Thank you to Titan Books for sending a copy of Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie in exchange for an honest review.
Guardians of the Galaxy remains one of the most popular Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date. And it isn’t hard to see why. It’s a relatable story about a group of misfit outcasts who join together to overcome seemingly impossible odds. In addition to being extremely funny, it’s also heartfelt. There’s great action and an incredible soundtrack. And given that it introduces a whole new realm of the established universe, it’s the perfect MCU movie for an art book.
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie
In 2014, the MCU was at the top of its game. In the spring, Captain America: The Winter Soldier won over audiences and critics alike. But one of the biggest selling points of the franchise at this point was its ability to deliver in-continuity movies that possessed disperate tones and genres.
The Winter Solider was grounded even for a MCU movie (comparatively speaking). Its espionage plot saw its heroes navigating a government conspiracy in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas. While Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) possesses superhuman abilities, most of the characters are normal humans.
By contrast, Guardians of the Galaxy is a far-flung space opera. Inspired by science fiction and fantasy, its main and supporting cast is populated by a variety of extraterrestrials. Some of these are mostly humanoid, in the vein of most aliens on Star Trek. But others are decidedly not. This includes two of the main characters, Groot (Vin Diesel) the sentient tree and Rocket (Bradley Cooper; Sean Gunn) the bioengineered raccoon.
It may be hard to remember a time before Rocket and Groot became household names. But when the first trailer to the movie dropped, set to “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Suede, minds were blown. Even some of the most devoted MCU fans were skeptical that a trash-talking trash panda and a talking tree could become universally beloved Marvel characters. Guardians of the Galaxy stepped into a brave new corner of the MCU. Because of this, it is an ideal candidate for this kind of art book.
Gardens of the Galaxy
The majority of the previous movies in the MCU franchise took place on Earth. Furthermore, the characters chosen to be adapted in earlier movies were comparatively grounded, in Marvel Comics terms. This was before outright magic users populated the MCU, and most of the characters achieved their abilities through (farfetched) science. Tony Stark becomes Iron Man using a power suit. Rogers becomes Captain America after being augmented by Super Soldier Serum. And Hulk is the result of a failed attempt to recreate the same.
And in keeping with these grounded heroes, the majority of the movies before Guardians took place on Earth. Even Thor, the most “out there” of the original set of characters, had half his movies set in New Mexico and London. For this reason, Guardians, which is almost entirely set on alien planets, is especially suitable for an art book. This is because the entire world of the movie had to be designed from the ground up.
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Likewise, several world’s worth of alien characters – which comprise the majority of the cast – also had to be designed from the ground up. Sure, you can easily picture Groot, Yondu or Nebula now, but they didn’t spring into existence fully formed, even given their Marvel Comics inspiration.
It is true that every MCU movie requires loads of art design (as my reviews of these re-releases attest) But creating several strange, new worlds for Guardians of the Galaxy means this art book in particular has a surplus of material upon which to draw.
Designing the Guardians
But that isn’t to say that the artists who designed the people and places in the movie didn’t look to the real world for inspiration. There are plenty of insights, including that the Nova Starblaster was influenced by the movement of underwater creatures and Quill’s pistols pay homage to hot rods. And did you know a real raccoon was brought in to inform Rocket’s design?
Plus, no matter how many times you’ve watched Guardians of the Galaxy, this book will teach you something new. One example is close-ups of Drax’s tattoos, including dialogue from a deleted scene in which he explains some of their meanings. There are revelations about the respective sizes of the blades Drax and Gamora wield. And this is just the tip of the ice comet.
I do have one minor criticism. As you may know from my previous Infinity Saga art book reviews, they each feature a pull-out page. Some of these are very well done. But in the Guardians of the Galaxy volume, the opportunity for a fold-out schematic of the Milano or something similar is squandered.
On one side of the fold-out we do get some detail on the Collector’s Easter eggs, which is decent. But the other side is used to detail three of the Infinity Stones. As far as I can tell, there is nothing on these pages that couldn’t have been accomplished with single pages rather than the extended fold-out page. But, that’s a minor quibble.
Available in January 2025
Even at nearly 330 pages, this well-designed book never feels like it’s treading water. In fact, you get the sense that a second volume of equal length could be produced about this movie’s art alone. And hey: leaving us wanting more is what the MCU is all about, right?
Finally, unlike certain other MCU art book volumes, this one covers the whole movie. There is concept art of Groot’s ultimate sacrifice, as well as a single piece of (unlabelled) concept art of Baby Groot. The ending of the movie may not be fully spelled out, but it isn’t ignored, either. Reading a full decade after the movie was released, I appreciated this.
Any fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy would find a lot to enjoy in this book. And personally, I’m looking forward to reading the subsequent art books about Volume 2 and Volume 3. Furthermore, I could stand reading one about Mission: Breakout and The Holiday Special as well. Even a decade after it made its debut, Guardians of the Galaxy still manages to feel fresh. Marvel sure would be ill advised to let James Gunn slip through their fingers, huh?
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie was written by Marie Javins. The book was designed by Jeff Powell and it features dust jacket art by Charlie Wen. It includes a foreword by Gunn and an afterword by Charlie Wen. And of course, it spotlights the work of dozens of talented artists.
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie arrives at a bookstore and/or public library near you on January 28, 2025.
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