics. Between arguments over who feels guiltiest about the dead guy and the girl on the team literally running from one guy to the next, I truthfully could not tell if I was reading comedy or drama. Easily, the high point was a brief conversation and robbery bust courtesy of winged-moralist Pegasus and invulnerable French bulldog Le Brusier, who is, apparently, a perfect gentleman. Obviously, this bit was drama at its most raw.

It's nothing special, but Guarding the Globe #5 legitimately had me chuckling a couple of times. I really am just not sure if I was supposed to be.