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Adam Gorham is illustrating the upcoming ‘Rocket‘ series from Marvel and writer Al Ewing has let him out of his cage long enough to share some details as to what the book will look like. We’ve seen Rocket working in a team with the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ for quite some time now but in order to pull off some galactic-level mischief; he is going to need a different set of partners for this one. Peter Quill might like to say that Star-Lord is a thief but these days he is fully a hero even when it comes to helping a friend, so it is a different kind of lowlife that Rocket will be gathering to his cause.

Of course, it is unlikely that any of his new team will be in on the actual plan.

One of the fun parts of this book is that we’ll be getting a look into Rocket’s past during much of it which has been hinted at but not shown. Will that allow for both new characters and new takes on some classics?

“Absolutely on both counts. From the very first page, we’re seeing Rocket in a suit leaping like a Hong Kong action star. My aim was to convey that this is a new flavor of the character. My artistic leanings tend to be ink-heavy, “gritty,” dark, and that lends itself to this new series, especially as it goes along. So while Rocket and his crew don flashy suits, I did have a chance to draw characters in their recognizable outfits while adding some flourishes that would set them apart from previous appearances.

What’s also very cool for me personally is, when I’m drawing backgrounds or crowd scenes, being able to draw aliens from various races in the cosmic Marvel universe. Peppering in a Skull or Strontian or Kymellian—it’s fun! It feels very much like going through a toy box and going wild.”

Marvel’s cosmic realm already has a full set of known aliens with tons that can still be created, so it will be fun to see which ones Gorham adds in. With each issue having a new caper and needing to leave the proper hints towards what is happening:

“One neat thing about our ROCKET book, and it’s a credit to Al’s inventiveness as a writer, is how a new caper is introduced and handled in every issue. It’s pretty grand to read his issues play out.

The challenge then for me is not just drawing interesting pages, but to make sure vital information is given to the reader, so the payoffs are earned. To that end though, I have had freedom to improvise with the visuals while making sure the necessary beats are hit.”

To pull off the heist, we find a specific race that Rocket will team up with and it was more difficult to illustrate them then you would have expected:

“The Technet! Can we say that? They’re on the cover! I was largely unfamiliar with them when I started this book. Drawing them initially threw me for a loop because of their cartoonish dimensions. When I first drew them something felt…off. So I started over. And over. I had to keep at them until they made sense to me.

I had to learn to reconcile drawing this hard-nosed noir story populated with these outlandish characters. It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t sound difficult in theory but tripped me up in practice. I found my way though. You’ll notice these characters have a certain grit to them now since passing through the Gorham Filter.”

I’m almost more excited for how many alien races will be featured here compared to the heists themselves. But knowing how Rocket’s dialogue will likely end up making the book, that isn’t fully the case.

We’ve also got a few shots from the book to enjoy! (Of course, without color or text but it will still give you a feel of what we’ll be reading for the run of the book.
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Are you looking forward to checking out ‘Rocket’ without Groot and the rest of the Guardians? Share your thoughts below True Believers!

‘Rocket #1’ will be bringing all of the charm and explosions you would expect from everyone’s favorite not-raccoon on May 10th, 2017!

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Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!